GRAND RAPIDS, MI - A strategic partnership between the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) and the Health Product Declaration (HPD) Collaborative will create standardized chemical identification, assessment and disclosure protocol for office furniture products and components.

The groups said the standardized protocol would align with the ANSI/BIFMA e3 Furniture Sustainability and level Certification Program.

“We need to unite the programs that are asking product manufacturers for information into one common process that uses one common language," said HPD Collaborative Executive Director John L. Knott, Jr. “And BIFMA's demonstrated leadership on the development of a standardized path for the commercial furniture industry's supply chain is an excellent roadmap for this process.” 

BIFMA Executive Director Tom Reardon said, "We anticipate engaging raw material and component suppliers, other organizations, and expert sources of chemical information to help us develop consistent and reliable chemical information that is comprehensive in nature."

BIFMA and HPD both point to significant emerging chemical protocols as a driving factor in this partnership. 

“Some of these protocols have been recognized in LEED v4, including Health Product Declarations, Cradle to Cradle, and GreenScreen. Section 7 of ANSI/BIFMA e3 also includes a chemical methodology and level certified products have been recognized in the LEED Rating System with Pilot Credit 80,” explained Reardon. “Our goal is to develop a standardization process that effectively unites these protocols into a single, accessible process.”