by AF 0601j3 — June 3, 2009—BIFMA International, the trade association for the commercial furniture industry, representing the leading firms in the contract furniture market, has announced the premier of product certification program, called “level.”
Level will verify conformance to the first fully transparent, multi-attribute furniture sustainability standard addressing material utilization, energy and atmosphere impacts, human and ecosystem health and social responsibility, says BIFMA. Manufacturers evaluating products to the BIFMA e3 sustainability standard and undergoing an independent, third-party certification process can achieve the level conformance mark. NSF International and Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) are the first third-party certification bodies to be recognized under the level certification program. The standard is modeled after LEED with specific prerequisites, optional credits, and three conformance levels, with level 3 certification being the highest.
BIFMA member firms Allsteel, Gunlocke, HON Company, Herman Miller, Kimball Office, National Office Furniture and Steelcase have products that meet the standard’s requirements and have received third party certification by either NSF or SCS. Each firm will be showcasing their level certified products at NeoCon, June 15-17 this year.
For more information, visit the Web site.
