February 2011

greenadvantage.org

Green Certification Programs
Complement Green Advantage

Green Advantage Certified Professionals need to stay informed about the latest products and processes. Jason Teliszczak, a Green Advantage Certified Professional - Commercial/Residential and CEO of JT Environmental Consulting, Inc. in Oakbrook Terrace, IL, shared two new certification programs that deliver green products of interest to building practitioners.

level ™  Certification The Business and Furniture Manufacturing Association (BIFMA) launched third-party certification for furniture in June 2009. Recognized by LEED, level™ allows furniture manufacturers to identify individual products for certification but only after the company and its processes are demonstrated to be safe and green by one of six different third-party registrars.  Companies need to show adherence to current environmental practices.  Meeting ISO 14001 certification is one way to provide certainty that a company already follows environmentally safe practices and thus, expedites the level ™ approval process. 

Use of level™ complements LEED certification.  While LEED focuses on creating a green structure - the exterior and the interior paints and finishing, level ™ certifies the furniture for the building's interior.  In fact, LEED certified structures using level ™ can earn LEED Innovation credits.  The end user or design professional benefits since level ™ ensures that both the products and processes are green.  An additional benefit is that the office or homeowner need only to purchase the product; no paperwork is needed. Finally, level ™ furniture can be used in existing or new homes and offices.  

The list of certified products includes a mix of U.S. and foreign-owned companies.  All products are listed on the level ™ Web site.  See http://levelcertified.org/.

Green Concrete with Green-Star certified plants
The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) has also created a third-party green certification to recognize environmental excellence at individual facilities across the country and worldwide.  NRMCA launched the Green-Star program in February 2008, with 161 U.S. plants designated as Green-Star certified as of November 2010.  To earn the Green-Star certification, plants need to demonstrate their green standards and processes.  Green-Star auditors conduct a third-party review to ensure that facilities have implemented solid Environmental Management Systems (EMS) under ISO 14001 or otherwise.  An EMS must also have in place a program for continual improvement in key environmental areas of concern for the concrete industry.  Facilities need review every two years to maintain certification. 

Green-Star certification can also complement LEED if green concrete can be sourced locally.  Use of green concrete may also earn a LEED Innovation credit. 

More information is available online at http://www.nrmca.org/operations/ENVIRONMENT/certifications_greenstar.htm. The Web site also features a map and listing of all NRMCA Green-Star plants worldwide. http://www.nrmca.org/operations/ENVIRONMENT/green_star_map.htm

Thanks to Jason Teliszczak, CEO of JT Environmental Consulting, for this article idea. For more information, please contact Jason at www.JTEnvironmentalConsulting.com.