A new environmental product declaration scheme will provide greater clarity about the sustainability of products, following its creation by the Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society and the Life Cycle Association of New Zealand.

The scheme will provide more information about the sustainability of products through a system that takes into account a product’s material and energy inputs, as well as its environmental impact.

Three sessions for the Australasian Environmental Product Declaration Programme will take place at DesignBUILD 2015, which is being held at the Sydney Showground on the 29 April.

Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society president Rob Rouwette said that the transparent nature of the program, “helps avoid vague, unsupported green claims,” along with other positive benefits.

The scheme sits alongside other sustainability rating systems such as Green Star, introduced in 2003, that serve as guidelines for environmentally responsible practice for built environment professionals.

The program has been operating in Australia and New Zealand since 2014, and is based on an international model.

The Australian Life Cycle Asssessment Society has also called for suitably qualified independent verifiers to register with the program.