Over the past few months the Green Edge Newsletter has featured a variety of innovative companies that were founded to sell sustainable solutions, be it countertops or garment bags. This month we take a look at how two existing companies are transforming themselves and their product lines into sustainability solutions as we focus our Green Edge lens on the office furniture industry. 

"Very Wire Stacker" chair on Haworth's headquarters green roof in Holland, Michigan

 
Let's start with Herman Miller, a publicly-owned manufacturer of office furniture with a global reach and net sales in 2009 of over $1.6B. Herman Miller formed an environmental steering committee in 1989 and established zero landfill use as its first goal. Although they are apparently still working toward meeting that goal, Herman Miller has publicly committed to achieving seven additional environmental goals by 2020, including zero hazardous waste generation, air emissions and process water use, as well as 100% green energy and sales from Design for the Environment (DfE) approved products. Thirteen Herman Miller product lines, including seven different types of chairs, filing and storage units, accessories and systems furniture, have earned the Cradle to Cradle green certification.
 
Herman Miller is not the only office furniture manufacturer with its eye on carbon footprint reduction.  Haworth, a family-owned manufacturer of office furniture with a global reach and just over $1B in 2009 net sales considers sustainability a core company goal and is making great strides in its carbon footprint reduction efforts. This company highlights having achieved zero waste to landfill status for their global headquarters and U.S., Shanghai and Pune, India manufacturing facilities. Over 10 million pounds of landfill waste that was generated annually by their U.S. manufacturing facilities alone has been eliminated.  Some of the strategies Haworth employed to reach this laudable goal include dumpster dives: evaluating what they were discarding, setting up multiple recycling stations: making recycling easier, talking about trash, team competitions, product design focus and changing their ways. 
 

Herman Miller Aeron Chair

That said, what is in a chair?  Let's take a look, and let us know which chair you vote for. 
 
Herman Miller Aeron. There's the tried and true Aeron chair by Herman Miller, which boasts 62% recycled content and 94% recyclability, as well as low toxicity, with Green Guard Indoor Air Quality and Cradle to Cradle certifications. Given the sustainable attributes of the Aeron chair, using it will help obtain the LEED® green building certification.
 

Haworth Zody Chair

Haworth Zody. Then there's Haworth's Zody chair, which is manufactured with energy purchased with Green-e certified wind energy certificates. In addition to being composed of 51% recycled content,  it is 98% recyclable, uses no PVC's or CFC's, is eligible for an end of life take-back program and has earned Cradle to Cradle certification. 
 
Emeco 111 Navy. Finally, let's take a look at the 111 Navy chair made by Emeco, a company founded in 1944 to make all aluminum chairs for the Navy. Emeco's aluminum chairs are composed of 80% recycled materials and are 100% recyclable, with an estimated life span of 150 years. Emeco uses 100% recyclable shipping and packing materials. Emeco's newest chair, The 111 Navy was introduced in April and is made of 111 recycled plastic bottles contributed by Coca-Cola. How's that for innovation?