Vietnam's Updated LOTUS Rating Tool links- still opening doors for Global GreenTag Internationally Certified Products

In 2017, the Vietnam Green Building Council (VGBC) officially recognised both Global GreenTag International's Certification Schemes and all GreenTag Certified products under the council's then new LOTUS Rating System and officially listed them in the LOTUS technical manuals for Office Interiors and Small Interiors.

Since then LOTUS has introduced the same criteria into a broader range of rating tools including LOTUS:

New Construction v3.0;
Interiors v1.0
Small Interiors v1.0

David Baggs, CEO of Global GreenTag and Program Director of the Global GreenTag^CertTM certification program, welcomes the additional leverage provided by the upgraded LOTUS developments to GreenTag certified product manufacturers. "It continues to be exciting to be a part of the VGBC's dedication to evolve the green building industry in Vietnam," says David. "VGBC has again increased our recognition for both our ecolabel schemes in the VGBC LOTUS rating tools expanding from interiors alone to new construction and interiors."

"The VGBC remains very passionate about green products and green building and we remain excited that LOTUS remains the first rating tool in the Asia Pacific to formally recognise LCARate Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze tiers via variable credit points., uniquely and explicitly recognising individual tiers and applying points differentially."

This is validating news for manufacturers who have gone the stretch to have their products assessed through Global GreenTag's LCARate™ system that now have higher outcomes for certification plus Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) .

Essentially, the VGBC has noted that products certified under ecolabels evaluating the whole lifecycle are greener and they want to support this.

Indeed, Xavier Leulliette, Technical Manager for VGBC has stated that products with LCARate "show a higher commitment from manufacturers and should be rewarded more than products with only an EPD produced."

Expanding on this point, he said, "EPDs in themselves do not mean any product is sustainable or not. In fact, EPDs are more and more being used by Business as Usual products in lieu of having to meet the higher standards of third party certification  ... Under the LOTUS scheme, this needs to be addressed and we will clearly encourage product certification over EPDs."

Global GreenTag product categories recognised and listed in manuals by the LOTUS system will include:

many low-VOC surface finishes and joinery products;
the majority of Construction and Interiors fitout and finishes products;
environmentally preferred cleaning products.

The credits include as follows:

M-1 Sustainable Materials

This credit takes into account all the following materials:

Walls and partitions (non-load bearing space dividers)
Ceilings and floorings
Toilet partitions; shower partitions including shower screens
Internal stairs
Wall coverings, such as ceramic tiles.
Skirting
Select sustainable furniture products

M-2 Sustainable Furniture Products

The following types of furniture products are included in the scope of this credit:

Seatings (chairs, stools, benches, etc.)
Surfaces (tables, desks, etc.)
Storage units (cabinets, lockers, dressers, closets, chess, bookcases, pantries, etc.)
Work settings (workbench or workstation).
Storage, shelving and screening elements which form part of the work setting, cannot be dissociated from the work setting.

H-3 Low-VOC Emissions Products

Low-VOC emission and low-formaldehyde emission products including:

Paints and coatings
Adhesives and sealants
Flooring
Composite wood
Ceilings, partitions and insulation

H-6 Green Cleaning

The use of environmentally friendly cleaning products and procedures.