Herman Miller Ethospace System - Environmental Product Summary - Manual

Our sustainability goals by the year 2020:
• Zero carbon footprint
• Zero landfill
• Zero hazardous waste generation
• Zero air emissions (VOCs)
• Zero process water use
• 100 percent renewable electrical energy use via renewable
energy credits and a power purchase agreement
• Company buildings constructed to a minimum
LEED Silver certification
• 100 percent of sales from DfE approved products
Environmental Product Summary
Ethospace ® System
Design Story: A Proven Frame-and-Tile System
Since its introduction in 1985, the Ethospace system’s
durability and flexibility have ensured it remains the
leading frame-and-tile system. Ethospace continues to
evolve, its new components fitting comfortably along-
side existing ones to expand its life and usefulness.
The first system to make natural light a given in its
design, Ethospace uses glass tiles, translucent materials
and lower-height walls to allow more sunlight into an
office environment, while reducing the need for artificial
lighting. Additionally, new configurations incorporat-
ing open returns and up-mounted storage reduce
the amount of materials used in and on Ethospace’s
frame walls.
Herman Miller’s Design Protocol
Our commitment to corporate sustainability naturally
includes minimizing the environmental impact of each
of our products. Our Design for Environment team (DfE)
applies environmentally sensitive design standards to
both new and existing Herman Miller products.
The DfE Design Protocol goes beyond regulatory
compliance to thoroughly evaluate new product
designs in four key areas:
• Material Chemistry and Safety of Inputs—
What chemicals are in the materials we specify, and
are they the safest available?
• Disassembly—Can we take products apart at the
end of their useful life, to recycle their materials?
• Recyclability—Do the materials contain recycled
content, and more importantly, can the materials be
recycled at the end of the product’s useful life?
• LCA—Have we optimized the product based on the
entire life cycle?
level ® Certification
Ethospace system is certified level 1. The level
conformance mark ensures a comprehensive,
independent, and impartial assessment of the
environmental and social impacts of a product.
Material Content
Ethospace system components are constructed from
steel, wood, plastic, other materials, and textile.
The Ethospace system is up to 78 percent recyclable
at the end of its useful life.
Ethospace is made of 53 percent recycled materials.
The recycled content breaks down to 32-percent post-
consumer and 21-percent pre-consumer content.
• Most laminate and veneer Ethospace
work surfaces may be ordered as FSC ®
certified products.
z
1
Y
® Y and Z and Ethospace are among the registered trademarks of Herman Miller, Inc.
® level is a trademark of BIFMA International.
Only the products that are identified as such on this document are FSC® certified.
® Sustainable Forest Initiative is a registered trademark of SFI Inc.
® GREENGUARD is a registered trademark of the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute.
© 2012 Herman Miller, Inc., Zeeland, Michigan
PRE-CONSUMER
RECYCLED CONTENT 21%
POST-CONSUMER
RECYCLED CONTENT 32%
STEEL 72%
WOOD 15%
PLASTIC 7%
HPL 3%
TEXTILE 2%
OTHER 1%