by officePROhub.com on 01/05/2012 - 05:24 pm
Getting to the bottom of eco-labelling
Furniture manufacturers are now in the process of changing materials and manufacturing process to reflect a greater push towards green as consumers become more environmentally conscious.
Several organisations have been issuing eco-labels for furniture manufacturers. In this issue of FFE, we take a look at what eco-labelling entails and who in the industry issues the certification.
THE BASICS
An ‘eco-label’ is a seal or logo indicating that a product has met a set of environmental or social standards. The Global Eco-labelling Network describes ‘eco-labelling’ as a voluntary method of environmental performance certification and labelling that is practiced around the world.
Many (but not all) eco labels are not directly connected to the firms that manufacture or sell the eco-labelled products. Just as for the quality assurance labelling systems, it is of imperative importance that the labelling entity is clearly divided from and independent of the manufacturers. All eco-labelling is voluntary, meaning that they are not mandatory by law.
TRUSTWORTHY ECO-LABELS
According to Consumer Reports, an independent American publication, the best eco-labels are seals or logos that indicate that an independent organisation has verified a product meets a set of consistent standards for environmental protection and/or social justice.
Meaningful & Verifiable: Eco-labels should have a set of environmentally meaningful standards. These standards should be verifiable by the certifier or another independent inspection organisation.
Consistent &Clear: An eco-label used on one product should have the same meaning if used on other products. Standards should be written in a consistent manner so that the label is consistent in meaning among different products.
Transparency: The organisation behind an eco-label should make information about organisational structure, funding, board of directors, and certification standards available to the public.
Independent & Protected From Conflict Of Interest: Organisations establishing standards and deciding who can use a logo should not have any ties to, and should not receive any funding from the sale of certified products or contributions from logo users beyond fees for certification. Employees of companies whose products are certified or applying for certification should not be on the board of directors of the certifier (and no one affiliated with the certifier should be on the board of directors of the organisation being certified). Some certifying organisations have explicit conflict of interest policies prohibiting such affiliations.
Opportunities For Public Comment: All certification standards should be developed with input from multiple stakeholders including consumers, industry, environmentalists and social representatives in a way that doesn't compromise the independence of the certifier. For example, industry representatives can play an important advisory role without having direct financial, decision making or management ties to the certifier.
TYPES OF VOLUNTARY LABELS
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has identified three broad types of voluntary labels.
Type I: A voluntary, multiple-criteria based, third party programme that awards a license that authorises use of environmental labels on products indicating overall environmental effects of a product within a particular product category based on lifecycle considerations
Type II: Informative environmental self-declaration claims
Type III: Voluntary programmes that provide quantified environmental data of a product, under pre-set categories of parameters set by a qualified third party and based on life cycle assessment, and verified by that or another qualified third party.
COMPANIES THAT OFFER CERTIFICATION
BIFMA Level Certification: level is a multi-attribute, sustainability standard and third-party certification programmes for the furniture industry. It has been created to deliver open and transparent means of evaluating and communicating the environmental and social impacts of furniture products in the built environment. Products are evaluated and rated based on the following: - Climate Neutral Products
- Life Cycle Analysis
- Effective Use of Materials
- Rapidly Renewable Materials
- Recycled & Biodegradable Materials
- Bio-based Materials/Sustainable Wood
- Buy Back/Take Back Policy
- Water Management
- Human and Ecosystem Health
- Socially Responsible
GreenGuard Certification ForVOC Levels In Furniture: GreenGuard Indoor Air Quality Certification is given for low VOCemitting interior building materials, furnishings, and finish systems. All GreenGuard Certified Products are tested for chemical emissions.
They offer another certification programmecalled the GreenGuard for Children and SchoolsSM. Thisproduct certification programmeis for low emitting interior building materials, furnishings and finish systems used in educational, office and other sensitive environments.
McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC): The Cradle to Cradle Certified programme is an eco-label that assesses a product’s safety to humans and the environment and design for future life cycles.
The programme provides guidelines to help businesses implement the Cradle to Cradle framework, which focuses on using safe materials that can be disassembled and recycled as technical nutrients or composted as biological nutrients. MBDC’s certification programme takes a comprehensive approach to evaluating the design of a product and the practices employed in manufacturing the product.
The materials and manufacturing practices of each product are assessed in five categories: Material Health, Material Reutilisation, Renewable Energy Use, Water Stewardship, and Social Responsibility.
SCS–Certified/BIFMA Standards: SCS Certified Furniture brings a new level of verified environmental performance to furniture certification. Based on both environmental and social criteria set forth in the BIFMA Sustainability Standard (BIFMA SS), a product’s entire supply chain is assessed to insure that the product meets measurable milestones of environmental performance at every step of development. SCS Sustainable Choice Certification includes an evaluation of specific corporate policies and guidelines and an assessment of associated company manufacturing facilities.
Products must meet criteria in four categories: Materials, Energy and Atmosphere, Human and Ecosystem Health, and Social Responsibility.
Certification verifies a manufacturer’s commitment to environmentally and socially responsible products and business practices.
SCS Indoor Advantage Gold: The emphasis on individual volatile organic compounds (VOCs) rather than on total VOC concentration is one of the features that distinguish the SCS Indoor Advantage Gold programme.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to 10 times higher) than outdoors.
VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products and examples include: building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, permanent markers, and photographic solutions. The health risks associated with individual VOCs vary, making some more of a concern than others.
Likewise, this emphasis on individual VOCs encourages manufacturers to identify and address the sources of chemical contaminants in their manufacturing process and enables them to establish specifications for the materials and components they purchase.
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