Zetco GreenTag Certification
The Global GreenTag certification scheme is operated by Global GreenTag Pty Ltd, a wholly owned private sector company with no affiliation, financial interests or pecuniary involvement in the manufacturing sector.
Global GreenTag Pty Ltd is a third-party verified ISO 17065 Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) that conducts the GreenTag Certification program, an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) approved Certification (Series) Mark undertaking product-focused environmental, health, ethical and social responsibility assessments of products and their manufacturers in accordance with this standard.
The program is also conducted in accordance with:
- ISO 14024 – 'Environmental labels and declarations - Type I environmental labelling - Principles and procedures'
- ISO 14025 -'Environmental Product Declarations' and other normative standards'.
GreenTag integrates a holistic life-cycle based product assessment approach with a sub-scheme designed to achieve the Certification requirements of various Green Building Councils including "Green Building Council of Australia's Part I- Criteria for Evaluating Product Certification Schemes" document required for third party certification of specific Green Star credits.
The GreenTag objective is to:
- provide internationally relevant certification of a reliable and consistent, third party, scientifically assessed, life cycle assessment-based product rating
- simplify the green product selection
- help purchasers and specifiers make their decisions in full light of the ecological, quality, health, resource and social impacts of their product selection.
It is also designed to provide multi-factor, multi-scheme green building rating system information to assist global Applicants presenting consistent, globally relevant information about ecological, health and socially preferred products in a way that allows direct numerical comparison between products. The numerical comparison between products :
- drive product improvement
- reduce impacts
- promote restoration of living systems globally.
GreenTag Certified Valves
WaterMark certification scheme requires plumbing products to be certified as safe, fit for purpose, and compliant with Australian Standards before they can be installed in plumbing and drainage systems. On 21 April 2023, the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) confirmed Australians standard are changing and that relevant copper alloy plumbing products would need to meet new lower lead level requirements by 1 May 2026. This decision comes after the Macquarie University's study "Lead in Plumbing Products and Materials" identified there was potential for lead to leach from copper alloys in contact with drinking water.
To ensure plumbing products meet these new lower lead requirements in Australia they must pass two test types:
- A lead-leaching test. This done using the AS/NZS 4020 standard. This test report is valid for 5 years. The tested amount of lead leached into the water must be below the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG).
- A lead-content test. This is done using the NSF 372 compliant composition test. NSF 372 is an US standard, accepted by Plumbing Code of Australia (Volume Three of the National Construction Code). Under the standard a weighted average of no more than 0.25% lead for most products, and 0.2% for solders and fluxes meets the lead-free requirements.
The term 'lead free' is defined in Plumbing Code of Australia 2022 (PCA) as 'where a plumbing product or material in contact with drinking water has a weighted average lead content of not more than 0.25%'.
In addition to being lead free, copper alloys in contact with drinking water are still required to meet the standards for dezincification resistance (DZR), further ensuring public safety and product reliability.
All copper and stainless-steel alloys used in Zetco 3050 Series have a lead content of less than 0.25% and every component is not plated with chrome or nickel.
Chrome plating (specifically hexavalent chromium) and nickel plating pose significant health risks, including skin and respiratory issues like dermatitis, asthma, and ulcers, as well as potential cancer, kidney damage, and nasal septum perforation. Exposure routes are typically inhalation of fumes or mists and skin contact.
Information on health effects of chrome or nickel plating are available in the following documents:
- Nickel: Human Health and Environmental Toxicology – PMC Pubmed Central – Article PMCID: PMC7037090 (2020)
- Chromium technical fact sheet – SafeWork NSW (2023)
Copper and stainless-steel alloys used in Zetco 3050 Series have been tested and show content of arsenic and bismuth below 0.01%.
COPPER AND STAINLESS STEEL ALLOY TEST RESULTS
| Copper alloy (CW724R) | USL Report A |
| Stainless steel alloy (SS316) | USL Report B |
The WaterMark certification scheme will continue to set the standards for all plumbing products authorised for use in plumbing and drainage systems in Australia. After May 1st 2026, only plumbing products that carry the new Lead Free WaterMark will be authorised for use in applications involving drinking water.
In the lead-up to May 1st 2026, Zetco will be transitioning its wide range of WaterMarked ball valves to lead free replacements, to ensure that its range continues to provide optimal levels of performance and safety.
Environmentally conscious buyers trust the reputation of Global GreenTag certification to select high quality, independently tested products they can rely on to deliver outstanding performance without costing the planet.
The Zetco 3050 series is Australia's first GreenTag certified ball valve. Constructed of lead free dezincification resistant brass, the range is also bismuth free, arsenic free, and doesn’t use chrome or nickel plating in the manufacturing process.
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Gold award is given to products than do not contain added chemical ingredients of very high concern, except from natural/trace contamination of raw materials. Gold is the second highest level of achievement under the LCA Rate program and indicates a product which is in the 'world leading' position of its market category. |
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The GreenRateTM Level A is given to products that demonstrate they meet each of the PAC requirements which include:
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