Sustainable Flooring Australia: How to Choose Healthier, Independently Certified Options

Conscious Choices

Building From the Ground Up

Flooring and tiling are often among the largest surface areas in any Australian home. Whether you're building new or renovating, these materials influence indoor air quality, durability, comfort, and environmental impact for decades.

From a green materials assessment perspective, the choices you make at ground level can either lock in long-term performance and healthier living conditions—or introduce avoidable risks. In Australia's varied climate zones, from humid subtropical Queensland to cool temperate Victoria and Tasmania, selecting appropriate, sustainable flooring Australia homeowners can rely on is both a design and a health decision.

This article is a general overview, mainly focusing on tiling and PVC/LVT options and will deal with softer flooring (carpets) and solid and laminated timbers options in future installments.

Better for You. Better for the Planet

When assessing green building materials, we focus on four core considerations:

1. Indoor air quality and low VOC/toxicity considerations

• Flooring products can emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particularly from adhesives, coatings and synthetic or even natural components. Low VOC flooring helps reduce indoor pollutant loads—especially important in well-sealed, energy-efficient homes where fresh air exchange may be limited. Non-toxic flooring has been cleared of compounds and residuals that might have long term effects on health of e.g. crawling toddlers, floor loungers or even pets.

2. Environmental impact and lifecycle thinking

• Responsible material selection goes beyond surface appearance. It considers raw material sourcing, manufacturing impacts, embodied carbon, durability and end-of-life pathways. Products designed for longevity reduce replacement frequency, waste and lifecycle emissions.

3. Durability and long-term performance

• Australian homes face UV exposure, moisture, thermal movement and heavy wear. Durable tiles and resilient flooring systems that resist cracking, delamination or premature wear contribute to both sustainability and cost efficiency.

4. Climate relevance

• In warm regions, tiles can provide thermal mass and cooling benefits. In cooler climates, resilient and soft flooring may offer thermal comfort when paired with insulation and appropriate underlays.

The Greenwashing Trap in Flooring & Tiles

Terms such as "eco," "green," or "natural" are frequently used without verification. Claims of "non-toxic" or "environmentally friendly" often lack supporting evidence.

Independent third-party assessment—such as Global GreenTag certification—evaluates products against transparent criteria, including health, environmental impact and ethical considerations. This helps designers, builders and homeowners distinguish substantiated performance from marketing language.

Trusted Choices: GreenTag Certified Flooring & Tile Options

The following examples are currently listed in the Global GreenTag certified products directory.

Porcelain / Ceramic Tiles

1. Keope 6mm & 9mm Porcelain Tiles--- Earp Bros

• GreenTag GreenRate Level A listed; made from raw materials such as clays, feldspars, quartz and other elements. Earp Bros offers a Product Stewardship Program to take back the products at the end of service life for recycling or reusing.

2. Porcelanosa Floor Tiles--- Porcelanosa S.A.

• GreenTag GreenRate Level A listed; Porcelanosa floor tiles are made with 6.5% of Pre-consumer Recycled Content and designed for use across a range of project types, including large surface areas in commercial and public buildings.

3. Kaolin Porcelain Tiles --- Kaolin Tiles Pty Ltd

• GreenTag GreenRate Level A listed; available in Australia and China. Porcelain tiles are highly durable, inert once installed, and suitable for high-traffic or moisture-prone areas.

4. Elephome Porcelain Tiles--- Foshan Elephome Ceramics Co., Ltd.

• GreenTag GreenRate Level A listed; Designed to be recyclable, Elephome Porcelain Tiles have been independently tested and comply with performance requirements for water absorption and slip resistance, making them appropriate for different applications.

5. Marco Polo Porcelain Tiles-- CerAsia International Sdn Bhd

• GreenTag GreenRate Level A listed; Marco Polo Porcelain Tiles are used for both internal and external wet and dry floor applications. Marco Polo's manufacturing facilities use state-of-the-art production techniques which includes photovoltaic solar power generation, recycled-water, utilization of waste heat, robotic packaging systems, recycling of industrial waste, etc, aimed at drastically reducing their carbon emission.

6. Ceramic Tiles --- Kaolin Tiles Pty Ltd

• GreenRate Level A listed; includes rustic, cement and marble slab styles. Ceramic tiles can provide a long-lasting, low-emission finish when paired with low-VOC adhesives and grouts.

Tiles, in general, are stable and low-emitting once installed. For best outcomes, ensure adhesives and grout systems are also specified as low VOC.

Vinyl / Hybrid / Resilient Plank Systems

1. Armstrong Flooring LVT/P 2.0-5.0mm (JK) --- Armstrong Flooring

• Listed GreenTag GreenRate Level A together with a Global GreenTag Product Health Declaration and PlatinumHEALTH HealthRATE certification; the luxury vinyl flooring's TVOC emission is below 0.5 mg/m3 and within Green Building TVOC threshold.

2. Expona Superplank LVT--- Polyflor

• Listed GreenTag LCARate GOLD and GreenRate Level A; are resilient luxury vinyl tiles with polyurethane surface reinforcement (PUR), that significantly reduces maintenance requirements.

3. Acczent Excellence Compact+, Ruby 70, Tapiflex Excellence 19 dB and Topaz 70--- Tarkett Australia Pty Ltd

• Listed with a GreenTag GreenRate Level A certification and Best Environmental Practice PVC certification; Top 3 benefits are Health and Eco-Toxicity, Durability and Product Stewardship. Supporting both durability and improved interior acousitics, the product is treated with Tarkett's Tektanium™ surface protection to enhance resistance to wear, stains and abrasion.

4. LVT, Loose Lay & Click --- Jiangsu Changlong Decorative Material Technical Co., Ltd

• Listed with a Global GreenTag International EN 15804 Environmental Product Declaration and a GreenRate Level A certification; this product is low VOC with a slip resistance classification of R9 based on the Shod Ramp Test and the manufacturer offers a take back scheme at the end of the product's life for recycling and reuse.

5. GH Hybrid Flooring 5.5mm–7.5mm --- Godfrey Hirst Australia Pty Ltd

• Recognised for durability and includes a take-back scheme to support responsible end-of-life management. Listed with a GreenTag GreenRate Level A certification.

6. Mipolam Affinity, Mipolam Affinity EL7, Mipolam Symbioz, Mipolam Planet, Mipolam Bio Planet --- Gerflor Australasia

• Listed with a GreenTag GreenRate Level A certification and Best Environmental Practice PVC certification; Gerflor offers a Product Stewardship Program, taking products back at the end of service life for recycling or reusing. They are a full member of Resiloop Collective Action.

7. LVT Flooring (Giming) --- Zhejiang Gimig Technology Co., Ltd

• Certified for low VOC emissions and subject to slip testing, supporting both indoor air quality and safety. Listed with a Best Environmental Practice PVC certification.

Underlay / Supporting Layers

Weathertex Trimtec Underlay --- Weathertex

• Hardwood timber underlay sheets referenced for sustainability attributes, supporting stable subfloor performance beneath finished flooring. The product is made from natural Australian hardwood timber from sustainable native forests. Product is listed with a Global GreenTag EN 15805 Environmental Product Declaration and LCARate PLATINUM Certification.

James Hardie Secura™ Interior Flooring --- James Hardie

• Hardwood timber underlay sheets referenced for sustainability attributes, supporting stable subfloor performance beneath finished flooring. Secura is a 19 or 22mm thick sheet for use as structural flooring. Dimensionally stable, it does not expand and contract from moisture or thermal movement making it the ideal substrate for wet area tiling or most floor finishes. Listed with GreenTag GreenRate Level A certification.

David Baggs' Top Tips for Smarter Material Selection

David Baggs, CEO, Technical Director & Co-founder of Global GreenTag International; award-winning green building architect; and Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects, offers the following guidance:

• Choose products with verified, third-party certification rather than relying on marketing claims.
• Consider whole-of-life performance, not just upfront cost. Consider what maintenance is likely and how long the product will last before it needs replacing. Is it stain resistant?
• Make flooring decisions early in the design stage to avoid compromised substitutions.
• Match materials to the intended use—wet areas, high-traffic and high soil zones, sun-exposed rooms and commercial food or industrial installations all require different performance characteristics.

Making Confident, Informed Decisions

Sustainable material selection is not about choosing the most expensive product or following trends. It is about evidence-based decisions that support occupant health, environmental responsibility, circularity and long-term performance to minimise whole-of-life cost.

By prioritising independently assessed eco-preferred sustainability certified tiles, low VOC, non-toxic flooring and verified green building materials in general, Australian homeowners and DIY builders can create spaces that perform well today and remain resilient into the future.