Blog Archives | Solid Green Consulting
The Solid Green blog features the latest in green industry news from here in South Africa and around the world, and documents our journey as we continue to make waves as a major player in the South African Green Building landscape. Join us for the ride!
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Your Support in 2018
In the last two years, Solid Green has more than doubled the number of Green Building Certifications in its portfolio! To date, we have obtained 63 Green Star Certifications and 2 LEED Certifications, including 32 Green Star Office certifications, 15 Green Star Interior certifications, and 6 Green Star EBP (Existing Building Performance) ratings.
+11th December 2018
Boogertman Interior: 5-Star Interior Rating on Round 1
The interior scheme of Boogertman + Partners’ new Johannesburg office, in the Main Straight Office Park in Bryanston, achieved a 5-Star Interiors rating on round 1 of its Green Star submission thanks to a number of innovative green design features.
+29th November 2018
Linden Vleihuis: Reintroducing Biodiversity into Urban Living
In September 2018, Solid Green demonstrated sector leadership when the Vleihuis Development in Linden, Johannesburg, achieved Net Zero Certifications from the GBCSA for Carbon, Water and Ecology.
+29th November 2018
Sustainable Transport Transitions
As urban environments either push or pull us into sustainable modes of transport, Jessé Hamman, Sustainable Building Consultant at Solid Green, shares her personal behavioural shift from single-occupant vehicle use to carpooling, commuting and cycling.
+27th November 2018
Challenge: Plastic-free Month
Recently the media has paid a lot of attention to single-use plastics products – from takeaway coffee cups and straws to plastic bags – and the amount of plastic and microplastic waste in the oceans. Gavin Westbrook, Sustainable Building Consultant at Solid Green, set himself the challenge of going plastic-free for a month.
+27th November 2018
Green Building Convention & Awards 2018
Solid Green took centre stage at the Green Building Council Leadership Awards, held on 4 October 2018 at the 11th Annual Green Building Convention’s gala dinner at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town.
+10th October 2018
Nomamfengu Mbele: Realising Holistic Development
Nomamfengu Mbele is a young graduate with an Honours Degree in Urban & Regional Planning, who is engaging head on with the opportunities around sustainable precincts offered through her work experience at Solid Green.
+9th October 2018
Towards Zero Waste Living
As an urbanizing consumer society, the amount of waste we produce is growing significantly with the result that our landfill spaces are filling up and our municipal waste services will become more expensive as time goes on. Zendré Compion investigates.
+9th October 2018
Marloes Reinink : Property Business Woman of the Year 2018
On 23 October 2018, at the national 4th South African Women in Property Awards (SAWIPA), Marloes Reinink was named Business Woman of the Year: Entrepreneur.
+17th September 2018
South African team takes MultiComfort House Students Contest
Saint-Gobain recently presented the awards for the international final of its 14th MultiComfort House Students Contest following the competition held in Dubai (United Arab Emirates).
+31st July 2018
Main Straight C: Boogertman + Partners Head Office
The Main Straight Office Park, Block C, owned by RPP Developments, and designed and occupied by Boogertman + Partners, has been awarded a 4-Star Green Star Design Office v1.1 rating. Solid Green was the sustainability consultant on the certification.
+31st July 2018
Mon Trésor: Mauritius’ first Green Star certification
The Mon Trésor Business Gateway, a 13,500sqm office park in the district of Grand Port, has recently become the first project in Mauritius to receive a Green Star certification, achieving a 4-Star Green Star SA Office v1.1 Design rating in July 2018.
+31st July 2018
Solid Green scores its Half Century on Green Building Certifications!
This year, Solid Green Consulting celebrates the achievement of more than 50 certifications, demonstrating the company’s ongoing leadership in the African Green Building sector.
+31st July 2018
Standard Bank improves its EBP rating
In April 2018, the Standard Bank Global Leadership Centre (GLC) achieved a 5-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance (EBP) v1 rating. Owned and operated by the Standard Bank of South Africa (SBSA), the building’s performance has improved over the last 3 years, enabling a higher certification than its initial 2015 4-Star EBP Pilot rating.
+29th May 2018
Drive towards Sustainable Transportation
In the last five years, Solid Green has made sustainable transport a priority, successfully encouraging its employees to rethink their transport options, and enabling people to move away from private car use.
+28th May 2018
Nedbank’s Lakeview Phase II
Nedbank has once again confirmed its commitment to driving green building in the property sector with the second phase of the Lakeview office park, which achieved a 4-Star Green Star Office V1.1 Design certification early in March this year.
+28th May 2018
Solid Green’s Offices on the Biophilic Map
Leading the green building sector, Solid Green has achieved another First with its own office being the first project in Africa to make it onto the Biophilic Map.
+21st May 2018
Oxford Parks: A catalyst for urban regeneration
Oxford Parks, which officially broke ground in April 2017, is envisaged to be a sustainable and cosmopolitan medium-density urban environment that brings 300,000sqm of development rights to the Dunkeld Precinct linking Illovo to Rosebank along Oxford Road in Johannesburg.
+21st May 2018
Mbombela Square
Mbombela Square, part of a new spatial development framework, is the first Green Star rated project in Mbombela, having recently received a 4-Star Green Star Office v1 certification. The multi-use development comprises office and retail space within easy walking distance of restaurants and other amenities.
+28th March 2018
A Boost for Small Green Business
Earlier this year, Marloes Reinink, Director of Solid Green Consulting and GreenED, was selected for the J.P. Morgan GIBS Small Business Boost Programme, a 10-month business management scholarship at GIBS that is specifically focused on optimising opportunities for businesses in the green economy.
+26th March 2018
EDGE certification for Belhar Gardens
Belhar Gardens Rental Estate in the Western Cape is the first affordable housing project in South Africa to achieve an EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) certification from the Green Building Council South Africa. Solid Green was the EDGE Auditor on the certification.
+26th March 2018
Solid Green Internship: Mapula Matlakala
From its inception, Solid Green has taken the practice of mentoring students very seriously. Here, Mapula Matlakala shares her experience of working as a young, enthusiastic member of the Solid Green team.
+26th March 2018
Living Building Challenge – A reality for South Africa?
The Living Building Challenge is possibly the most rigorous green building certification programme and sustainable design framework in the world. Developed by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) with the mandate of leading transformation toward a civilization that is socially just, culturally rich, and ecologically restorative, the Living Building Challenge standard raises the bar for sustainable development globally.
+26th March 2018
Food Choices and the Environment
As a veteran vegetarian, Marloes Reinink has recently made the transition to an entirely plant-based diet. Here she shares her experience, as well as some key motivating facts and figures about how our food choices affect the environment.
+5th February 2018
GreenBuild 2017 Boston – CASE STUDIES
GreenBuild 2017, the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building, was held in Boston in November 2017. Solid Green’s Marloes Reinink and Gavin Westbrook share some of the case studies that were featured over three days in 14 educational parallel sessions.
+5th February 2018
Greenovate Awards 2017
Held for the third time in 2017, the Greenovate Awards are a joint initiative by Growthpoint Properties and the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA), and seek to recognise innovative solutions by students, to environmental challenges for the property industry.
+5th February 2018
Online Green Education with a Click
Technology is in the process of changing both how knowledge is delivered and the educational process itself, and the speed of this change is likely to accelerate in the next few years. GreenED is a new online learning resource that seeks to meet the requirements and expectations of the African green building market.
+5th February 2018
The Race to Zero: 78 Corlett Drive
As one of the first projects in Africa to be certified Net Zero, 78 Corlett Drive in Johannesburg is leading the local green building sector into a new phase of evolution. The project was awarded a Net Zero Carbon (Pilot) Level 1 Certification in late November 2017, and a 6-star Green Star Office V1.1 Design certification in January 2018.
+5th February 2018
Solid Highlights for 2017!
Solid Green’s drive to demonstrate green building sector leadership certainly paid off in 2017, with a number of ‘Firsts’ and highlights to celebrate. In doing so, we wish to thank all those who have been part of our journey, and look forward to working with you in 2018!
+6th December 2017
GreenBuild 2017 Boston
Solid Green’s Marloes Reinink and Gavin Westbrook visited Boston from 6 to 10 November to attend GreenBuild 2017, the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. Here they share their experiences, which included sessions on industry leadership, cutting edge technologies, development in green building certification systems and courses.
+6th December 2017
Energy Efficiency: the way forward for Nigeria
On 29 August 2017, Nigeria’s first Building Energy Efficiency Code (BEEC) was officially launched in Abuja by the Federal Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). Solid Green was commissioned as technical consultant on the project, and Director, Chilufya Lombe, spoke at the launch event.
+6th December 2017
Hack4Climate and Blockchain Technology
Coinciding with the recent COP 23 event in Bonn, Germany, Cleantech21 hosted the hack4climate hackathon in November. The focus of this event was to bring together Developers and Climate Experts to build innovative solutions to fight climate change. Solid Green’s Warren Gray shares his experience.
+6th December 2017
Motivated by the Possibility of Change – RACA Journal
Solid Green sustainability consultant, Alex Varughese, was featured in the October edition of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Africa, speaking about his plans for his career in the green building sector, and how he is motivated by the possibility of changing the world.
+6th December 2017
78 Corlett Drive Overview
A new contemporary office development located a stone’s throw from Melrose Arch along Corlett Drive in Johannesburg, 78 Corlett Drive, aims to set a new standard of vibrant and trendy co-working office spaces in a cutting edge 6-star Green Star certified building.
+29th September 2017
Roadshow – Support for Residential Projects
In response to popular demand, Solid Green is planning a roadshow around South Africa to share new industry knowledge on initiatives, services and rating tools designed to improve the performance of homes, and to make the certification of residential projects easy and efficient.
+29th September 2017
Organic Waste – What to do?
Have you ever felt frustrated with the food waste that you throw away, knowing that it will be sent to landfill, and not knowing what could be done instead? To address this problem in its own office, Solid Green introduced both a worm farm and a Bokashi composting system.
+29th September 2017
Sandton Gate pilots new Sustainable Precincts Tool
Strategically located on William Nicol Drive within minutes of Sandton, Hyde Park, Rosebank and Bryanston, Sandton Gate is an ambitious mixed-use development that will seamlessly integrate commercial, residential and retail space with a number of lifestyle amenities in a connected, green, pedestrian-friendly precinct.
+26th September 2017
Streetlight Schools: Wellness in Education
In keeping with sustainable school design and child mental health development, Streetlight Schools has developed a Wellness Education Policy that specifically focuses on young learners’ wellbeing and health.
+26th September 2017
Creating Sustainable Cities
Marloes Reinink highlights a number of strategies for developing sustainable cities that enhance liveability, create economic opportunities and foster environmental responsibility through a pragmatic vision and design excellence.
+31st July 2017
The Return of the Geyser
Warren Gray explores the business case and regulatory framework for a combined resistance hot-water heater with photovoltaic energy solution – turning geysers into batteries.
+30th July 2017
Alice Lane: Sustainability at its Core
The Alice Lane precinct in the heart of the Sandton CBD comprises three Green Star SA certified buildings around a central open piazza that brings a new dimension of pedestrian interaction to the area. Solid Green was the green building consultant on all three buildings.
+28th July 2017
Water: Capture, Filter and Reuse
The supply of fresh potable water is an issue that continues to generate considerable media attention. Gavin Westbrook investigates the principle causes of water shortages and looks at positive actions that can be taken to mitigate the problem.
+27th July 2017
Pioneering energy efficiency and green advocacy in Africa – Asset Magazine
Solid Green was featured in the July 2017 edition of Asset, with a profile piece on Solid Green Consulting director Chilufya Lombe, who chats about green building advocacy and why resource-efficient development is becoming the status quo throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
+27th July 2017
2017 EcoDistricts Incubator, Portland Oregon
In April, USAID Low-Emissions Development (USAID-LED) co-sponsored three South African project teams to attend the 2017 EcoDistricts Incubator in Portland, Oregon, USA. Zendré Compion from Solid Green was privileged to be able to participate in this exciting learning experience.
+25th May 2017
There and Back Again
Following his trip to Cape Town in the BMW i3 REX, Warren Gray decided to undertake a more quantitative recollection of the return to Johannesburg, investigating the real-world performance figures of this enlightening drive.
+25th May 2017
National English Literary Museum acquires 5-Star Green Star SA PEB v1 As Built Rating
The National English Literary Museum was the first Public & Education (PEB) building in South Africa to achieve a 5-Star Green Star SA Design rating, and it can now add an impressive 5-Star Green Star SA PEB v1 As-Built certification to its list of achievements.
+25th May 2017
Standard Bank Leads Transformation in Sustainable Interiors
With 10 branches achieving 4-Star Green Star SA Interiors certifications in May 2017, Standard Bank is continuing to demonstrate sector leadership and its commitment to providing healthy and comfortable interior environments for both staff and clients.
+25th May 2017
Streetlight Schools: Sustainable Awareness in Education
Streetlight Schools have developed a Sustainable Education Awareness Program – which has been developed with a specific focus on young learners’ wellbeing – to teach learners new behaviours in using resources optimally from an early age, writes Solid Green’s Jesse Hamman.
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15th May 2017
Bitcoin not batteries: converting excess solar power into money
Solid Green director Warren Gray looks at the business case of ditching batteries and feed-in-tariffs altogether in favour of a less conventional approach to profiting from solar power.
+4th April 2017
Support for Residential Certifications
Solid Green offers a range of services and products designed to improve the performance of homes, and to make the certification of residential projects easy and efficient.
+31st March 2017
Pegasus, Menlyn Maine
Menlyn Maine Pegasus was the very first building registered with the GBCSA for a Green Star SA rating in 2009. In 2015, the project’s 4-Star Green Star SA Office v1 Design rating was the twentieth certification facilitated by Solid Green Consulting, and the development received its 4-Star Green Star SA As-built rating in December 2016.
+30th March 2017
Rethinking Waste as a Resource
Annelide Sherratt, Sustainable Building Consultant at Solid Green, explains the impact of current waste management practices and how we, as individuals, can play a proactive role in limiting the harmful effects of waste on both our health and the environment.
+30th March 2017
Trend Analysis: Greening Interiors
In response to market demand for spaces that foster improved well-being and higher productivity, interior design priorities are shifting from aesthetics and branding towards healthy and sustainable indoor environments – as ever, Solid Green is at the forefront of these new trends.
+30th March 2017
Green Building Past, Present and Future
With the GBCSA certifying its 200th project in 2016 and with ten rating tools in operation, green building is quickly becoming the new ‘business as usual’ across all building typologies.
+31st January 2017
A Year as a Solid Intern
Derisha Govender shares her experiences of sustainability in the built environment: its ability to solve problems while contributing towards meaningful and beautiful architecture; and how the skills that she learned will inform her choices in the future.
+31st January 2017
Residential Modelling: Case Study
Extensive modelling exercises were undertaken for a four-bedroom house on Waterfall Estate, Johannesburg – and the results yielded significant improvements in terms of energy and cost efficiency for this new home, with a 30% overall improvement in HVAC energy from optimising the building fabric.
+26th January 2017
New Green Building Benchmarks for Waterfall
Two new green buildings are setting benchmarks for sustainable development in the Waterfall area – the Attacq/Schneider Electric office building is targeting a LEED Gold certification while the Waterfall Public Transport Holding Facility is the first project to achieve a 5-Star Green Star SA PEB v1 rating.
+25th January 2017
Oh, the Places you’ll Charge
From Johannesburg to Cape Town via the Drakensberg and Eastern Cape, Solid Green’s Warren Gray shares his experiences of road tripping in South Africa in the BMW i3.
+25th January 2017
Our Year in 2016
With green building forecast to double globally by 2018, market awareness of the benefits of health and wellbeing in the built environment grew significantly over the last year, in line with savings in consumption of resources and related costs.
+14th December 2016
Green Star Communities Tool gets underway
Together with TAP Properties and Urban Reflection, Solid Green has recently been appointed to develop the Local Context Report for the new Green Star SA Communities Tool. Solid Green is also the consultant on four of the thirteen projects that will be piloting the tool – Dunkeld, Sandton Gate, Melrose Arch and Menlyn Maine.
+25th October 2016
Energy Savings for Homes
As home owners become more conscious of their energy consumption – for reasons of both cost and supply reliability – new software is closing the loop between consumption and our understanding and management of it.
+25th October 2016
Green Building in West Africa
Rapid urbanisation in most of sub-Saharan Africa has created a substantial need for infrastructure and energy efficiency. Solid Green is excited to be involved in meeting this need, having been appointed to assist the Federal Republic of Nigeria in developing a Nigerian Building Energy Efficiency code by April 2017.
+25th October 2016
4 Green Stars for 4 Stan Road
Solid Green is proud of its involvement in 4 Stan Road – a slick, sculptural eight-storey intervention in the heart of Sandton – which was recently given Green Star certification and awarded Best Quality Submission at the most recent Green Star SA Leadership Awards.
+24th October 2016
Solid Green Offices Awarded Prestigious LEED Green Building Certification
Solid Green recently achieved the LEED Platinum certification for commercial interiors for its Rosebank offices. The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system is the foremost programme for design, construction, maintenance and operation of structures for high levels of environmental and health performance.
+5th October 2016
Standard Bank: Green Star SA Interiors Ratings Nationwide
Through its commitment to sustainability, Standard Bank is targeting Green Star SA Interiors certifications for 10 new branch refurbishments in 2016 across South Africa – a worthwhile investment in terms of overall operational benefits.
+26th August 2016
Green Star SA Leadership Awards
In 2016, Solid Green again took top honours at the Green Building Convention – hosted by the Green Building Council South Africa – in three out of four Green Star SA Leadership Awards categories.
+26th August 2016
Solid Insight: Your One-Stop Solution
Whether used as a live dashboard in a building foyer, for carbon-emissions reporting or to manage distributed solar production, Solid Insight brings energy and water data to the age of cloud computing.
+24th August 2016
Test Driving our Electric Cars
Solid Green’s BMW i3 and Nissan Leaf gave delegates at the Green Building Convention 2016 a taste of the future of transport.
+24th August 2016
Our New EDGE Accredited Professionals
Solid Green congratulates our eight new EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) Accredited Professionals!
+24th August 2016
Six stars for Solid Green’s own offices
In being awarded SA’s first 6-Star Green Star SA Interiors v1 certification for its Rosebank offices, Solid Green has achieved a significant milestone – demonstrating, once again, its commitment to sustainable building design, practice and innovation.
+8th July 2016
Revolutionising Energy Efficiency Simulation in the design of homes
The engineers at Solid Green have been applying their minds to reducing the cost and difficulty of performing Energy Efficiency Simulation, producing a bespoke software and automation solution that answers the most common architectural questions on projects.
+6th July 2016
Seed Capital: Jozi Urban Farms
The urban farming movement is a challenge to ideas about growing food in the city, planting on sidewalks, roofs, sports fields, in alleyways or in underutilised spaces. Solid Green – soon to launch an urban farming project in Rosebank – is excited to discover the local movement is maturing.
+6th July 2016
EDGE Services
How does EDGE work? The developer and professional team perform a self-assessment of the proposed design. They may get a sustainability consultant to help them achieve EDGE compliance and ensure all details are correctly entered into…
+19th May 2016
Heritage & regeneration: The Mix in Sophiatown
With a 5-Star Green Star SA Public and Education Buildings certification targeted, Solid Green’s pro bono involvement with The Mix’s Trevor Huddleston CR Memorial Building – a cultural, heritage and enterprise space in Sophiatown hosting the Sophiatown Green Incubator and serving as a venue for film, theatre, dance and arts ventures – is a point of pride for the company.
+11th May 2016
Implementing a comprehensive green vision
With a full range of expert services, Solid Green demonstrates its resolve to stay at the cutting edge of green-building accreditation and data management, and to make it easy for clients to implement the best building practices, invest in the financial and operational benefits of greening, and match demand for designs that benefit health and productivity.
+11th May 2016
Solid Insight targets Green City Startup top three
Solid Green looks forward to August when Johannesburg’s Green City Startup will decide if Solid Insight, Solid Green’s data- and resource-management platform, places in the Green City Startup top three, a placement which promises between R300 000 and R1 million in prizes and development grants.
+11th May 2016
Google (JHB) awarded 5-star Green Star SA Interiors certification
Having clinched the International Green Interior Award 2015 – aided by strong teamwork between Solid Green and Ecocentric Green Building Consultants – Google’s Johannesburg office has now been awarded 5-star Green Star SA Interiors certification.
+11th May 2016
4 Stan Road receives 4-Star plaque
The 4 Stan Road development – this boutique office development in the heart of Sandton recently received an award plaque for its 4-star Green Star SA Office v1 Design certification. The building has two distinct aspects: the façade facing Stan Road and a north-facing façade which is a fully glazed unitised performance façade.
+15th April 2016
Health is the new Green!
Health is a much neglected aspect of building green. Marloes Reinink explains how Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), which is concerned with (among other things) daylight, fresh air, thermal comfort and views, can be crucial to ensuring that buildings are healthy spaces for occupants.
+29th February 2016
EDGE: Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies
The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA), The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and The National Home Builder Registration Council (NHBRC) are to partner with Solid Green Consulting to implement the EDGE standard in South Africa, involving a 20% reduction in building energy use, water use, and embodied material energy.
+29th February 2016
Streetlight Schools: Leading the way in Green Education
2016 sees Streetlight Schools launch its first project in a mixed-use development near Jeppe Park – at the heart of Johannesburg’s inner city. With Solid Green in consultation, the school’s operational location at Jeppe Park Primary has been awarded a 4-Star Green Star SA Interiors rating.
+29th February 2016
Solid Green Takes Top Honours At 2015 Green Star Awards
Solid Green’s strong performance at the 2015 Green Star SA Leadership Awards marks its continuing success and expansion. Once again, the company has shown that it is at the top-tier of the South African green-building industry with its work on the Monte Circle Building A building and 6-Star-rated Upper Grayston building in Sandton, Johannesburg.
+12th November 2015
Standard Bank Simmonds Street Rating in Asset magazine
The recent 5 Star Green Star SA Interiors Rating for Standard Bank Simmonds Street, with Solid Green as consultants, has been featured in the September edition of Asset magazine. The article discusses the significance of this certification.
+26th October 2015
Solid Green celebrated in online media
Menlyn Maine’s Pegasus, Solid Green’s 20th Green Star SA certification has been celebrated in Property Wheel and Asset. The online journals discusses the significance of this achievement and why Solid Green has become a prominent leader in the industry.
+26th October 2015
The grass is greener – Solid Green in Asset
Solid Green has been featured in the September edition of Asset, the commercial property magazine with substance. The article features an interview with Solid Green Consulting founder Marloes Reinink where she chats about her lifelong interest in sustainability and why the industry still has a long way to go
+26th October 2015
4 Stars for Pegasus marks Solid Green milestone
With the certification of Menlyn Maine, Solid Green achieved its 20th Green Star SA certification – an impressive total comprising a substantial portion of all Green Star SA certifications, as acknowledged by Manfred Braune, Chief Technical Officer at the Green Building Council South Africa, earlier this year.
+26th October 2015
Complete your SANS10400 XA assessments online
Introducing Solid XA, an innovative web app developed by Solid Green to take the hassle out of completing and submitting your SANS10400 XA Rational Path to Compliance assessments. Get an instant quote on your assessment and create and manage your projects for free easily through your web browser.
+7th October 2015
Solid Green certified LEVEL 2 B-BBEE Contributor
Solid Green has been certified as a LEVEL 2 Contributor to B-BBEE for 2015-16 achieving an overall score of 88.46 out of 100 as a Qualifying Small Enterprise. LEVEL 2 is the second highest rating and denotes a 135% BEE recognition level. Download Certificate.
+7th May 2015
Block F first 6 Star Green Star Building in Joburg
Upper Grayston Block F, with Solid Green as the sustainable building consultant, has become the first building to achieve a 6 Star Green Star SA Office v1 As built Rating in Gauteng. The office block, situated just off Ann Cresent in the heart of Sandton, has been lauded as demonstrating ‘World Leadership’ in the South African sustainability sphere.
+20th March 2015
Green Building Interiors
Marloes presented at the CPD seminar titled Enhanced Green Building Ratings using Product Certification and Life Cycle Assessment.
+3rd March 2015