Humanscale takes office furniture to a new environmental level with a variety of options that are certified climate, energy and water positive by The International Living Future Institute, in alignment with its stringent Living Product Challenge.
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“We are proud to be the first company ever to offer any product — let alone 26 — that is certified net-positive. We work hard to ensure that our environmental philosophy extends to every part of our business — whether it’s in our product materials, factories, or communities. Humanscale’s 360 approach to sustainability reflects our mission to minimize our impact on the planet and give back in measurable ways to ultimately leave the world better off,” says Jane Abernethy, Chief Sustainability Officer at Humanscale.
Related: Metal furniture by Division Twelve is now carbon neutral
It’s a notable accomplishment since Humanscale is the only manufacturer to achieve this comprehensive certification. Meeting these sustainability requirements means using ethically-sourced materials in the products. It also means ensuring the conservation of water and the use of renewable resources throughout the manufacturing process. In fact, there is a long checklist of certification requirements.
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As a starting point, around 85% of materials used in Humanscale products are recycled and/or recyclable. This isn’t a new policy for the company, which has been designing and manufacturing with recycled materials for the past two decades. For example, in 2018 the company became the first furniture manufacturer to incorporate reclaimed fishing nets into its products. There’s a line of office chairs dedicated to the goal of recycling ocean plastic.
Throughout the manufacturing process, teams use recycled aluminum whenever possible, which is preferred over plastic or synthetic options. Along the way, it’s also been working to eliminate any ingredients on the red list. At the other end of the production line, the company also uses packaging that consistently contains around 40% recycled content. Additionally, transparency is important to the company. The company reports, “Almost a third of Declare labels in the entire furniture industry were published by Humanscale, even though we make up less than 4% of the industry by sales volume.”
Outside of the day-to-day product decisions, the company sponsors the World Wildlife Fund. In fact, it’s a passion project for Humanscale founder and CEO Robert King, who has served on WWF’s National Council since 1999.
Images via Humanscale
