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How to Get a 100% Green Star Rating for Your Floor Covering in Three Simple Steps

Calculating your green star rating can often be a difficult and confusing process when building a new office or undergoing a refurbishment. Thankfully when it comes to your floor coverings, it can be very easy to achieve a 100% green star rating. According to the GBCA, re-used content is defined as "...the amount of an item by area, length, volume or mass (the metric chosen must be justified) that is sourced from a product or material that has already fulfilled its originally intended use". Reusable floor covering options can include second hand commercial carpet, carpet tiles and vinyl flooring.

Here are three simple steps to ensure your company achieves a 100% green star rating for your floor coverings:

1. Work out what material you are planning to use. Is it new, reused or environmentally innovative? Can you achieve the same objectives by sourcing a secondhand commercial floor covering rather than new.

2. Selecting a secondhand (reusable) floor covering in your new office or refurbishment means you will be automatically be awarded a 100% item score in the Green Star Flooring Calculator (available from Green Building Council Australia's website).

3. Get credits in the Waste Management section of the Green Star rating tools (section #7) by having a carpet recycling company pick up your existing floor coverings who will then reuse that product (turning it into mats, offcuts and / or on-selling to different markets etc). Relevant supporting documentation needs to be recorded, including square meterage and weight in order to track and measure the environmental saving.

Achieving a green star rating is that simple and can have enormous benefits for your company, from decreasing operating costs through to increasing your competitive advantage and attracting more tenancy. If you want your business to be recognized as a leader in the environmental landscape then consider getting a green star rating for your building and make life simple by using second hand commercial carpet or used carpet tiles as your choice of floor covering.

Melbourne based business, McMats Recycled Carpets has been supplying second hand commercial carpet and carpet tiles for over 18 years to a wide variety of markets. They have supplied second hand commercial carpet and carpet tiles in hundreds of schools and investment properties, domestic and office environments, churches and clubs. They will supply their product Australia wide and can send out relevant samples to all areas, including country areas. McMats is a family based business and is the largest supplier of secondhand commercial floor coverings in the Southern Hemisphere. Using McMats to help your company achieve a green star rating is a win win for all. They can not only supply reusable commercial floor coverings, they can salvage existing commercial floor coverings.

Visit McMats for more info or phone (03) 9761 4451.