Good Environmental Choice Australia

Good Environmental Choice Australia Limited (GECA) is a not for profit environmental organisation that aims to encourage sustainable production and consumption practices through the development of standards for environmentally preferable goods and services.

Goods and services that meet GECA standard requirements are assessed by an independent auditor and licensed by GECA to display the Environmental Choice Australia Ecolabel; a Type 1 ecolabel which conforms with ISO 14024 standards for environmental labelling.

For customers, manufacturers and other suppliers, product specifiers, project managers and procurement officers, the GECA Ecolabel assures recognition, credibility, trust and reduced environmental impact.

While GECA certification has in recent years been most prominent in the ‘green building sector’ it has developed 42 standards covering building and interior products, industrial, cleaning, consumer, sanitary and personal care products; office and business products and five service standards. 

The GECA certification scheme is designed first and foremost to benefit the environment in practical ways. It encourages product manufacturers and distributors to improve the environmental impact of their production and processes by rewarding them with public recognition that their certified products have been found to be environmentally preferable in their class.  It entitles them to use the Environmental Choice Australia mark on their certified products and in their marketing.  Key features and benefits include:

• Recognition: Widely recognised by NGO’s, Government agencies, procurement and building industry professionals as Australia’s first ecolabel.
• Credibility: Certified products meet scientifically based best practice environmental performance standards.
• Trust: Certification is undertaken by independent qualified auditors; products are assessed against publically available standards developed in accordance with best practice.
• Differentiation: The Ecolabel makes it easy for purchasers to choose products on environmental grounds.
• Mitigates Risk: Provides third party assurance of environmental performance, provides a clear environmental message and helps avoid Greenwash.
• Reduces Environmental impacts: By choosing GECA certified products, purchasers will contribute to lowering many environmental impacts that result from consumption.
• Has Global Relevance and Affiliation: GECA’s is still the only Australian ecolabel affiliated with the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN).

In a nutshell, the Scheme Rules are a set of operational guidelines that detail how the GECA Ecolabel and Certification process will operate from April 1, 2011; as well as how GECA, its auditors and licensees will work together. The Scheme Rules provide transparent, robust and comprehensive rules for the operation of GECA’s Environmental Choice Australia program.

The Scheme Rules were developed over 18 months with input from GECA’S Board of Directors and Executive Staff, consultants, JAS-ANZ and established environmental auditing bodies.

The new Scheme Rules will fundamentally change GECA operations in three key areas from 1 April, 2011:

All enquiries about the program and new applications for assessment should be made in the first instance to GECA.  An auditor may forward these if acting as an agent of the applicant, to assist those seeking, renewing or extending GECA certification.

Auditors for the GECA Scheme must now be JAS-ANZ accredited CABs. A ‘Conformance Assessment Body’ (CAB) is a third-party environmental verification and auditing body.

JAS-ANZ (Joint Accreditation Standards ANZ) is responsible for providing accreditation of CABs, in the fields of certification and inspection in Australia and New Zealand.   Accreditation by JAS-ANZ, a government appointed body, demonstrates an auditor’s competence and independence. For more information on JAS-ANZ, click here.

NCS International (NCSI) has achieved JAS ANZ Accreditation against the GECA Scheme Rules and is currently the only firm qualified to audit for the GECA Certification Scheme from 1 April 2011. 

NCSI is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Association of Testing Authorities Australia (NATA), and one of Australia’s foremost independent third-party verification and auditing bodies for a range of national and international management system standards - including quality, environment, safety and product certification programs. For more information about NCSI’s GECA-certification services, click here.

We expect to announce the availability of other JAS-ANZ accredited CABs in the coming months.

As Good Environmental Choice Services Pty Ltd (trading as Environmental Assurance), also known as ‘EA’, has not yet achieved JAS-ANZ accreditation, they are not eligible to receive new applications or enquiries for GECA or its Certification Scheme beyond 31 March 2011, or to accept applications or recertification.  As mentioned in Point 1 above, all enquiries concerning the Environmental Choice Australia program, applications, and choice of auditor should now be directed to GECA.

Please see FAQ no. 5 for further information about what to do if you currently have an application for assessment with Environmental Assurance. 

GECA Licenses will not expire or require recertification every 3 years, but will remain valid while certain conditions are met. These conditions include regular surveillance audits and the potential for random audits.  More detail will be provided to licensees by GECA and auditors on this point as required.

In the main, existing licences will not be immediately affected by the introduction of the Scheme Rules or the appointment of NCSI as a GECA CAB. 

Licenses issued prior to 31 March 2011, and licenses issued in respect of audits agreed on prior to 31 March 2011, will be valid for the period of the license (in most cases 3 years from date of issue).

Existing licensees are also not affected until they are due for a surveillance audit or recertification under their current licence.  If they have not yet engaged Environmental Assurance for those services and are due for them now, NCSI will be the auditor for those services. 

For those who have applications already underway with Environmental Assurance, GECA will accept licence recommendations from Environmental Assurance for certification (new applicants or new products) or recertification where a contract to undertake the audit was entered into on or prior to 31 March 2011, provided that the audit work is completed, signed off by the applicants and a complete licence recommendation delivered to GECA by EA by 30 June 2011.

Surveillance audits under current licences that fall due after 1 April 2011 will be carried out by the new auditor. The new auditor will also assess

• Applications for recertification where licences have expired, and
• where  licensees now wish  to recertify against a revised standard  and have not yet applied to do so, eg GECA 28 Furniture and Fittings, GECA-04 Panel Boards, GECA –25 Floor Coverings

New applicants for GECA certification and existing licensees who have commenced the recertification process with GECA’s current auditor, Environmental Assurance (EA), can be assured that GECA will act on a recommendation from EA that a licence be issued provided the current audit is completed by 30 June 2011. 

Licensees in this situation are encouraged to call GECA on 02 6287 3100. GECA staff will also be contacting all licensees who are likely to have such applications underway to help manage the processing of your application through the licence recommendation process and licencing.
 
New Applicants to the GECA Scheme (those who have not been licensed with GECA before and have applied to EA for assessment against GECA standards) are encouraged to make direct contact with GECA  now, so that we can assist with completion of your application in this transition period.  Please note that, while Environmental Assurance may give us your contact details, they are not obligated to provide them until they are ready to make a licence recommendation to us on your behalf. 

For further information on surveillance audits, frequency, and maintenance of licences, please contact GECA staff on 02 6287 3100.