HOLLAND, MI – Haworth, Inc. pledged to remove 56 chemicals of concern from its products, globally, by the end of 2015, according to its ninth annual Sustainability Report.

The 56 chemicals were selected by reviewing common materials identified by customers, governments or nongovernment organizations as potentially harmful to health or the environment.

“We started by reviewing more than 2,000 chemicals of concern,” said Michael Werner, senior sustainability engineer at Haworth. “From this list, we selected those that were most industry-relevant. The elimination of these 56 chemicals will provide the most significant positive, short- and long-term impact on human and environmental health.”

Haworth is engaging its engineer teams and supply chain, which will begin by ensuring products are no longer designed with the chemicals of concern. Next it will ensure its parts do not contain the chemicals. If the problem cannot be solved through reengineering, Haworth will look for an alternative material or seek diffferent suppliers.

As of December 2013, Haworth said it has achieved 8% of its goal. By the end of this year, Haworth expects to reach 40%.

Haworth’s 2013 Sustainability Report says it also intends to source 100% of the wood used in Haworth casegoods, systems, tables, and storage products from sustainably managed forests.