Login Tab Help icon

Revised Green Star PVC Credit

Tue 18 May, 2010 Materials Category

Download:
The Green Star 'PVC' credit

The Green Star 'PVC' credit was introduced into all Green Star rating tools on 7th of April 2010 following the PVC Minimisation Credit Review.

All Green Star projects that are registered before 7th of April 2010 have the option to use either the old Green Star 'PVC Minimisation' credit or the new Green Star 'PVC' credit. Any projects registering after 7th of April 2010 must use the new Green Star 'PVC' credit.

Update (18.05.10)

Within the revised Green Star 'PVC' credit, PVC product manufacturers must demonstrate that their product meets the requirements of the 'Best Practice Guidelines for PVC in the Built Environment'. This requires an independent audit as outlined in the 'Verification Guidance Document' (see Additional Guidance section of the PVC credit). This 'Verification Guidance Document' is still under development. It is expected to be released by October 2010.

Until this document is released, the 'Evidence of Independent Verification' requirement is replaced with the following document:

Manufacturers' Declaration

Compliance of a PVC product to the Best Practice Guidelines shall be demonstrated by providing a manufacturer's declaration. The declaration must:

  1. Be provided on an official company letterhead;
  2. Be signed by a company director;
  3. State that the product supply chain (i.e. pipe, conduit, flooring, resilient wall coverings or cable insulation) supplied to the project is compliant with the GBCA's 'Best Practice Guidelines for PVC in the Built Environment' as detailed in Section 7 of the Literature Review and Best Practice Guidelines for the Life Cycle of PVC Building Products document. The statement must clearly state compliance with the requirements of sections 7.1 to 7.3, and clearly indicate that actions have been taken to ensure compliance with these requirements.
  4. State that the company understands that the PVC Green Star credit requires verification of compliance to the Best Practice Guidelines for PVC in the Built Environment; and that it is commited to provide this verification by an independent body as soon as the Verification Guidance Document is released.


Note: This clarification shall expire three months from the release of the Verification Guidance Document. Further clarifications related to the date of the release of this document will be posted here.

PVC Minimisation Credit Review:

Since the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) introduced Green Star in 2003, the suite of environmental rating tools has historically contained a 'Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Minimisation' credit to encourage the minimisation of PVC in base building and interior fitout applications. The 'PVC Minimisation' credit was included in the first Green Star rating tool, Green Star - Office Design v1, and has featured in all subsequent tools.

In late 2007, the GBCA commenced an extensive stakeholder engagement process to review the PVC minimisation credit, which included a review of independent literature and data, as well as the involvement of an Expert Reference Panel (ERP) and a stakeholder feedback period. The credit review process concluded in April 2010.

As part of the credit review, the ERP developed the Best Practice Guidelines for PVC in the Built Environment, which identify the opportunities for environmental impact and health risk reductions in the PVC life cycle. These guidelines also recognise some world-leading achievements of PVC manufacturers.

Under the PVC credit, projects will be able to claim two points towards their Green Star rating if the project's flooring and resilient wall coverings, cable, pipe and conduit - which together account for the majority of PVC use in buildings - meet the GBCA's Best Practice Guidelines.

Credit Review Documentation

Stakeholder Feedback Report Revised PVC Credit

Background and Outcomes of the PVC Minimisation Credit Review

Literature Review and Best Practice Guidelines for the Life Cycle of PVC Building Products Note: the Best Practice Guidelines for PVC in the Built Environment are provided in section 7.0 of this report.

Credit Review Process

The PVC Minimisation credit review was conducted in accordance with the Green Star Stakeholder Engagement Process.

Contact:
Robin Mellon
Executive Director - Advocacy & International
Green Building Council of Australia
Phone: 02 8239 6214
Mobile: 0434 495 388
Email: robin.mellon@gbca.org.au