WM AWMA Spring Conference

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WM AWMA Spring Conference

• BIFMA e3 Sustainable Product Standard
• BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION
• March 18, 2009

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Presentation Agenda

• Organizations Involved
• Why the BIFMA e3 was Developed
• Objectives, Scope, Timeline, Work Groups
• Point Structure, Certification Levels
• Overview by Section

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Organizations Involved

• BIFMA International
• Business and Institutional Furniture
  Manufacturers Association
• A nonprofit trade association of furniture
  manufacturers and suppliers addressing issues of
  common concern. Its more than 260 member
  companies represent over 80 of the value of
  North American shipments of office furniture.

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Organizations Involved cont.

• NSF International
• ANSI accredited standards developer
• Certify products
• US EPA
• National Center for Manufacturing Science
• Stakeholders
• More than 100 volunteers representing 66
  organizations from industry, government,
  non-government and other interested parties

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BIFMA e3

• The end product is an industry-wide voluntary
  ANSI Standard that provides a uniform definition
  of business and institutional furniture
  sustainability in the marketplace, thereby
  providing a single and concise message to help
  customers specify environmentally sustainable
  products.

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Market Factors

• Influence of USGBC LEED rating system
• Federal, state, local government support
• Federal Executive Order 13101 EPP
• Evolving customer demographic
• Demand for healthier products
• Emerging proprietary standards

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Business Factors

• Need to provide product differentiation in a
  competitive global market
• More efficient business operations

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Objectives

• Provide options to the proliferation proprietary,
  third-party sustainability certification
  programs
• Help direct market demand toward a credible,
  consensus-based assessment standard

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Scope of the BIFMA e3

• Applicable to all business and institutional
  furniture, including materials and components
  manufactured by suppliers
• Addresses product-based attributes in the general
  areas of
• Materials
• Energy and Atmosphere
• Human and Ecosystem Health
• Social Responsibility

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Scope

• The manufacturer of the applicant product can
  determine the scope of the certification, as long
  as the scope can be communicated clearly to
  potential customers.
• The e3 will be subject to continuous improvement
  and updating as market and technological
  advancements evolve.

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Timeline

• Stakeholder meetings began February, 2006
• Four work groups formed
• Later added a work group for Tools and one for
  Marketing
• First Public Comment meeting
• BIFMA ballot passed May 2008
• Passes ANSI ballot June 2009
• Currently in an ANSI adjudication process

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Stakeholders(Over 100 individuals from 66
organizations)

• Large furniture manufacturers
• Small furniture manufacturers
• Suppliers
• Government
• Non government organizations (NGOs)
• Architect and design (AD) firms

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Work Groups

• Materials
• Jim Kozminski, Haworth
• Mark LaCroix, Interface Fabrics/CarbonNuetral Co.
• Energy and Atmosphere
• Anne Saliers, izzydesign/The Right Place
• John Shank, Kimball International
• Human and Ecosystem Health
• Denise VanValkenburg, Steelcase/Kraft-Maid
• Gabe Wing, Herman Miller

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Point Structure (see Scorecard)

• Prerequisites (6)
• Each element has one or more minimum performance
• ALL must be met
• Credits (90 possible points)
• Organization (17)
• Facility (38)
• Product (35)

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Point Structure (see Scorecard)

• Materials 26 possible points
• Energy Atmosphere 25 possible points
• Human Ecosystem Health 29 possible points
• Social Responsibility 10 possible points

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Conformance Levels

• Silver
• 32 to 44 points
• At least 5 must be product related points
• Gold
• 45-62 points
• At least 11 must be product related points
• Platinum
• 63-90 points
• At least 18 must be product related points

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ANSI/BIFMA e3

• The Business and Institutional Furniture
• Product Sustainability Standard

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Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Forward
• 1. General
• 1.1 Purpose
• 1.2 Scope
• 2. Normative References
• 3. Definitions

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4. Assessing Conformance

• 4.1 Elements
• 4.2 Prerequisites
• 4.3 Credits
• 4.4 Points
• 4.4.1 Levels of Conformance
• 4.5 Baseline and Normalization Values
• 4.6 Frequency of Evaluation

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5. Materials

• 5.1 Prerequisite Design for the Environment
• 5.2 Climate Neutral Materials
• 5.3 Life Cycle Assessment
• 5.4 Efficient Use of Materials
• 5.5 Rapidly Renewable Materials
• 5.6 Bio-based Renewable Materials
• 5.7 Recycled Content

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5. Materials

• 5.8 Recyclable and Biodegradable Materials
• 5.9 Extended Product Responsibility
• 5.10 Solid Waste Management
• 5.11 Water Management

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6. Energy and Atmosphere

• 6.1 Prerequisite Energy Policy
• 6.2 Building Energy Performance Baseline
• 6.3 Building Energy Performance Rating
• 6.4 LEED Certified Facility
• 6.5 Embodied Energy
• 6.6 Finished Product Energy Consumption
• 6.7 Transportation

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6. Energy and Atmosphere

• 6.8 On-site and Off-site Renewable Energy
• 6.9 Greenhouse Gases

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7. Human and Ecosystem Health

• 7.1 Prerequisites
• 7.1.1 Demonstration of Compliance
• 7.1.2 Key Chemical, Risk, and EMS Policies
• 7.2 ISO 14001 or Equivalent
• 7.3 Chemical Management Plan Facility
• 7.4 Effects of Product, Process and Maintenance
  Chemicals

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7. Human and Ecosystem Health

• 7.5 Reduction/Elimination of Chemicals of Concern
• 7.6 Low Emitting Furniture

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8. Social Responsibility

• 8.1 Prerequisites
• 8.1.1 Employee Health and Safety Management
• 8.1.2 Labor and Human Rights
• 8.2 Policy on social Responsibility
• 8.3 External Health and Safety Management
  Standard
• 8.4 Inclusiveness
• 8.5 Engage in Community Outreach and
  Involvement

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8. Social Responsibility cont.

• 8.6 Social Responsibility Reporting
• 8.7 Supply Chain

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Additional Information

• Please contact
• Bill Stough, CEO
• Sustainable Research Group
• PO Box 1684, Grand Rapids, MI 49501
• 616.301.1059
• www.sustainableresearchgroup.com