DEMYSTIFYING FURNITURES ROLE IN SUSTAINABILITY Introduction LEVEL by
DEMYSTIFYING FURNITURE’S ROLE IN SUSTAINABILITY
Introduction LEVEL by BIFMA
Introduction WHAT IS MOST CONFUSING TO YOU ABOUT FURNITURE AND SUSTAINABILITY? LEVEL by BIFMA
Introduction LEVEL by BIFMA COURSE DESCRIPTION A mind-boggling number of environmental standards exist. It seems each day something is greener, better, and calling louder than the standards of years past. This CEU will seek to define and compare leading sustainability programs in the market and explain the key role furniture plays within each. We will overlay LEVEL® by BIFMA’s rating system and explain its application and relevance to help demystify furniture’s role in sustainability.
Introduction LEVEL by BIFMA LEARNING OBJECTIVES A Explain LEVEL by BIFMA and its key role in defining sustainability for furniture. C Understand key sustainability attributes of furniture. B Compare key green building programs in the market today and how LEVEL relates to each. D Explore the future of sustainability and furniture.
01 OBJECTIVE A LEVEL by BIFMA Explain LEVEL by BIFMA and its key role in defining sustainability for furniture.
01 – Objective A CATEGORIZING SUSTAINABILITY MEASURES 3 BUCKETS LEVEL by BIFMA 1 Building Rating Systems LEED, Living Building Challenge, WELL, Healthier Hospitals Initiative, BREEAM 2 Transparency Protocols Declare, HPD, EPD, LCA 3 Product Evaluation Labels Product standards and related certification labels divided into two buckets: • Single attribute–Green. Guard, Indoor Advantage, FSC • Multi-attribute standards–LEVEL, Cradle to Cradle
01 – Objective A LEVEL by BIFMA Product Emissions Forest Sustainable Chemistry Red Recycled Management Agriculture Assessment Listed Content Chemicals End of Life Options Lifecycle Assessment Manufacturing Energy Management Manufacturing Water Management Manufacturing Emissions Social Fairness Site Visit GREENGUARD FSC ® SAN HPD DECLARE EPD CRADLE TO CRADLE SINGLE ATTRIBUTE VS. MULTI-ATTRIBUTE STANDARDS
01 – Objective A LEVEL by BIFMA WHO IS BIFMA? • Founded in 1973 as a not-for-profit in Grand Rapids, Michigan BIFMA leads, advocates, informs, and develops standards for the North American office and institutional furniture industry. • Develops voluntary product/industry standards that support safe, healthy and sustainable environments • Publishes key industry statistics • Advocates for legislation/regulations important to the industry • Facilitates meaningful dialog and industry education
01 – Objective A LEVEL by BIFMA LEVEL is to furniture WHAT IT IS as LEED is to buildings
01 – Objective A LEVEL by BIFMA HOW IT WORKS 3 4 CATEGORIES IMPACT AREAS Product Facility Organization Materials Energy & Atmosphere Human & Ecosystem Health Social Responsibility
01 – Objective A LEVEL by BIFMA LEVEL vs. e 3 LEVEL certifies conformance to the ANSI/BIFMA e 3 Furniture Sustainability Standard e 3 is like the textbook—LEVEL is like the score of your final exam
01 – Objective A CRADLE TO CRADLE A THIRD PARTY MULTIATTRIBUTE STANDARD LEVEL by BIFMA Guides designers and manufacturers through a process that evaluates a product through five quality categories — material health, material reutilization, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness.
01 – Objective A LEVEL by BIFMA LEVEL & CRADLE TO CRADLE Materials Material Health Material Reutilization Water Stewardship Energy & Atmosphere Renewable Energy & Carbon Management Human & Ecosystem Health Social Responsibility Social Fairness
01 – Objective A DECLARE LABEL ANSWERS 3 QUESTIONS: LEVEL by BIFMA 1 Where does a product come from? 2 What is it made of? 3 Where does it go at the end of its life?
01 – Objective A LEVEL & CRADLE TO CRADLE & DECLARE LEVEL by BIFMA Materials Material Reutilization Water Stewardship Energy & Atmosphere Renewable Energy & Carbon Management Human & Ecosystem Health Material Health Social Responsibility Social Fairness Number of Certified Products: * • LEVEL – 3, 902 • C 2 C – <100 • DECLARE – <100 *AS OF 07/01/17 Final Assembly End of Life Material Health
01 – Objective A WEBSITE www. levelcertified. org LEVEL by BIFMA
02 OBJECTIVE B RATING SYSTEM OVERVIEW Compare key green building programs in the market today and how LEVEL relates to each.
02 – Objective B 3 LEVEL by BIFMA RATING SYSTEMS 4 KEY AREAS BUILDING PERFORMANCE PLANETARY HEALTH HUMAN HEALTH FURNITURE
02 – Objective B LEED The gold standard of building rating systems. LEVEL by BIFMA “LEED started by looking at the long term health of the planet and asking the questions, ‘How do we use our resources and protect them for future generations? ” - Jeff Kocinski Associate- Architect Smith. Group. JJR
02 – Objective B LEED 2009 vs. LEED v 4 LEVEL by BIFMA • LEED v 4 has new tougher prerequisites • Materials and Resources section is significantly more rigorous • Reduced focus on individual material attributes • New focus on Human Health
02 – Objective B LEVEL by BIFMA LEED CREDIT CATEGORIES LEED 2009 RELATING TO LEED v 4 Integrative Process Sustainable Sites Location & Transportation Water Efficiency Energy & Atmosphere Materials & Resources Indoor Environmental Quality Innovation & Design Innovation Regional Priority
02 – Objective B LEVEL by BIFMA LEVEL CATEGORIES IN ALIGNMENT WITH LEED Materials Water Efficiency Materials & Resources Energy & Atmosphere Human & Ecosystem Health Indoor Environmental Quality Innovation in Design Regional Priority Social Responsibility Sustainable Sites
02 – Objective B WELL BUILDING STANDARD Looks beyond building to the people who spend time in the building. “We believe that people’s health and wellness should be at the center of design. ”—IWBI LEVEL by BIFMA
02 – Objective B LEVEL by BIFMA LEVEL & WELL Materials Mind Energy & Atmosphere Human & Ecosystem Health Air Social Responsibility Water Nourishment Light Fitness Comfort
02 – Objective B LEVEL by BIFMA LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE ENERGY WATER EQUITY Living Buildings are: • Regenerative buildings that connect occupants to light, air, food, nature, and community. • Self-sufficient and remain within the resource limits of their site. HEALTH SITE • Create a positive impact on the human and natural systems that interact with them. MATERIALS BEAUTY
02 – Objective B LEVEL by BIFMA LEVEL TO LBC Materials Energy & Atmosphere Energy Human & Ecosystem Health Water Equity Beauty Site Social Responsibility
02 – Objective B LEVEL by BIFMA SYSTEM LEED 2009 1 -BIGGEST FOCUS LEED V 4 4 -SMALLEST FOCUS LBC WELL BUILDING PERFORMANCE PLANETARY HEALTH HUMAN HEALTH FURNITURE
02 – Objective B LEVEL’S REQUIREMENTS BEYOND TYPICAL METRICS LEVEL by BIFMA • Materials • Energy & Atmosphere • Human & Ecosystem Health • Social Responsibility
03 OBJECTIVE C SUSTAINABILITY ATTRIBUTES Understand key sustainability attributes of furniture.
03 – Objective C There’s still a challenge when it comes to furniture: these systems don’t all talk. LEVEL by BIFMA
03 – Objective C LEVEL by BIFMA 1 BIO-BASED/RENEWABLE MATERIALS • Rapidly renewable = regenerates in less than 10 years • Bio-based = made from substances derived from once-living organisms • Biodegradable = being able to fully decay Examples: Bamboo, cotton, wool, flax based products or FSC wood BUILDING RATING SYSTEMS PRODUCT EVALUATION ®
03 – Objective C LEVEL by BIFMA 2 EXTENDED PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY • Extended Product Responsibility will have various strategies designed to mitigate the impacts of the products and their packaging that will enable recycling or reuse at the end of its useful life. Examples: Take back program or closed loop recycling program BUILDING RATING SYSTEMS PRODUCT EVALUATION
03 – Objective C LEVEL by BIFMA 3 LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT • Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling. • LCAs are timely, costly to compile, and the vast majority of products in the market are still lacking the necessary rigorous documentation to demonstrate a valid assessment. • LEED V 4 acknowledges products that have an existing EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) created from information gathered in an LCA. BUILDING RATING SYSTEMS PRODUCT EVALUATION ISO 14044 ISO 14025
03 – Objective C LEVEL by BIFMA 4 LOW EMITTING • The intent is to reduce occupants’ exposure to airborne chemical contaminants through product selection. • ANSI/BIFMA Standard Method M 7. 1 -2011 is the testing method for nearly all of the major rating systems. BUILDING RATING SYSTEMS PRODUCT EVALUATION
03 – Objective C 5 RECYCLED CONTENT • Products with recycled content generally have a lighter environmental footprint • Using products made with recycled content use fewer natural resources than virgin materials BUILDING RATING SYSTEMS LEVEL by BIFMA
03 – Objective C LEVEL by BIFMA 6 SOURCING OF RAW MATERIALS LEVEL encourages the use of products and materials for which lifecycle information is available and that have environmentally, economically, and socially preferable life cycle impacts. • Examples would include: FSC wood harvest, proximity of material extraction point to the job site, or responsible land use. BUILDING RATING SYSTEMS PRODUCT EVALUATION ®
03 – Objective C 7 LAYOUT IDEAS Not searchable within BIFMA’s LEVEL database, but this can help attain points within several rating systems: • • Access to natural light & views (LEED) Encourage physical activity (WELL) Proper placement to reduce glare (WELL) Universal Access to Nature and Place (LBC) BUILDING RATING SYSTEMS LEVEL by BIFMA
03 – Objective C LEVEL by BIFMA PLANETARY HEALTH RECYCLED CONTENT LEED 2009 LEED v 4 LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE WELL REGIONAL MATERIALS RAPIDLY RENEWABLE CONTENT CERTIFIED WOOD LCA
03 – Objective C LEVEL by BIFMA HUMAN HEALTH TOXICITY REDUCTION LEED 2009 LEED v 4 LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE WELL TRANSPARENCY ANTI-MICROBIAL SURFACES EMISSIONS
03 – Objective C LEVEL by BIFMA WELLBEING & COMFORT GLARE AVOIDANCE LEED 2009 LEED v 4 LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE WELL SURFACE REFLECTANCE ACTIVE FURNISHINGS ERGONOMICS ACOUSTICS
04 OBJECTIVE D FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE FURNITURE Explore the future of sustainability and furniture.
04 – Objective D LOOKING FORWARD “Leadership in sustainability was not really a response to government regulation. It was really a market-driven, profit-driven response in many cases to the changing environment, and nothing’s going to change that. The forces that have driven the institutionalization of sustainability and its wide adoption are not going away; in fact, I think they’re going to be greatly reinforced. ” -PATRICK L. PHILLIPS, ULI GLOBAL CEO LEVEL by BIFMA
04 – Objective D LEVEL by BIFMA THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY WILL MOST LIKELY FOCUS ON PEOPLE 1% ENERGY COSTS 9% RENTAL COSTS 90% STAFF COSTS IN SALARIES AND BENEFITS Source: World Green Building Council 2014
04 – Objective D LEVEL by BIFMA “Full-time workers in the U. S. with chronic health conditions miss an estimated 450 million additional days of work each year…resulting in > $153 billion productivity losses annually. ” - 2015 CDC Workplace Health Report
04 – Objective D FITWEL • The next rating system we are watching • Developed by the CDC and GSA • Can be used to evaluate existing buildings LEVEL by BIFMA
04 – Objective D FROM THE FURNITURE INDUSTRY’S POINT OF VIEW “The future of sustainability is sound, not because industry thinks it is the right thing to do; The consumer is going to be demanding safe products…even if you don’t use green terms—everybody wants safety. No one wants flame-retardants impacting their children. Concerns around sustainability are not going away and will require industry vigilance. ” -BRAD MILLER, DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY AND SUSTAINABILITY AT BIFMA LEVEL by BIFMA
04 – Objective D The contract interiors market continues to define sustainability; of which furniture is an important part. LEVEL by BIFMA
05 CONCLUSION DEMYSTIFYING FURNITURE’S ROLE IN SUSTAINABILITY
05 – Conclusion LEVEL by BIFMA LEARNING OBJECTIVES A Explain LEVEL by BIFMA and its key role in defining sustainable furniture. C Understand key sustainability attributes of furniture. B Compare key green building programs on the market today and how LEVEL relates to each. D Explore the future of sustainability and furniture.
05 – Conclusion FINAL POINTS LEVEL by BIFMA 1 The world of sustainability is ever-evolving. 2 No one is more focused on the furniture component of this than BIFMA. 3 While you create green buildings, we can extend those intentions beyond the major rating systems with responsible furniture choices.
THANK YOU! • Knoll • National • Steelcase • Jeff Kocinski, Smith. Group. JJR • Daniel Starr, BOS • Olivia Danielson, IA Interior Architects • Pamela Johnson, HOK
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