Diamond Enviro-Mark NZ certification for BRANZ

BRANZ champions sustainability and environmental issues for the building industry and is 'walking the talk'.

In November 2009 BRANZ received its Diamond certification to the Enviro-Mark NZ environmental programme. Only 20 businesses in New Zealand currently hold this diamond status which is the highest level in the Landcare Research programme.

This certification is equivalent to achieving ISO 14001; the International Environmental standard for environmental performance.

The award was presented by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright who acknowledged BRANZ for being the first New Zealand research organisation to achieve the award (Landcare Research has ISO 14000). Dr Wright also acknowledged the difficulty BRANZ faced in having an uncertain supply chain with a lot of the items tested to destruction.

BRANZ may be testing insulation panels - fire doors and brick veneer walls one week and argon glass windows and roofing underlay the next with anything left over needing to be disposed of responsibly.

For more information on Enviro-Mark NZ.

View our Diamond Enviro-Mark NZ certificate.

Read an article on our achievement in Build 116 - BRANZ makes diamond.

View our BRANZ Environmental Policy.

Image: (left to right) Pieter Burghout, BRANZ CEO; Dr Jan Wright, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment; and Don Richards, BRANZ Quality and Environmental Manager.