Expansion Management

Is Your Furniture Socially Correct?

June 2, 2009

If it's a Herman Miller product it is. Just today, Herman Miller of Zeeland, Michigan, received the stamp of approval from NSF International, an independent organization that certifies products standards. Herman Miller's furniture earned Level certification, a new sustainability-focused standard for commercial furniture.

The conformance mark ensures a comprehensive, independent and impartial assessment of the environmental and social impacts of a product's manufacture.

Level was developed in cooperation with the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association. Once a company satisfies the initial prerequisites, additional credits are granted based on compliance to various criteria in four key areas: materials, energy and atmosphere, human and ecosystem health and social responsibility.

And the system is complex with three different levels of certification that can be applied to specific products.

This new program is part of an overall environmental strategy at Herman Miller that includes:

*Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) verification
*79% environmental footprint reduction
*91% hazardous waste reduction since 1994
*Goal of eliminating all solid, hazardous, air and water waste by 2020
*Becoming 100% green energy reliant by the year 2020.

About the Author

Adrienne Selko Blog | Senior Editor

Focus: Expansion Management & the Biotech & Life Sciences Industries

Email: [email protected]

Follow Adrienne on Twitter: @ASelkoIW

Call: 216-931-9235

Senior Editor Adrienne Selko manages IndustryWeek’s Expansion Management, delivering ideas and information about how successful manufacturers leverage location to gain competitive advantage. She explores the strategies behind why companies located their headquarters, research institutes, factories, warehouse and distribution centers and other facilities where they did, and how they benefit from the decision.

Adrienne is also the editorial coordinator of the IndustryWeek Expansion Management Roundtable events, which unites economic development professionals to network and discuss the latest trends in site location.

As well, Adrienne tells the stories of successful companies in the biotechnology and life sciences industries.

In the past, Adrienne has managed IndustryWeek’s award-winning website, overseeing eNewletters, webinars, and contributed content. Before joining the staff, Adrienne was managing editor of corporate publications at a large regional financial institution. She also ran a public relations and marketing company that published a best-selling healthcare book.

Adrienne received a bachelor’s of business administration from the University of Michigan and is especially interested in wellness and natural health.