"The very real threat of climate change and the likely environmental backlash is the biggest elephant in the global living room right now.  Many people are aware of it, but many people secretly hope it will just somehow go away of its own accord.   IT WON’T!  The recent global financial meltdown is proof that when global consciousness is focused in one specific direction, the impact can be massive and, quite literally, can change the world.

In focusing on climate change, the simplest, most economically viable route to creating the greatest impact in the shortest possible time is to change the way we build, and to change the way we manage and use our built environment.

It is hard to imagine anyone serious about creating a more environmentally sustainable built-environment ignoring a green building tool as effective or comprehensive as ecospecifier."

-Michael Kornmüller (Michael Kornmüller Architecture Capetown SA)

“As a manufacturer of concrete products to the built environment I am most impressed by the Green Product Listings  which will provide a robust, qualified eco-profiling methodology to verify our green building materials,
fit-out our products and technologies and make this information accessible to the construction industry”

-Deon van Vuuren (Inca Concrete Products)

"Our organisation works closely with sustainable low cost housing projects and it is imperative that we have a unambiguous and unbiased  verification tool that gives our spend credibility. Housing is the top priority for Inter-governmental Development Plans both in local and national government and the money allocated to these projects needs to be spent cautiously, with the knowledge that the products specified will meet the sustainability criteria that these housing initiatives are looking for. Ecospecifier is a long awaited and much needed product in South Africa and I have no doubt that the tool will play an integral role in our Green Building Practices  and Principles in the future,”  

-Beth McKellar-Basset  (Green Communities)

"Researching and maintaining my own database of green materials and suppliers has consumed considerable time and energy over the years. Ecospecifier provides an up-to-date, independently verified resource which contains a treasure trove of materials, allowing greenbuilding practitioners to concentrate their efforts on developing and implementing effective green solutions."

-Peter Lucas  (NaturalWonder: Sustainable green-building solutions)

"In our work, which involves the promotion of sustainable procurement practices in South Africa, the limited number of local verification schemes available to validate the claims of green products is of concern. This is particularly problematic in that the expertise regarding green procurement in the supply chain management function in the country is lacking. In the absence of independent green verification schemes, supply chain professionals fear the misrepresentation of environmental attributes of products and the lack of transparency as to production methods and components. A service such as ecospecifier will provide guidance for the identification and verification of green products in the construction sector, which will go a long way towards promoting the use of green products while minimizing the threat of greenwash."

-Helen Davies (Incite Sustainability)

"As a design firm, we want to spend maximum time on design. Therefore, ecospecifier is our first and last stop in specifiying materials as the research is done for us already."

-Gerard Reinmuth (Terroir Architects, Darling Island Workplace 6 Architect, 1st 6 Green Star certified building under Office Design v2)

"Increasingly, we are using only products with good environmental criteria. ecospecifier is an invaluable resource to assist us in making that evaluation."

-Kerryn Wilmot (Willams Boag Pty Ltd Architects)

"ecospecifier is a well presented and reputable source of 'green' products and sytems which we find a lot of consultants that we deal with use in their research work."

-Mikael Carlstrom (Composite Systems)

"We found filling out your form a positive & thought provoking experience. Filling in the form not only made us think about the environmental aspects of the products in question but also alerted us to other environmental factors that we had not previously considered, both in relation to our products & overall business practices. This has had a positive effect on our future plans for all areas of our business & how we can reduce the ecological footprint of our operations.  We look forward to working with the ecospecifier team in the future & we firmly believe that increased dialogue & cooperation between manufactures & specifiers will certainly help our cause of improving practical environmental outcomes."

- Bob Cameron (Managing Director - Rockcote Enterprises Pty Ltd)

"ecospecifer is a world-class tool that deserves global input and attention. No other software tool helps designers and specifiers make decisions on products in such a scientifically, environmentally based protocol. I am impressed and sincerely anxious about seeing ecospecifier gain the global recognition it deserves."

- Dr Kath Williams (Fulbright Senior Specialist - Past Vice Chair, U.S. Green Building Council) 

"ecospecifier has been invaluable in the design process. Not only does it provide product information, it educates users in understanding the background environmental and health issues, thus enabling priorities for particular projects to be set based on the specific project circumstances.  This in turn allows an analysis of a particular product, or system, or building approach against project specific environmental and health criteria’.

- Natasha Palich (Architect - William Boag Architects)

"ecospecifier is a one-stop shop for eco-friendly products and represents great value as it saves our staff an enormous amount of research time."

- Martyn Potter (Tech Manager - Defence Maintenance Management)