Humanscale is at the forefront of sustainable and responsible manufacturing, and on Thursday 13th June it told its story at Foster + Partners to celebrate the expansion of the Declare label in to the European market.

Declare is a transparency platform and product database that is changing the materials marketplace. The programme’s simplicity and ease of use by both manufacturers and product specifiers have helped fuel market demand for chemical transparency and healthier building products.

Humanscale is leading across all industries in material transparency with more Health Product Declarations (HPDs) and Declare labels than any other company. To date, 60% of Declare labels and 54% of HPDs in the entire industry are published by Humanscale. To date, 57% of Humanscale products carry Declare labels and HPDs. These labels represent Humanscale’s commitment to avoiding red-list materials and chemicals of concern, many of which are common in the furniture industry, including Formaldehyde, PVC, Chrome 6, PFC stain-resistant coatings, and HFR flame retardants.

The Declare Europe launch is taking place in Bolzano during the 2019 Klimahouse conference, which is focused on the exchange of ideas, innovations and insights on the latest trends in the energy-efficiency and sustainable construction sector.

The Declare transparency program aligns with multiple sustainability certification programs such as the Living Building Challenge, LEED and WELL, building product legislation, and purchasing programs. Through ILFI’s work with select leading product manufacturers in Europe, the program has been enhanced to best suit the European building market. Declare labels satisfy requirements like the Living Building Challenge Red List, REACH SVHC, and SIN List chemicals present in the final product. Products free of these chemicals are highlighted within the Declare label and in ILFI’s database of Declare products.

The event on the 13th of June at Foster + Partners managed to bring together a number of experts who shared experiences to educate the sector further on the Declare initiative.

Humanscale’s commitment to sustainability doesn’t stop with Declare, led by Chief Sustainablity Officer Jane Abernethy, other initiatives include:

  • Living Product Challenge Pioneer: Humanscale became, and remains, the first manufacturer ever to achieve full certification with the world’s two first Living Products, its Diffrient Smart chair and Float table.
  • Factory Advancements: Humanscale’s Piscataway manufacturing facility now uses captured rainwater for 100% of production, on-site solar energy for over 80% of electricity, and achieved the highest recycling rates for manufacturing in New Jersey. In the past year alone, Humanscale reduced normalized energy by 10%, reduced greenhouse gasses by 12% over the baseline year and diverted 84% of waste from the landfill.
  • Leader in Material Transparency: Humanscale is leading across all industries in material transparency with more Health Product Declarations (HPDs) and Declare labels than any other company. To date, 60% of Declare labels and 54% of HPDs in the entire industry are published by Humanscale. To date, 57% of Humanscale products carry Declare labels and HPDs. These labels represent Humanscale’s commitment to avoiding red-list materials and chemicals of concern, many of which are common in the furniture industry, including Formaldehyde, PVC, Chrome 6, PFC stain-resistant coatings, and HFR flame retardants.
  • Going forward, all of Humanscale seating will be available in Humanscale’s new line of premium chrome-free leather upholstery. The brand is aiming to become the first company to offer chrome-free leather exclusively. While traditional tanning processes require chromium, Humanscale’s new collection of leathers come from a carbon neutral tannery that does not utilise the harmful chemical, offering a healthier choice for users and the environment. Humanscale will offer two lines of leather, Ticino and Corvera, for a total of thirteen chrome-free leather options.
  • Sustainability Leadership: Humanscale has received numerous awards for our leadership in sustainability, including the Manufacturer Visionary Award in 2017. Humanscale also became a founding member of the Net Positive Project and the NextWave Initiative demonstrating its commitment to changing the dialogue on sustainable manufacturing around the world with initiatives that are environmentally and economically aligned.
  • Smart Ocean: Humanscale recently introduced the Smart Ocean chair — the first ever office product made with recycled fishing net material. With each chair produced these plastic nets are kept out of the ocean and into the office.
  • Living Future Europe: Humanscale is a Founding Circle partner of LFI and a founding partner of Living Future Europe a new chapter. The International Living Future Institute is focused on bringing more regenerative design to Europe primarily through the Living Building Challenge, Declare programme and local collaboratives.

Abernethy is currently Vice Chair of the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) Sustainability Committee and was elected to the HPD Collaborative’s Board of Directors in 2017. A respected voice in the industry, she most recently was selected to serve on the keynote panel for The Living Product Expo 2018.

For further information download the press release or contact Anna King.

download press release