The aim of the BASTA system is to speed up the phasing out of hazardous substances in construction. Products are assessed according their chemical ingredients. The assessment is based on properties criteria for the chemical ingredients in a product, and it is the suppliers themselves who are responsible for the assessment. Only products that meet these requirements can be registered in the BASTA system.
The products that meet the BASTA requirements are held in a database with two parts: the BASTA register and the BETA register. Products that meet the more comprehensive requirements are held in the BASTA register. Those products that only meet the more basic requirements are instead held in the BETA register and an environmental and health risk assessment is required for these products. The BETA register came into operation in April 2009 and will gradually be filled with more products.
There are two ways that BASTA can be used when selecting building products: by searching the database directly for a product, or by specifying in a building contract that all products used in the project must meet the BASTA properties criteria or be registered in the database. In this way, the decision maker does not need to be a chemicals expert. In BASTA, it is the suppliers who have the responsibility for register the products in the database. The database is freely available for everyone to use; it can be accessed without a password or membership.
The BASTA system gives a clear indication to manufacturers about the construction industry´s expectations for the development of new products.
BASTA is run as a non-profitmaking limited company owned jointly by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and The Swedish Construction Federation. All work is carried out by staff at IVL.
The BASTA system was developed by a consortium consisting of The Swedish Construction Federation, JM, NCC, Peab, Skanska and IVL, with support from the European Development Fund LIFE. BASTA is also part of The Ecocycle Council´s (Kretsloppsrådets) Environmental Program 2010
.