Foreword from the President of Herman Miller International
For any organisation, behaving responsibly towards the environment should be more than just a statement of intent. At Herman Miller it’s an attitude that permeates every part of our business; as it has done for more than 50 years. In order to share our environmental goals and communicate clearly with stakeholders, our environmental programme has been consolidated under the title ‘Policy 53’, reflecting the environmental aims of the organisation since 1953.
Herman Miller designs, manufactures and supplies contract furniture for office, education, healthcare and home environments. Now, more than ever, the buildings we work in, the designs and materials our products are made from and the people who make them all have a vital role to play; as do our suppliers and the organisations that recycle our products when they’ve reached the end of their useful life. After all, sustainability and commercial success are not mutually exclusive ends; instead they should coexist in a beneficial and happy relationship.
2020 Environmental Goals
In 2004 we established the ‘Perfect Vision’ programme. The initiative established a target date of 2020 to meet a precise and challenging list of sustainable goals:
- Zero VOC (volatile organic compounds) emissions to air
- Zero hazardous waste
- Zero waste to landfill
- Zero process water consumption
- 100% renewable electrical energy use
- 100% of sales from DfE (Design for the Environment) approved products
- 100% of owned or leased company building achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver certification or BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method)
We are committed to being at 80% of this objective by 2010 and have already achieved target in some areas.
With continuing improvements in technology and a strong commitment among Herman Miller employees, we fully intend to reach these goals. And to make sure we’re on track, we measure our performance against these targets and the process is managed by an in-house environmental specialist.
Herman Miller has a fully documented Environmental Management System (EMS) that satisfies the requirements of ISO 14001:2004. The EMS is fully integrated within the company’s overall management system and we comply with statutory duties, relevant legislation, regulations and other applicable requirements concerning the environment. We have a procedure to identify the environmental impact of our activities, products and services. This includes emissions to air, releases to water and land, use of raw material and natural resources.
We are one of the founder members of the ‘Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme’, launched in 2006 in the UK by the Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA) and Office Furniture and Filing Manufacturers’ Association (OFFMA). It is a focus for the development of new industry standards and has become established as the trade’s premier forum on environmental and quality standards.
A Greener Future
Our global client base continually challenges us to design and manufacture greener furniture solutions, and with this challenge at the forefront of our minds we see our 2020 goals as just the minimum standard we strive to achieve.
With the development of low carbon technologies, we commit ourselves to the prevention of pollution, reduction of waste and continual environmental improvement with the intention of reducing levels of CO² emissions generated by our activities, not just in the UK but worldwide.
We aspire to excellence in all our endeavours and environmental management is no exception. All employees have my full support in the implementation of this policy.