Africa’s first Internet-based green-building product-verification tool was launched in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Dubbed ‘Ecospecifier’, the system comprises an online data base of more than 1 000 life-cycle-assessed ecological- and health-preferable products, materials and technologies for the built environment.

Addressing delegates attending the launch of the tool in Cape Town, Ecospecifier South Africa CEO Lizette Swanevelder described the introduction of the product as “another spoke in South Africa’s green-building wheel”.

Essentially, the free-to-air product had been developed to provide information on how to design and deliver buildings, interiors and surroundings using environmentally preferable products.

There was a growing body of public- and private-sector clients, and individuals, wanting build in such a manner as to save energy and water, use resources sustainably, to minimise pollution and to reduce their ecological footprint.

The verification tool would achieve these objectives by providing greater clarity about what was and was not ‘green’.

It would also present information on sustainable and healthy materials, products, technologies and training and provide published materials relevant to city design, infrastructure and landscaping, building design, construction and interior fit-out.

The materials and products assessed by Ecospecifier would be relevant for infrastructure provision, greenfield and infill land development, residential and commercial development, educational facilities, industrial buildings and marinas.

The Website could be found at www.ecospecifier.co.za, with Ecospecifier South Africa having links to the international data base operated by Ecospecifier International.

Similar websites and services were already available in Australia and New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.

Addressing delegates in Cape Town, Ecospecifier international technical director David Baggs explained that the online verification tool had been operating in Australia as the benchmark source of verified, life-cycle based information of ecopreferred products since 2003.

Baggs added that the system was backed by a world-quality, dynamic team of sustainable development and product experts, who kept subscribers, manufacturers, product information, education and communications up to date, whilst continually adding new life-cycle-assessed products.