In past years, several certifications and initiatives have sprung up to recognise, but also verify, the effort that many companies are making towards a sustainable future. COLORSTEEL has taken this opportunity to progress on its own environmental position, and has recently had a strong focus on being able to measure and reduce its environmental impact, ultimately demonstrating its commitment to an environmentally sustainable future.

Since 2016, COLORSTEEL has received the Environmental Choice New Zealand (ECNZ) licence in recognition of the international standards it meets. The ECNZ licence provides specifiers and other decision makers with a credible and independent verification that they are purchasing and using products that are proven to be better for the environment.

In 2019, COLORSTEEL also completed its first Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). Verified by EPD Australasia, the COLORSTEEL EPD communicates transparent information about the life-cycle environmental impact of products. Which, in conjunction with the ECNZ licence, helps people to make environmentally conscious decisions for their projects.

The recognition from ECNZ, and the EPD, has resulted in COLORSTEEL products now being able to contribute to points under both rating tools managed by the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC).

The Green Star rating tool helps to support stakeholders in the property and construction sectors to design, construct and operate projects in a more sustainable, efficient and productive way. Within Green Star, COLORSTEEL contributes to points under credit 19A: Life Cycle Assessment and Credit 21: Sustainable Products.

As buildings are long-lived and resource-intensive, the Life Cycle Assessment credit recognises the full life cycle impact of projects. COLORSTEEL can contribute to the first pathway in this credit — performance-based Life Cycle Assessment — which asseses the improvement a project achieves when compared to a reference building (the building that would otherwise be built). The COLORSTEEL EPD allows a competent assessor to compare the LCA of COLORSTEEL products against country averages or generic data, and award points based on the improvement that COLORSTEEL provides.

The Sustainable Products credit awards points for the use of materials that meet transparency and sustainability requirements. With ECNZ recognised as a ‘Level A Eco-Label’, COLORSTEEL is eligible for the highest sustainability factor of 1.0.

The Homestar tool is an independent rating tool that certifies the health, efficiency and sustainability of New Zealand homes. Within the Homestar tool, COLORSTEEL can contribute to points under the MAT-1 Sustainable Materials credit, which also recognises the use of sustainable materials. COLORSTEEL is eligible for points under two separate material categories: non-timber wall cladding and non-timber roof cladding.

COLORSTEEL has recognised the importance of sustainable construction and, with a significant focus on innovation, will continue in supporting a sustainable future for the construction industry.