SA Building Industry Going Green

According to Engineering News the SA property market is preparing to enter the global 'green-building' boom, and the recently established Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) has set to work on developing a ratings tool for the assessment of so-called ‘green’ buildings. The GBCSA board made the decision to use Australia's Greenstar environmental rating system for buildings as the basis of a SA rating system, which will be customised for the SA situation. The Green Building Council of Australia offered the GBCSA the Intellectual Property of their Greenstar system at no charge, as well as support in operating the system and training staff and assessors.

AFRO-IP wonders if The Green Building Council of Australia are aware that according to their local Trade Mark Office a certain Mr Matthew Bliss has a pending application for GREENSTAR HOMES for "building and construction services; building management". He also wonders if the GBCSA are considering a certification mark for their local protection in South Africa? A certification mark is special category of trade mark which indicates that goods or services are certified by the proprietor in respect of their characteristics eg origin, mode of manufacture of goods or performance of services or quality. Typical SA examples include: