Each year, Teknion expands organizational goals and objectives to support the reduction of impacts on the environment. As we grow our organizational culture with proactive environmental responsibility, our commitment is reinforced through enhanced relationships with our clients and suppliers. The result of our measured process of continuous improvement encourages future work; however, we remain humble as we develop the broader organizational understanding that our efforts are essential to the social, economic and environmental viability of our world.
Each year we develop a charter to guide us towards sustainability (available below). While our main focus has been within our organization, we work to expand our learning and influence across our supply base, government, NGOs (non-governmental organizations), the A&D community and customers via outreach programs.
Our major initiatives (Health and Well-Being in the Workplace, Energy Management, Low-Emitting Materials, Chemicals of Concern, Certified Wood, Design for the Environment and a furniture certification) promote continual improvement, establish objectives and targets, and comply with relevant government and self-subscribed regulations.
Transparency
Teknion is committed to provide full transparency for all products using the following initiatives:
- Source sustainable wood, using FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®) certified wood to define all wood purchased. (FSC-C018605) This includes substrates (MDF and particleboard), veneer (natural and reconstituted), dowels, drawer bodies, backers, and HPL.
- Reduce the use of hazardous chemicals, using a Red List defined by Declare. Declare publicly lists the ingredients found in our products.
- Choose low emitting materials for healthier indoor air, using the stringent standards of Greenguard and Greenguard Gold to qualify our products.
- Contribute to built environment standards: LEED, LBC, Breeam, and others. Provide information on recycled content, source of extraction, and source of manufacturing.
- Remain a sustainable leader by working with environmental organizations like the US and Canada Green Building Council, International Living Futures Institute and EXCEL.
- Provide choices to extend the life of our clients’ furniture: refurbish panels, replace wear components and design newer products to be easily integrated with older products.
- Provide an end of life strategy for our products to promote reuse, refurbish, and recycle strategies. We work with partners like ANEW and CSR ECO Solutions.
- Seek holistic product certification, covering materials, energy and atmosphere, human and ecosystem health and social responsibility, through the use of the e3 level standard.
- Teknion uses the Environmental Management System ISO 14001, to manage all of its environmental initiatives.