Environmental Sustainability: Green Office Furniture

This article is sponsored by Steelcase Store, a proud supporter of OfficeArrow and provider of advanced performance work furniture for home and business.

Green office furniture? No, we're not talking about the color green (though I used to have a green filing cabinet that was very cool). In this case, we're referring to the "green" movement - the effort of people and businesses to move towards practices that are sustainable, meaning actions that don't destroy the ecological balance of the earth.

If you're green-minded, office furniture is one of those areas where you have to be careful. It's quite an investment and you want to be sure that the company you're working with has a philosophy that embraces sustainability. Below, I'll outline some of the key steps that office furniture suppliers can take to "go green". We're proud to acknowledge that OA sponsor and furniture supplier, Steelcase Store honors each and every one of these. Throughout the design, manufacture, delivery and product lifecycle, Steelcase considers sustainability a part of their social contract.

The actions below represent a company that respects and values the environment, and they're a great point of reference for evaluating suppliers of all sorts. I encourage you to investigate all of your business suppliers to see if they're values are aligned with the values of you and your company.

Product Design

Green furniture should be durable and long-lasting, made from safe and sustainable materials, and easily disassembled and recycled at the end of life. In the production of green furniture, the company should manage waste and air emissions and conserve natural resources.

Materials Chemistry

The chemical makeup of office furniture and the chemicals used in the production process can be dangerous to human and environmental health. Several years ago, Steelcase worked with McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry to better understand these issues. Today, they evaluate chemicals against 19 human and environmental health criteria and are working to eliminate them in new and existing products. When looking for a green supplier, consider the efforts the company has made to understand the dangers of chemicals and reduce their use of problematic ones.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

LCA is the measurement of a product's impact on the environment from material selection to the end of its usefulness. Green suppliers will measure this in an effort to continuously improve performance.

Recycle and Reuse

This is a two-part process that a sustainability-focused furniture supplier will take into account when choosing materials and designing products. Steelcase has actually taken it a step further with their Steelcase Environmental Partnership, where they enable customers to easily dispose of products in an environmentally friendly way through recycling, reselling, donating, and refurbishing.

Cradle to Cradle Product Certification

This certification "provides a company with a means to tangibly, credibly measure achievement in environmentally-intelligent design and helps customers purchase and specify products that are pursuing a broader definition of quality." So, when you see products that are Cradle to Cradle certified, you can feel confident that they have been designed to meet stringent environmental standards and requirements.

Steelcase offers the following Cradle to Cradle certified products:

Leap task chair is Silver Cradle to Cradle Certified

Think, the FIRST EVER certified product is Silver Cradle to Cradle Certified

Amia task chair is Silver Cradle to Cradle Certified

Move stackable seating from Steelcase with Silver Cradle to Cradle Certification

Tour Workspace, desks by Turnstone with Cradle to Cradle Certification

Groupworks, tables and conference tables with Cradle to Cradle Certification

Steelcase has been providing easy access to advanced performance work furniture since 1912. For consumers and businesses who value design, comfort and convenience, the Steelcase Store has it all.