Sustainable Furniture
Sponsored by:
International Standards:
FSC
GREENGUARD™
ISO 14001
National Standards:
LEED™
MTS
Meeting the Standards: International, National, and Third-Party Certification
Over their total life cycle, sustainableproducts provide:
Social
Economic
Environmental benefits
The Triple Bottom Line
Sustainable Manufacturing Issues: Furniture
Eliminate Toxins from Manufacturing Process
Employing Clean Technology
Systemized Environmental Programs
Resource Reduction
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
A Corporate Example: Knoll’s Policies
Eliminate Toxins from Manufacturing Process
Lead, heavy metals and hazardous chlorinated compounds completely eliminated from production processes
State-of-the-art waste water treatment
Technical changes to process
Clean Technology: Developed and manufactured for clean technology from start to finish, including returnable, reusable packaging.
Eliminated VOCs and ODMs from manufacturing processes
Invested in UV curing systems
Switched to water-based paints and adhesives
Developed company-wide use of hot-melt glues
Introduced 100 percent recyclable fabrics
Sustainable Design Issues: Furniture
Materials
Indoor Environmental Quality
Social Aspects
Protecting the biosphere
Independent testing
In-house standards for low-emitting materials
GREENGUARD™ certification
Adopting Standards: Indoor Environmental Quality
Resource reduction
Materials protocols
Environmental management plans
Adopting Standards:Systemized Environmental Programs
Adopting Standards: Resource Reduction
Design for reduced material content in products
Establish minimum recycled content for raw materials
Use Techwood man-made veneers, reduce wood waste by 60 percent
Recycle all scrap metals, fabric, cardboard and paper
Invest $500K in returnable, collapsible shipping containers
Offer FSC-certified wood
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
Establishes standard, respected worldwide principles of Forest Stewardshipusing “chain of custody” for users, such as Knoll.
Promotes: Environmentally responsible forest management Socially beneficial Economically viable management of the world’s forests
Third-party Certification
Chain of Custody from FSC
Ensures credibility
Enables immediate verification of provenance
Environmental Management Programs
Comprehensive internal Environmental Health and Safety Plan
ISO 14001-certification for manufacturing plants, such as Knoll’s East Greenville, Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Toronto facilities
Materials Protocols
Protect environmental integrity of products as design evolves
Facilitate a change management process
Balance environment, function and aesthetics
Monitor company-wide compliance
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
Analyzes the environmental impact of a product from beginning to final disposal
Design Production Transport/distribution/packaging Usage Disassembly/reuse, recycling, and end
of life management
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) Design Strategies
Low impact materials
Clean manufacturing
Healthy workplace/indoor air quality
Waste reduction/efficient use of resources
Durability/extended product life
Reuse and refurbishment
Ease of disassembly
“Recycle-ability”
Using National Standards: LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Purpose:
Define “green building”/establish common standards
Promote integrated design practices
Recognize environmental leadership
Stimulate green competition
Raise awareness of green building benefits
Transform the building market
LEED Opportunities using Furniture
Recycled content
Rapidly renewable materials
Regional materials
Low-emitting materials
Certified wood
Textiles
Waste management
Green housekeeping
Existing Building pilot projects:
Knoll Lubin manufacturing facility, East Greenville, PA
Knoll San Francisco showroom
New Construction projects:
United Nations Department of Protection
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
NRDC
• Centers for Disease Control
Lubin Building
Knoll LEED™ Projects
Thanks to our Sponsors:
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