Gecco's Blog » Eco Friends

RICS Publish new Eco Guidelines for Office Refurbs

Angie@Gecco — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:39:21 +0000

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors RICS has released a new Benchmark and certification process called the Ska Rating, that will help designers and contractors measure the environmental impact of their office refurbishment

The Ska-Rating lists 99 measures of good practice ranging from upgrading lighting schemes to how to dispose of the old carpet – or even if you should! Older, more established schemes such as those provdied by LEED and Breeam covered the entire building and transport beyond, which was difficult for those simply renovating an office in one or two floors of the building. The Ska rating scheme was launched in November of 2009 and is currently being explained to the industry through a series of trade seminars. Having attended one such seminar last week, I was encouraged by the desire and now ability to measure the carbon footprint of an office refurb. The online tool is very easy to use and can be seen as a guideline that will assist in any project whether or not the client wishes to have the full assessment made once it is complete.

The Ska rating committee are looking to expand the remit beyond office refurbishment into retail and hospitality and eventually into the domestic arena. Then it will become really interesting! Best of luck to RICS and Ska!

Symbol Savvy: Organic Certification Explained

James@Gecco — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:16:26 +0000

We all love a little natural pampering and keeping our skin in tiptop condition. But, did you know that any beauty product that says it is natural or organic doesn’t have to be?

Within the UK, there is currently no existing government legislation or definition that states what natural and organic beauty is. So: time for a New Year and a New You. If you want to be your own organic beauty this year, then why not become symbol savvy so you can make an informed choice?

We are what we put on our skin and without certification, beauty brands can dupe us into thinking that products that have potentially harmful chemicals within them are in fact natural, animal and eco friendly.

Jen Marsden writes… to view the full article click here

Gecco Interiors at Ethical Junction

developer — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:43:25 +0000

Gecco Interiors are proud to be the latest members of Ethical Junction

Ethical Junction brings together businesses and consumers who share a commitment to ethical values. Their directory gives easy access to products and services while ‘Pulse’, its news forum, is the source of up to date information on events as well as opinions and comment.

Visit Ethical Junction here