My second week with GECA saw me jump on a carbon offset flight to Brussels for the European Commission Environmental Footprint Conference, held from 3 – 4 November 2015.

The theme of the European conference was ‘harmonisation’. This is a powerful and relevant foundation for the design of GECA's renewed vision and direction for driving sustainable sourcing, production and consumption across the whole supply chain.

In the Australian context of sustainability, we often talk about the fact that Europe is far ahead. I had not realised how far ahead. Read more.

Hughes Primary School, ACT, was faced with the challenge of finding ways to create a safe and inclusive environment for students with chemical sensitivities.

Tersano Australia was able to provide the school with their Lotus Pro cleaning system, which transforms water into Stabilised Aqueous Ozone, an effective cleaner, stain remover, sanitiser and deodoriser – all without any dyes or fragrances, or harsher, harmful substances.

Principal of Hughes Primary School, Kate Smith, says making the switch has made “a world of difference” in the two specialist classrooms that cater for students with chemical sensitivities. Read more.

Across Australia and around the world, demand for sustainable goods and services is booming, according to a recent report released by The Future Business Council.

The report shows that "sustainability should not be seen as a cost, but a business opportunity", and that there is an ever-growing demand for sustainable goods and services - especially those with a trusted certification scheme behind them.

Find out more details, check out their findings and download a copy of the report here!

'Demanding change by changing demand' is the first event in Australia discussing credible certification and sustainability standards, bringing together key brands, businesses, retailers and NGOs to examine challenges and opportunities for sustainability standard setting and what the future could look like beyond certification.

Our CEO, Kate Harris, is a key speaker at the event and will be exploring the role of certification in harmonisation and the importance of collaboration to achieve this.

The event is held on the 25th November at the IBIS Melbourne Hotel. More details are available on the event website, and you can purchase tickets here.

The past two months have been full of awards programmes celebrating everything green and sustainable. GECA would like to congratulate all the finalists and winners of the International Green Interior Awards, the Banksia Awards, and the Green Globe awards for their innovation and leadership in sustainable business and design.

Designbook is a new online interactive online platform and resource to help homeowners and architects find sustainable products. It currently receives over 30,000 visitors per month. Users of designbook can search, collate, annotate and share information from over 150 projects from the pages of Green magazine and an extensive listing from relevant suppliers.

Any product listed on Designbook can select if they are GECA certified. This allows users to also specifically search for GECA certifed products. You can view our own page on Designbook here.

GECA has teamed up with Designbook to offer a special deal for our licensees to advertise at a special reduced rate - more details here.

GECA has been nominated in the 2015 Architecture & Design's Trusted Brands Survey under 'Environmental Products'. The many outstanding products certified with our ecolabel are leaders in sustainability and this award would also be representing each one of them!

Every vote counts, so if you think we are worthy, you can vote here.