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Cleaning Products (CPv2.2iii-2012)

Standards
  • Status:
    Superseded
  • Issue Date:
    May 26, 2021
  • Green Star Applicable
    Green Star is Australia's trusted mark of quality for the design, construction and operation of sustainable buildings, fitouts and communities. Choosing Green Star can help you save money, create a healthy place for people, minimise your environmental footprint and build a better future for us all.

Update: This standard has now been superseded, please see new equivalent standard.

Cleaning products are essential for healthy and appealing living and working conditions. However, they can also have a negative impact on human health and the environment.

To determine whether a cleaning product is truly sustainable or not, you need to look at its entire lifecycle. That means from sourcing raw materials and the manufacturing process to use and finally, its ultimate disposal.

The discharge of phosphorus compounds, for example, can damage freshwater and coastal ecosystems by introducing too many minerals and nutrients, leading to algal blooms. Some cleaning products may also contain long-lasting toxic substances, harming aquatic life in surface waters and streams.

Palm oil and palm kernel oil are common ingredients in conventional cleaning products. However, irresponsible palm oil farming can lead to deforestation, habitat loss for threatened species, poor air quality, and threats to the rights of local communities. Therefore, palm oil and palm kernel oil must be shown to be sustainably sourced.

Cleaning products must be safe for the end-user as well as for the workers who helped manufacture them. Conventional cleaning products can harbour ingredients that cause a range of adverse effects on health, ranging from mild (such as minor skin irritation) to very serious (such as being a potential carcinogen).

Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is one of the main culprits behind Sick Building Syndrome, where occupants of a building complain of headaches, fatigue and other symptoms that disappear after leaving the building. The health issues caused by VOCs in indoor environments depend on the amount of VOCs present in the air, the length of time they are present, and how frequently people are exposed to them. People with allergies and asthma are particularly at risk.

Products certified under this standard can also contribute toward achieving credit points for projects being certified under the Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star Performance tool. In addition, our standard also contributes to meeting WELL features under the WELL Building Certification.

The standard sets requirements that aim to provide a benefit by:

• preventing the use of harmful ingredients such as carcinogens, mutagens or reproductive toxins

• limiting emissions of volatile organic compounds

• placing restrictions on fragrances and irritants

• limiting substances harmful to aquatic environments

• supporting sustainably sourced palm oil and palm kernel oil

• encouraging recovery, reuse, recycling and responsible disposal of materials and packaging

• ensuring workers and suppliers through the supply chain can expect fair pay, equal opportunity, and a safe working environment

This standard is applicable to the following categories of cleaning products:

General Purpose Cleaners: includes cleaners for use on tables, benches, tiles, windows, walls, floors and other fixed surfaces. This includes cleaners for kitchen use;

Sanitary Cleaners: includes cleaners for use on toilets, bathrooms and other wet areas;

Laundry Cleaning Agents: includes household laundry detergents including liquids and powders for washing machine or hand clothes washing use; and

Hand Dishwashing Detergents: includes cleaners for manually washing dishes.

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Certified Products by Cleaning Products (CPv2.2iii-2012)

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Green Star is Australia's trusted mark of quality for the design, construction and operation of sustainable buildings, fitouts and communities. Choosing Green Star can help you save money, create a healthy place for people, minimise your environmental footprint and build a better future for us all.
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Being an environmentally aware business, we needed a way to ensure, adhere and implement sustainably preferable strategies into our business plan. The team at GECA is co-operative and their guidance ensured that we not only complied with green standards, but exceeded them. The process is credible and well-received in the market place and ensures that we are set apart from the not-so-genuine ‘greenwashing’ companies.

Donna McMullen, Director 
DIRECT ERGONOMICS

GECA certification is critical for our business and is a priority when determining a sustainable product and solution

John Stamoulos, Product & Solutions Manager at Aspect Furniture

GECA is a leading authority on global sustainable solutions, and our goal is to innovate acoustic architectural designs for a greener, simpler life. So, for us, GECA certification ensures we’re developing products with tomorrow in mind

Decor Systems

The partnership with GECA allows JMP to apply a new way of thinking to necessary sustainability challenges offering solutions that are aligned with not only consumers expectations but without compromising quality or branding

Tamara Joyce, JMP’s Business Development Manager, Retail Packaging Solutions

For us at Koh ensuring transparency and authenticity across our product range and within our community is of pivotal importance. We want our customers to feel they can trust in the safety of our products for both people and the planet. Being certified by a credible independent organisation such as GECA helps us to validate what our customers expect from us

Koh

Fitting out such a large project with sustainably preferable furniture is rewarding. That a well-renowned and international company would choose to use GECA certified Office Link Group furniture is exciting and without doubt, a step in the right direction for improving sustainability in the workplace. The whole work zone looks great — the architect has done a wonderful job of creating the space. With the addition of the sustainably preferable products that are proven to improve the health and wellbeing of those in the workspace, it is now a really nice place to work.

Vern Currie
OFFICE LINK GROUP

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