Australian Living and Global GreenTag will joined together to promote sustainable practices to manufacturers and suppliers of building products at a seminar next week.

They will hold a seminar called ‘how to make Green work for your bottom line’ on Thursday 9 August 2012 at InterfaceFlor in Sydney.

They point out that Green building has been driven by the voluntary actions of the building industry through Green Star, customer demand, and government regulation.

The collaboration is founded on the idea that in this new marketplace, building materials that aren’t innovative and sustainable are losing the specification battle.

Global GreenTag David Baggs said specifiers and customers are demanding materials and products that have reduced environmental impact, are produced using minimal energy, and are healthier for the manufacturing workers, installers and occupants of buildings.

“The need for sustainable products in the building sector, and in particular the residential sector, is currently snowballing. Carbon awareness is the tipping point and for cost effective products, sustainability is the growth sector for the next decade.”

According to Cameron Rosen, Managing Director of Australian Living, the shift is causing a new problem for the building industry: transparency.

“There are an increasing number of materials with green claims, but as a builder and developer, I want certainty and so too do my clients. I resolve this problem by using materials with third party certification.”

Interface's RAW modular system of carpet tiles recently wonthe 2012 Australian International Design Awards 'Design Award for Sustainability'.

While the building construction industry struggles with transparency, for building product manufacturers the challenge is know-how. Unfortunately most manufacturers don’t know why they should invest in green building product development or how to do it. They see the process as expensive at a time when they should be reducing costs because margins are tight and building activity is low.

According to Ross Maher from Build21c, “Creating sustainable and innovative products is the only way for Australian businesses to compete: otherwise it is a race to bottom on price where there are no margins nor sustainable businesses. It doesn’t mean throwing away return on investment or good business practice, but instead is an incremental process that starts with good market intelligence and planning that is central to any business success.”

Commercial carpet manufacturer Interface’s Shaneel Deo says shifting their focus onto sustainability has seen ‘costs down, revenue up and staff engagement at record levels’.

David, Cameron, Shaneel and Ross will address these issues and provide solutions for the industry at the seminar.

http://www.ecospecifier.com.au/media/448583/120710_seminarinvite_v6.pdf