ANSI/BIFMA e3-2014e Furniture Sustainability Standard and LEVEL® Certification

 A majority of HBF's products have met the necessary qualifications to achieve LEVEL® certification. LEVEL® is the multi-attribute, sustainability certification based on the ANSI/BIFMA e3 Furniture Sustainability Standard.  The standard and certification were created to deliver the most open and transparent means of evaluating and communicating the environmental and social impacts of furniture products in the built environment. Taking into account a company’s social actions, energy usage, material selection and human and ecosystem health impacts, LEVEL® addresses how a product is sustainable from multiple perspectives. The organization, facilities, and products are audited on an annual basis to ensure ongoing compliance and improvement.

With LEVEL®, customers can make informed choices about sustainable commercial office furniture. The LEVEL® mark identifies that a product has been vetted by an independent third party certifier and its numeric marking of 1, 2 or 3 indicates the threshold of certification the product has achieved. A majority of HBF's seating, occasional tables and conference lines are LEVEL® certified. Please download the certificates from our product pages for the complete details. 

The combination of base product and options with the highest volume of sales or anticipated highest volume for a new product within the product category / subcategories as defined in Annex A. It is not necessary to consider the full range of options available on the representative sample for purposes of the evaluation. Notwithstanding all products of a family group are expected to meet the intent of the credits. Worst‐case sample selection as defined in the BIFMA LEVEL Standard (v 2019 ) - Section 4.

For more information about the ANSI/BIFMA LEVEL® standard, visit www.levelcertified.org.

Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®)

HBF holds Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC-C014704) Chain-of-Custody Certification® (SCS-COC-002143). This certification allows HBF to offer Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified wood products on a project specific basis. 

Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) Chain-of-Custody certification tracks certified wood from the forest to final production to ensure that responsible forestry practices were maintained at every level and to preserve this natural resource for generations to come. 

For more information regarding Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®), please visit: www.fsc.org.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®)

LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is transforming the way we think about how our buildings and communities are designed, constructed, maintained and operated across the globe. Comprehensive and flexible, LEED is a green building tool that addresses the entire building lifecycle recognizing best-in-class building strategies.

At its core, LEED is a program that provides third-party verification of green buildings. Building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. Prerequisites and credits differ for each rating system, and teams choose the best fit for the project. Learn more about LEED, the LEED Facts, and the LEED rating systems.

A Product Environmental Data Sheet is available for each product line that will provide the details on how each product can contribute to your LEED project. Contact your Client Services Representative for more information.  www.usgbc.org.

View LEED Product Contributions

Indoor Advantage™ Certified

A majority of HBF’s seating, tables, and storage products are Indoor Advantage™ Gold certified.

SCS Global Services (SCS), a reputable third-party certification and assessment body of environmental, sustainability and safety claims since 1984, has developed internationally recognized standards and certification programs to assist businesses with improving their environmental efforts, social accountability and product performance. 

The advantages of holding SCS Indoor Air Quality certification are substantial: in addition to improving indoor working environments and meeting qualifications for the LEED-CI EQ 4.5 credit for office furniture as well as the BIFMA Standard for Low-Emitting Office Furniture Systems & Seating M-7.1, there is the added assurance of knowing that the company’s entire breadth of products is held to such rigorous standards.

For more information regarding Indoor Advantage™, please visit: www.scsglobalservices.com.

WELL Building Standard™ Product and Textiles Contributions

The WELL Building Standard™ is the first building standard to integrate human health and wellness into the design, construction, maintenance and operations of buildings. WELL is administered by the International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI), a public benefit corporation whose mission is to improve human health and wellbeing through the built environment.

Learn more at www.wellcertified.com

A Product Environmental Data Sheet is available for each product line that will provide the details on how each product can contribute to your WELL project.  Please contact your Client Relations Representative for more information.

The following WELL V2 features are supported by HBF products and textiles:

Nourishment N08: Mindful Eating

HBF offers a variety of furniture products to outfit dedicated eating spaces.

Materials X01: Material Restrictions

HBF’s products and textiles meet the material restrictions for asbestos, mercury, and lead.

Materials X05: Enhanced Material Restrictions

HBF offers a variety of products and textiles that do not contain, or contain less than 100ppm of the listed chemicals.

Materials X06: VOC Restrictions

A majority of HBF’s products and textiles are Indoor Advantage™ Gold certified for indoor air quality and meet ANSI/BIFMA e3-2014 sections 7.6.1 and 7.6.2.

Materials X11: Cleaning Products and Protocols

HBF offers products and textiles that can be cleaned with low-impact cleaners and provides guidance on how to clean materials.

Mind M02: Nature and Place

Textiles and finishes with natural patterns can be selected, and custom colors and designs can be specified.

Mind M07: Restorative Spaces

HBF’s products and textiles can either create or be incorporated into restorative spaces, providing respite throughout the day.

Community C13: Accessibility and Universal Design

HBF offers products and textiles that include similar or complementing design elements, allowing project teams to easily create visually grouped zones of furniture to support wayfinding, or to support neurodiverse individuals.

View WELL V2  Product Contributions

Design for durability

HBF products are designed and rigorously tested to ensure they meet industry durability standards. We build products that have a long useful life and can withstand repeated service, repair and handling; and have standardized product parts and components available to facilitate maintenance, servicing and reassembly. 

In commercial office environments, the demands of the furniture include heavy use, limited maintenance and maximum flexibility. Each design is carefully considered for structure, strength, and durability to exceed client expectations. Several HBF products are designed to be remanufactured in order to facilitate the replacement of components. These elements are critical to a long product lifecycle and reduced landfill waste.

Design for recycling

HBF’s response to the environment does not end after producing our product. We understand that the day may come when you want to replace your furniture. 

For information and instructions regarding disassembly of HBF products for recycling, please visit: HBF disassembly drawings. To request a specific product drawing, please contact our Client Relations Department at 855.HBF.2020 or hbfservice@hbf.com.

For information on recycling office furniture components and other assembled products, please contact the USEPA office of Waste and Recycling in your region at www.epa.gov/recycle.

Materials for the environment

HBF is committed to using renewable materials whenever possible. By integrating recycled, rapidly renewable and natural materials, into our processes whenever possible we support our mission to serve our clients’ needs while not harming the environment.

Recycled materials

Many HBF seating, tables, and storage products have high recycled content. The percent recycled content is indicated on each product series environmental data sheet.

Packaging

HBF uses 17% or 60% post-consumer content recycled corrugated and 100% recyclable stretch wrapping and/or plastic bags depending on the item. The 17% recycled content corrugated packaging is used intelligently through our packaging equipment that uses significantly less material, by way of packaging the units using only what is needed for that exact sized item – therefore reducing packaging waste (i.e. “over packaging”).

HBF lumber

HBF uses lumber sourced from woodlands in the Northern Appalachian and Alleghany Mountains. All lumber is harvested under strict government supervision, adhering to sound forestry practices. HBF consciously partners with vendors that adhere to environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable standards. Some HBF styles are available with FSC® certified materials.

Upholstery options

HBF offers a wide array of upholstery options with sustainable attributes and fewer chemical treatments, including:

• Fabrics made from, or including rapidly renewable materials like wool, cotton, linen, cork and jute. 
• Up to 100% post-consumer recycled content
• 100% Eco-Intelligent® polyester
• PFOA-Free Finishes and Low Fluorocarbon Finishes
• Treatment-free (no added flame retardants, stain repellants, or antimicrobials)
• Facts-NSF 336 certified

Upholstery poly foam

All HBF seating products utilize poly foams that do not contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or flame retardants.  

Responsible Manufacturing

We believe tomorrow should be cleaner, safer, and more responsible than yesterday. Because sustainability doesn’t have an endpoint, we are working constantly to reduce our operational impacts and enact sustainable change.

We are committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions as a participant of the Science-Based Targets Initiative and we have set goals to reduce our Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. In 2020, we met our combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction goal through the purchase of 100% renewable electricity, which we will maintain annually.

Across our operations, we seek to drive out waste. We have set new goals to achieve zero waste to landfill at all facilities by 2030, further reduce our energy and emissions, and continue reducing our impacts associated with transportation and materials sourcing.

Lean manufacturing for the environment

Lean manufacturing is an integral part of the HBF process for eliminating waste and minimizing our environmental impact. Lean seeks to eliminate waste from every business process. Lean drives continuous improvement and provides ongoing opportunities to implement new environmentally conscious alternatives to traditional methods. 

Wood finishing emissions

HBF monitors and maintains low emissions of hazardous air pollutants. 

HBF has achieved “small source” status for air emissions as well as SCS Indoor Advantage™ Gold certification for the majority of its products.

Disposal of wood finishing waste and wood waste

Liquid waste from our wood finishing process is sent offsite to be fuel blended and used by cement kilns. Solid waste is also sent offsite to generate electricity. Most sawdust and some wood waste are used as industrial boiler fuel by third parties.