Sustainability

Eco Choice Aotearoa (known previously as Environmental Choice NZ) is the official environmental label of New Zealand. Although initiated and endorsed by the New Zealand Government, Environmental Choice is firmly independent, recognising the increasing effort of manufacturers to reduce the environmental impact of their products and enabling consumers to reliably select products from companies who value reducing harm to the environment as much as they do.

ISO 14001 is a standard that defines criteria for an EMS. It does not state requirements for environmental performance but rather maps out a framework that a company or organization can follow to set up an effective EMS. It can be used by any organization that wants to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste, and reduce costs. Using ISO 14001 can provide assurance to company management, employees and external stakeholders, that the organisation’s environmental impact is being measured and improved.

An EPD, Environmental Product Declaration, is an independently verified and registered document that communicates transparent information about the life-cycle environmental impact of products. Click here to read the COLORSTEEL® Environmental Product Declaration Brochure and accompanying Rollforming Data Addendum

World Steel Association, often abbreviated as worldsteel, is the international trade body for the iron and steel industry. The association is one of the largest and most dynamic industry associations in the world, with members in every major steel-producing country. Worldsteel represents steel producers, national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes. Members represent around 85% of global steel production.

The worldsteel Climate Action Recognition Programme recognises steel producers that have fulfilled their commitment to participate in the worldsteel CO2 emissions data collection programme.

In 2008, Climate Action was launched, under which companies report data on site, or at company level, for CO2 emissions. A participating company or site receives a report showing the process route average emission data and range to which it can compare itself. The data collection programme is at the core of the steel industry's global steel sectoral approach to climate change. Based on a common methodology, definitions and agreed boundaries, the data collection programme enables individual steel plants to compare themselves against both average and best performance and identify its scope for improvement.

Participation is open to all steel-producing sites or companies, worldsteel members and non-members alike.

New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) is a non-profit membership organisation that promotes better buildings, because better buildings mean healthier, happier people. NZGBC manage the Homestar and Green Star rating tools for NZ.

Homestar is an independent rating tool that certifies the health, efficiency and sustainability of New Zealand homes.

Green Star is a rating tool to support stakeholders in the property and construction sectors to design, construct and operate projects in a more sustainable, efficient and productive way. It provides tenants with a trusted mark of independent verification to support decision-making. Green Star is for commercial building projects.

There are four separate versions of Green Star currently applicable in New Zealand:

• Green Star - Design and As Built NZv1.0
• Green Star - Interiors NZv1.0
• Green Star - Performance NZv1.0
• Green Star - Communities

MAT-1 is the name of the Sustainable Materials credit under the Homestar v4 rating tool. MAT-8 is the name of the Steel Credit under the Green Star v3 rating tool. Credit 21 is the number of the Sustainable Products credit under the Green Star Design and As Built NZv1.0 rating tool.

The rating tools are organised into Categories, addressing key themes of sustainable building. Within each category, are Credits that address specific areas within that category. Each Credit has a specified number of Points available, providing the Credit Criteria are met.

How many points are available under Green Star and Homestar?

• The Homestar v5 rating tool has a total of 130 points available within the tool, as well as 10 innovation points.
• The Green Star Design and As Built NZv1.0 rating tool has a total of 100 points available within the tool, as well as 10 innovation points.

The total number of available points, and the points required to gain a particular star level, vary between the rating tools, as shown below:

Home Star Award Levels

Green Star Award Levels

The Sustainable Steel Council (SSC) is a group of industry leaders committed to the circular economy and New Zealand’s low-emissions future. NZ Steel is a member of the Sustainable Steel Council in NZ and has a representative on the Board.