With the fast-growing pace of urbanization because of the ever-growing population and their desire to shift to urban areas, our mother earth is suffering dearly. The adverse effects of urbanization can be reduced if the growth is planned and is done being mindful of the various components that goes into building the city.
In India, Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has enabled the construction industry to incorporate Green building concepts for enhancing the health, economic and environmental aspects of the buildings. This movement has created an ever increasing demand for Green products & services.
To keep in pace with the growing demand of these products and services, CII – Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre has lead to the introduction of Green Products and Services council. This council provides a Green Product Certification for the products which conform to the green standards.
Hence, if you are an environmentally conscious citizen of earth, this certification helps you to make informed decision. This ensures the safety of you, your family, flora, fauna and the earth as a whole.
The Life Cycle approach of Green Pro Certification
The life cycle approach is taken for Green Pro Certification to take care of the impact the product makes on the environment in its complete life cycle ranging from its design to disposal. This promotes safe manufacturing practices.
The various stages can be listed as product design, procurement of raw materials, manufacturing process, usage,affect and disposal.
How the Green pro certification help the end user of the cleaning product?
The advantages of buying products with a Green Pro certificate are as follows:
- It makes it easier to select products without making much effort that are safe for themselves and nature.
- The user doesn’t need to worry about the efficiency in working the product.
- Make sure that there are no toxins or chemicals that effect the health and well-being of the people.
- Achievement of credits for national and international certification for buildings.
Aspects of sustainability addressed in the certificate
- Land pollution
The main issue that land faces is its pollution caused by to careless dumping of waste and landfills. To tackle this, the certification promotes recycling of materials after use which would eventually reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills.
- Water Pollution
Water conservation and crisis are topics that demand attention from all. The certification takes care that there is “zero liquid discharge” involved in the making of the product and even while using it doesn’t pollute the water with harmful chemicals.
- Energy Efficiency
The certification encouraged the manufacturers to adopt energy-efficient policies and make improvements in the process which reduces the usage of energy
- Renewable Energy
The Green Pro certification encourages and advocates that manufacturers should invest in renewable power generation. This aligns with the Government’s objective of increasing the contribution towards renewable power sources.
Features of GreenPro Certification
The Certification system uses a performance-based and prescriptive method to evaluate products. The Certification requires that product performance be demonstrated through testing in accordance with established standards and the application of measures at every stage of the product's life cycle, resulting in clearly verifiable environmental benefits.
Based on a variety of performance metrics categorized under the following Credit Modules, the Certification system assesses green characteristics for items:
- Product Design
The firm must establish that top management is committed to improving the product's environmental performance in order to receive the certification.
- Product Performance
During product testing in accordance with the prescribed standards, the required performance criteria of the product must be proven.
- Raw Materials
The certification requires actions to reduce the use of virgin materials by recycling and the removal of harmful and hazardous substances in the raw materials used to make products.
- Manufacturing Process
The green product certification acknowledges the manufacturer's efforts to reduce resource usage throughout the manufacturing process.
- Waste Management
The certification requires actions to reduce wastes or more safely dispose of wastes produced throughout the manufacturing process. The certification urges the product's maker to perform a life cycle study for the items and to put impact analysis-based measures into place.
- Product Stewardship
The certification acknowledges the steps taken by product makers to minimize adverse effects on the environment and human health during product shipping, use, and recycling/disposal.
- Innovation
The Certification acknowledges the creative actions taken by the product producers that have significantly reduced the environmental effect below the minimum level required specified by the Certification standard.
Product Testing for Certification
Certain product criteria must be tested in order to receive the Green Product Certification. Depending on the product category, different product parameters will apply. The Certification system sets the testing standards and requirements wherever it is necessary to test the products.
The manufacturers can get their products tested in any of the laboratories accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration and need to produce the documents for further evaluation and verification.