Respecting people and the environment while creating the best product.
Design for the Environment (DfE)
The development stage of a new product sets the course for how it will later impact the environment. Using our Design for Environment process, we plan for a product’s long-term fate. Packaging, chemical content, renewable materials, and recyclability of products become important additions to the product design process. Replaceable parts are available to repair existing products, which helps reduce the environmental and social impacts of raw material extraction and energy used to produce new products.
Material Health and Transparency
Allsteel has prioritized the development of sustainable, healthy products for years. Nearly all of our products are certified for low emissions and can be specified without harmful chemicals, including flame retardants, stain repellants, antimicrobials, and PVC. Our Environmental Data Sheets (EDS) provide details about the materials, recycled content, recyclability, product certifications, and LEED and WELL contributions for our products. Additional certifications and product scorecards are available for download.
Life Cycle Assessments and Environmental Product Declarations
Understanding the life cycle environmental impacts of a product is important for manufacturers if we are to create more sustainable products. We’ve been studying the impacts of our products and developing third-party verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), which provide details about the amounts of embodied energy, water, and carbon in our products.
Product Disassembly
It’s a challenge to predict where durable furniture will end up after its long lifetime, but Allsteel is working to keep our furniture out of landfills. One way to encourage the future recycling of our products is to make disassembly diagrams publicly available. These diagrams include identification of the materials in each component part so future recyclers can turn old materials into new.
Product End of Life
ANEW - Allsteel has created an end-of-life referral program for our customers, using ANEW. ANEW is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that can provide a sustainable disposition solution for surplus contract office furniture. By using ANEW, our clients can extend their furniture’s useful life through repurposing, help local and national charitable organizations through donation, divert most materials from the landfill through recycling, and receive a tax deduction in the process.