First came LEED certification, next came the CALGREEN requirements (for those of us in California), now we can all breathe a sigh of relief because ANSI (American National Standards Institute) has approved and released the ANSI/BIFMA e3-2010 Furniture Sustainability Standard.
The e3 standard defines the technical requirements of the Level product certification program. The Level program is actually a useful tool, in that it provides the industry a standard benchmark to evaluate whether or not office furniture is manufactured in a sustainable manner using sustainable materials. This separates the truly sustainable products and organizations from the posers.
If past history is guide, the larger manufacturers will conform to the Level product requirements, and the smaller manufacturers (and specifically import manufacturers) will not.
- John Schwartz
- is the President of Sam Clar Office Furniture. Sam Clar Office Furniture has been providing office furniture and related services to Northern California businesses since 1939.