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Best Practices Developed for Contract Furnishing Industry

By GreenerDesign Staff
Published September 4, 2008

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BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, UK -- The British Contract Furnishing & Design Association has developed a Code of Best Practice to encourage manufacturers and suppliers in the contract furnishing industry to reduce their impact on the environment.

The Association's Environmental Panel developed the six-point Code. If Association members meet all the criteria laid out in the Code, they are eligible to use the Association's Green World logo on websites, marketing and other product materials.

The Code's first point asks companies to make a commitment to the Code, appoint someone to oversee environmental strategy and keep environmental issues a constant topic at high-level meetings. The Code's second point says a company must take up an environmental management system such as ISO 14001, BS 8555, or EU EMAS.

Part of an environmental strategy should focus on sourcing, with companies setting sourcing policies and ensuring they are using materials that came from a responsible supply chain. The Code is partly designed to reduce a company's impact, so companies are also encouraged to calculate their carbon footprints and measure and monitor how they are using energy, water and fuel, as well as creating waste

Sourcing comes into play again in the Code's fifth point, a call for companies to set action plans with timescales for reexamining product designs, supply chains, operations and manufacturing.

Lastly, companies should make education and communication about their efforts a priority, keeping employees and customers especially informed about their results, both good and bad.

The Association notes that reduction of carbon emissions is a high priority behind the Code, and it does not support the use of carbon offsets unless a company has already undertaken all other measures to reduce emissions and resource use.