By Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland
October 22, 2007

Having grown adept at seeking recycled products, government buyers now find the environmental bar raised higher. Whereas it was once enough to buy recyled, nowadays the purchasing mandate is likely to take into account a much broader swath of environmental concerns.

So what constitutes an environmental product according to this new definition of green? Recyled content matters, of course, but so do a host of other attributes involving how a product was made, packaged, and shipped.

Consider how this trend affects purchases of one big-ticket item: office furniture. Here are nine considerations for government purchasers who want to buy green:

The longer a chair lasts, the longer before it winds up in a landfill. From an environmental standpoint, it doesn’t get any simpler. That’s why durability is the foremost green criterion for office furniture purchases. What to look for? The best warranty you can find. There’s no surer indication of a product’s durability than the manufacturer’s confidence in it.

A word of caution: Beware of “lifetime” warranties loaded with fine print. A straightforward warranty that covers multi-shift usage and doesn’t get bogged down with exclusions is preferable to a so-called lifetime warranty packed with conditions and qualifiers.

Before Herman Miller introduced the Action Office panel system in the late ’60s, reconfiguring an office meant demolishing fixed walls and choking landfills with waste. Since Action Office, reconfiguring has meant moving some panels around. The advent of modular systems furniture ushered in a new way of thinking about environmental responsibility in the workplace. Today’s rule of thumb: If it’s not easy to reconfigure and reuse, it’s probably not worth considering.

Since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, most manufacturers have assumed a cradle-to-grave life cycle – that is, you use a product until it wears out and then bury it. Instead, today’s progressive manufacturers are working toward a cradle-to-cradle approach, which assumes that a product eventually will be recycled rather than disposed of.

Cradle-to-cradle manufacturers develop products that are easy to take apart, easy to recycle, and generally easy on the environment – even to the point of evaluating the chemical makeup of raw materials to be sure they’re earth friendly. If you’re looking to buy green, look first for a manufacturer with a cradle-to-cradle philosophy.

Ever notice how new cars, new construction, and new furniture all have a distinctive odor? Better that you didn’t – because that smell indicates harmful contaminants are evaporating into the air. Many government workplaces are subject to stringent regulations pertaining to the emission of these volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.

To help protect your employees, choose low-emitting office furniture that meets standards set forth by either the independent Greenguard Environmental Institute or the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’s Association.

Many furniture makers reveal the percentage of recycled content in their products, so it’s relatively easy to narrow your choices in this regard. Herman Miller’s flagship Aeron chair, for instance, contains 66 percent recycled materials, while its Ethospace frame-and-tile system contains 35 percent.

You might even see a breakdown comparing post-consumer to pre-consumer recycled content. Post-consumer is preferable because it encompasses materials that have completed their life cycle in the consumer market and otherwise would be discarded – plastic bottles, for instance. Pre-consumer materials consist largely of manufacturing scrap that was never used in the consumer market.

Even more important than the percentage of recycled content is whether your furniture is recyclable at the end of its useful life. If you’re serious about taking advantage of recyclability down the road, pay attention to how a piece of furniture is put together – and how easy it is to take apart. If it’s a hassle to disassemble, its components likely won’t be recycled someday even if they theoretically could be.

Can your choice of office furniture reduce your electric bill? Absolutely. Consider glass tiles, translucent screens, low-height panels – anything that lets light reach interior spaces. The more daylight your workplace gets, the less artificial light it needs – and the happier your employees will be.

It’s hard to be attentive to environmental measures on the factory floor – and it’s all too easy to forget about them entirely out on the trucks. Bulky packaging can sideswipe the best intentions if it ends up in a landfill. Stay green by requesting returnable packaging (like shipping blankets) or recyclable alternatives – corrugated cardboard and polystyrene foam, for instance, are recyclable in many markets.

Finally, consider how the furniture supplier you’re evaluating does business, not just how it makes products. Does the company still sound green after articulating its policies toward renewable energy, solid-waste recycling, water conservation, and air emissions? Also, are any of its facilities LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council? The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program promotes green construction practices and awards buildings that make the grade.

Given stricter environmental criteria, government buyers are examining the green characteristics of furniture from a broader perspective than ever before. Fortunately, the industry is ready with environmental practices that stand up to scrutiny. Herman Miller, for instance, offers seating, systems, storage, and freestanding furniture through the U.S. Communities program that satisfies even the most comprehensive environmental purchasing standards.

For more information about environmentally responsible purchasing, visit www.uscommunities.org/gpa/green/ or www.gogreencommunities.org or contact Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland at kweyland@usmayors.org or 301-460-5251.