Green certification, standards forces align

Global testing and certification provider TÜV Rheinland has partnered with the international standards organization GIGA (Global Innovations Green Algorithms) in a new initiative to help construction designers and engineers build more sustainable buildings. Under a partnership announced last month at the 2017 Greenbuild in Boston, some content from TÜV Rheinland’s global Certipedia certificate database will feed into GIGA’s online material data hub, Origin, which highlights certified, environment-friendly building materials and products.

“Certipedia was specifically designed to be a user-friendly, online reference for certification, placing all available information referring to product and testing criteria in one place,” says TUV Rheiland Executive Vice President, Products Holger Kunz. “Combining Certipedia with GIGA’s extensive, collaborative material data hub will transform the ease and speed with which designers can create superior, sustainable building designs that will deliver results for years, and decades, to come.”

TÜV Rheinland’s Certipedia database will be integrated into Origin’s infrastructure. Suppliers and industry participants will be notified in advance of the public software release to allow time to prepare and understand the integration process and its benefits.

“Origin is the world’s largest data integration hub for building products. By placing priority on transparency and reliability of data, Origin integrates product certifications directly from the world’s leading certifiers, combines it with supplier data, and connects it to building industry professionals globally,” explains GIGA Chief Operating Office Ryan Dick. “Partnering with TÜV Rheinland brings in a greater volume of high quality product data from around the world, making it easier for engineers to design, build and operate green and healthy buildings.”


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Roseville City Hall Annex PHOTO: Clark Pacific