Every chair, workstation, storage unit and table in the current Allsteel portfolio of products has been awarded BIFMA level™ 2 certification, the second highest ranking accorded by the industry organization.
Allsteel had something of a head start on this sustainability benchmark: In 2008, it was among five companies who were the first to achieve SCS Sustainable Choice Gold, the original BIFMA standard prior to level. At that time, Allsteel earned the certification for all of its workstation products.
In establishing level third party certification in 2009, BIFMA’s goal was to help drive the industry to integrate sustainability into all aspects of its business practices, from the supply chain to the product’s eventual recycling and from the board room to the loading dock. The criteria for the certification are defined by the BIFMA e3 Furniture Sustainability Standard, which provides direction to manufacturers in the areas of materials, energy and atmosphere, human and ecosystem health, and corporate social responsibility.
The comprehensive and rigorous nature of the level 2 accreditation makes the achievement for Allsteel’s major product lines all the more impressive. In addition to the individual products, the supply chain, manufacturing site, and corporation also were assessed. The BIFMA e3 Furniture Sustainability Standard was developed with cross functional representatives from academia, state and federal agencies, and non-profit organizations, as well as from the industry, and the drafts of their work were published for public review and comment on the web, making the process transparent.
One Comment
Congratulations to Allsteel on this impressive accomplishment! I’m compelled to provide clarification to some of the terminology in the article. Specifically, “…..BIFMA level 2 certification, the second highest ranking accorded by the industry organization.” To be clear, BIFMA does not evaluate or certify products. BIFMA owns the level mark and the certification program, but the evaluations and “certifications” are conducted by independent third party certification bodies; in the case of Allsteel products Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) conducted the analysis and has certified the products at level™ 2. Additionally, “……SCS Sustainable Choice Gold, the original BIFMA standard prior to level” is misleading. Actually the BIFMA sustainability standard has always been just that. SCS Sustainable Choice (for furniture) was the certification program and mark issued by SCS, using the BIFMA e3 sustainability standard prior to the level certification program introduction in 2009. SCS no longer uses Sustainable Choice when evaluating furniture to the e3 standard, instead issuing the level conformance mark.