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NSF's Indoor Air Emissions Certification Program has expanded its scope to include low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions found in office furniture.

VOCs, such as formaldehyde and aldehydes, are chemicals emitted by a wide array of products, including paints, building materials and furnishings, copiers, and printers.

VOCs may cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, headache, nausea, and skin problems, but higher concentrations may cause irritation of the lungs, damage to the liver, kidney, or central nervous system.

The NSF Emissions Certification for Office Furntiture  program directly addresses these concerns.

"Numerous interior furnishing products have been introduced into the market claiming a variety of environmental attributes," said Dr. Kurtis Kneen, Director, NSF's Chemistry Laboratory. "End users have been requesting help in order to understand the environmental benefits of each product and to be able to compare products using a consistent basis of measurement. Having standards in place that define and identify low-emitting furniture will assist manufacturers in communicating and end users in understanding environmental and sustainability-related product benefits."

BIFMA Standard: BIFMA X7.1-2007

The new sustainable furniture certification program is based on a Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) standard for Formaldehyde and TVOC Emissions of Low-emitting Office Furniture Systems and Seating - BIFMA X7.1-2007.

"BIFMA identified a need for an open, consensus-based, and publicly available test method and standard for low-emitting furniture products. Having NSF incorporate American National Standard Institute (ANSI) standards into their program is further verification of that market need," stated Thomas Reardon, Executive Director, BIFMA International, a non-profit trade association of furniture manufacturers and suppliers that promotes sustainable work environments and business practices.

ANSI/BIFMA X7.1 Standards

ANSI/BIFMA X7.1 defines requirements for VOC emissions from office furniture classified as low-emitting products. The standard also:

• Provides requirements for the emissions of VOCs from office furniture
• Specifies acceptance levels that define low-emitting furniture independent of construction materials, manufacturing processes, mechanical designs, or aesthetic designs
• Applies only to newly manufactured products

LEED Green Building Credits for low-emitting furniture

Annual monitoring through audits ensures ongoing compliance. In addition to obtaining NSF Certification and the right to use the NSF Mark on products or in literature, certified products can also be used to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credits for building projects that specify the use of low-emitting furniture. LEED certification is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings.

BIFMA Test Method: BIFMA M-7.1 for Long Term VOC Emission Testing

BIFMA has also developed a standard test method (BIFMA M-7.1) in conjunction with the standard to determine a long-term (14 days) VOC emission from office furniture. Testing in support of the NSF Certification program will follow this standard test method. The test method identifies VOC emitted and determines the emission rates for individual compounds and total VOC. These data are then used to determine whether the furniture tested meets the acceptance criteria for VOC emissions.

Materials Analytical Services, Inc, Provides Environmental Testing

To provide testing services to the BIFMA standard test method, NSF has established a partnership with Materials Analytical Services, Inc. (MAS), an independent, privately held microanalytical firm specializing in environmental consulting and testing.

"Over the past five years, MAS has worked directly with BIFMA and several other trade organizations to advance the science of dynamic product emissions testing as a means to improve indoor air quality in both today's buildings and tomorrow's ever greener buildings," said Martin Bennett, Senior Consultant with MAS. "Our partnership with NSF will significantly raise the bar for consumers, manufacturers, planners, and architects as the reliable source for delineation and certification of low-VOC-emitting furniture."

For additional information about NSF's Indoor Air Emissions Certification for Office Furniture Program, contact sustainabilitysales@nsf.org.

The BIFMA e3-2008 Furniture Sustainability Standard has been developed by BIFMA, the Business and Institutional Furniture Manfuacturer's Association.  As the trade association for the segment of the furniture market, they have developed sustainability standards to connect their manufacturing members with the wider market of corporations and government buyers who need to fulfill corporate social responsibility and carbon reduction footprints. 

The ANSI/BIFMA standards are intended to provide manufacturers, specifiers, and users with a common basis for evaluating safety, durability, and the structural adequacy of the specified furniture, independent of construction materials. The standards define specific tests, laboratory equipment to be used, the conditions of test, and the minimum acceptance levels to be used in evaluating these products. Copies of obsolete editions of the various standards are available upon request.

The ANSI/BIFMA Safety and Performance Standards are developed by the BIFMA Engineering Committee. The standards are reviewed every five years according to guidelines established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

All accredited standards developers must follow the ANSI Essential Requirements and their own set of written procedures in the process of developing new or revising existing standards. To obtain a copy of the ANSI Essential requirements go to http://www.ansi.org. If you are interested in the procedures that BIFMA uses in developing standards you may download a copy from the following: BIFMA Revised Proc_14June07.pdf

Also, BIFMA is accredited by ANSI to be the administrator of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO Technical Committee TC-136 Furniture. This has been very useful for BIFMA in our involvement with International Standards for office furniture. However, ISO TC-136 covers ALL furniture, not just office furniture. If you have an interest in International Standards for furniture that would be other than office furniture, BIFMA would like to hear from you.

BIFMA e3-2008 Furniture Sustainability Standard and level™ Certification Program

Certified Products

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.

BIFMA International and NSF International (NSF) announced the release of BIFMA e3-2008 Furniture Sustainability Standard to the NSF consensus ballot process and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) public comment period in June of 2008. The standard is an open, consensus based method to evaluate the sustainable attributes of furniture products.  It addresses all three aspects of sustainability (environmental, economic and social) and includes criteria for evaluating human & ecosystem health, energy, natural resource and corporate social responsibility impacts. The draft standard is downloadable here:

BIFMA e3-2008.pdf.

In June of 2009, BIFMA announced the premier of the product certification program, level™. For more information, the news release is available at http://bifma.org/news/newsrelease.pdfs/level_PR_05.pdf and the level™ website is:

http://levelcertified.org

Scientific Certification Systems is at the forefront of sustainability certification providing a multi-stakeholder, multi-attribute sustainability certification for office and institutional furniture.

Level Certification by SCS

level™ certification, based on the BIFMA e3-2008 sustainability standard, sets furniture manufacturers on a path toward greater sustainability over time.

Based on environmental and social criteria set forth in the standard, a product's entire supply chain is assessed.

Certification assessment includes an evaluation of specific corporate policies and guidelines and an assessment of associated company manufacturing facilities. Products must meet quantifiable milestones of environmental and social performance at every step of development.

The quantitative assessment addresses four categories:

• material use
• energy and atmosphere impacts
• human and ecosystem health
  
• social responsibility
  

Manufacturers earn points in each of the four categories. The level™ brand and its numeric rating of 1, 2 or 3 indicate what threshold of certification a product has achieved. level™ 3 is the highest rating.

Annual reviews are required to maintain certification.

SCS provided the first certifications based on the BIFMA e3-2008 standard in 2008.

SCS Sustainable Choice Furniture

Manufacturers whose products were previously certified under SCS Sustainable Choice Furniture are now part of level™.

Benefits to Manufacturers

• Reinforce a brand image with on-product labeling
• Assure customers that certified products are held to rigorous standards
• Attain bottom-line cost savings with effective environmental strategies
• Depending on the credits earned in the level assessment process, the following points may be available in the LEED program:

For BIFMA e3-2008 Credit 5.5, Rapidly Renewable Materials:

• USGBC LEEDv3, MR credit 6 (Rapidly Renewable Materials)

For BIFMA e3-2008 Credit 5.6, Bio-based Renewable Materials-Sustainable Wood:

• USGBC LEEDv3, MR credit 7 (Certified Wood)

For BIFMA e3-2008 Credit 5.7, Recycled Content:

• USGBC LEEDv3, MR credit 4

For BIFMA e3-2008 Credit 7.6, Low Emitting Furniture:

• USGBC LEEDv3, IEQ4.5 (Low-Emitting Materials--Systems Furniture and Seating)
• Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS)
• CA-CHPS 2009, EQ2.2.5 (Low-Emitting Materials, Furniture & Furnishings)
• ANSI/BIFMA X7.1-2007 Low-emitting Office Furniture Systems and Seating
• California Section 01350 Specification
• CA DHS Standard Practice for the Testing of Volatile Organic Emissions
• California Department of General Service (DGS) Indoor Air Quality Specifications for Open Panel Office Furniture (2006)

BIFMA e3-2008 Furniture Sustainability Standard

The BIFMA e3-2008 business and institutional furniture sustainability standard is an open, consensus-based method to evaluate the social and environmental attributes of furniture products. It addresses all three aspects of sustainability (environmental, economic and social) and includes criteria for evaluating impacts:

• human and ecosystem health
• energy
• natural resource
  
• corporate social responsibility
  

The standard has been developed working with stakeholders and experts from inside and outside the industry over a three-year period.

The process has been conducted in alignment with ANSI regulations and, as such, the BIFMA e2-2008 standard will soon achieve status as an American National Standard.

For more information or to comment on the standard, visit levelcertified.org.