Choosing sustainable office furniture has dozens of benefits, from directly improving the air you breathe to helping to protect the environment. If you’re working towards a LEED-certified workplace, here’s what to know about compliant furniture and why it matters.
Understanding LEED-Certified Office Furniture
The first thing to know is that “LEED-certified” office furniture is a misnomer. Furniture itself isn’t certified by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), but rather, an office or a building is. However, furniture can be LEED-compatible. Here are a few of the most important requirements that LEED-compliant furniture has:
Made with Sustainable Raw Materials
Raw materials used in office furniture must be certified by third parties to verify sourcing and chain of custody. For example, wood components need to be approved by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), while the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) must verify organic fiber content for upholstered furniture.
Materials Used Are Clearly Documented
Furniture manufacturers are also required to supply adequate documentation of materials used and chemical inventories. This includes formal reports like Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs).
Low VOC Emissions
VOCs, or Volatile Organic Compounds, are harmful emissions that are created when chemicals used during furniture manufacturing are offgassed into the indoor environment. LEED-compliant furniture must have a low VOC profile that has been third-party certified.
Top Benefits of Using LEED-Compatible Furniture
Improved Indoor Air Quality
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, people spend about 90% of their time indoors. With roughly 40 hours per week spent at work, the quality of the air in your office matters. Using LEED-compliant furniture contributes to cleaner indoor air, which in turn boosts employee health and productivity.
Reduced Carbon Footprint
LEED-compatible furniture also reduces your company’s carbon footprint. Greenhouse gases, which are created during furniture manufacturing, build up in the atmosphere and are a primary driver of climate change. Lowering your business’ emissions helps protect natural habitats and decreases your contribution to ocean acidification, food scarcity, and other harmful impacts.
Greater Furniture Longevity
Sustainable office furniture is built to a much higher standard of quality than composite wood and veneer products that are easy to buy online. These are less likely to break down over time, and you can often replace single broken parts instead of having to throw out an entire piece of furniture and replace it with a new one.
Does Refurbished Office Furniture Count?
Outfitting your office with refurbished furniture is an ideal way to meet sustainability initiatives within your workplace and move towards a LEED certification. Here’s why:
- VOCs have already been offgassed
- The economical demand for new raw materials is reduced
- Keeps furniture out of landfills
- Minimizes shipping emissions
- Contributes to LEED credits
- Exempts your business from transparency reporting
Best Sustainable Office Furniture Brands to Consider
Several office furniture brands have changed their manufacturing processes to align with sustainability initiatives, including both Herman Miller® and Steelcase®.
Herman Miller® founded NextWave Plastics, which collects ocean-bound plastic for recycling into plastic components for office chairs, desks, and other furniture. To date, the company has diverted more than 660 metric tons of plastic that otherwise would have ended up in landfills or oceans.
Steelcase® has also made major strides in reducing the ecological burden of their office furniture. They’ve successfully doubled the amount of recycled plastic used across their entire task chair line, and over 100 parts are now no longer made with new plastic. Overall, these initiatives have resulted in a 35% decrease in embodied carbon for task seating.
Prioritize Sustainability with Ideal Office
At Ideal Office, we care about helping businesses choose sustainable, LEED-compliant furniture that fits the needs of their space. Contact us today at (978) 327-5327 to learn more about our sustainability initiatives or to get help planning an office design that cuts your carbon footprint. Or, click here to shop our refurbished office furniture selection.
