The independent Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) is under strain from state and federal governments to adopt a union-backed sustainable timber code.
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) is pressuring ministers to urge the GBCA to adopt industry-led timber standards.
The CFMEU wants the council to accept an alternative standard in which 90 per cent of the timber cut in Australia would be certified as sustainable.
The council’s current accreditation backs the internationally recognized Forestry Stewardship Council standard which authorizes just 5 per cent of global timber as sustainable.
The union is planning to make it an important election issue in regional seats in upcoming state elections if state ministers push the GBCA to accredit domestic sustainable timber products for its six star green building rating.
The union accuses the GBCA of being an “unrepresentative organization” with an “absurd accreditation system”.
“Job security and investment in our sustainable industry will increasingly be retarded whilst ever Australian timber products are unable to compete on a level playing field with overseas timber products,” the CFMEU’s Michael O’Connor said.
