Sustainable Office Furniture
by WINI

Preventing waste from being generated in the first place—for example, by using less packaging, choosing durable products, and repairing and reusing items. This is sustainable because it conserves raw materials, energy, and reduces CO2 emissions, while also lowering the environmental impact caused by disposal or recycling.

Bio-based plastics consist, at least in part, of renewable (mostly plant-based) raw materials. Contrary to popular belief, however, bio-based plastics are not always biodegradable. Starch (e.g., cornstarch), cellulose, or sugar can serve as the primary sources for bio-based plastics. Even plastics such as PE or PET, which are usually classified as petroleum-based, can be produced with a proportion of bio-based plastic. Moldable parts and transparent solutions are both feasible. Whether bio-based plastics are more sustainable depends on environmental objectives, the intended application, and the composition. In most cases, the raw materials are more readily available regionally and have a better carbon footprint; they are also generally more easily biodegradable when disposed of as waste. On the other hand, depending on the application, petroleum-based plastics may be more durable. Furthermore, there are such large quantities of petroleum-based plastic “in the world” that this resource cannot remain unused.

The circular economy is an economic model that aims to conserve resources and minimize waste. In contrast to the linear economic model, in which products are discarded after use, the circular economy seeks to recover a product’s raw materials at the end of its life so that they can be used as raw materials for the production of the next product. In this way, raw materials would circulate in a closed loop. Waste would be avoided, and the need for newly extracted raw materials would decrease, thereby protecting the environment from the environmental impacts associated with raw material extraction.

(English: “cradle-to-cradle”) The concept was developed by, among others, Michael Braungart (currently a professor of process engineering and chemistry at Leuphana University in Lüneburg), who also coined the term “eco-effectiveness” in this context. The goal is to be able to completely disassemble all individual parts of a product back to their original state and reuse them. The basic idea is that there is actually no such thing as waste in nature; rather, all materials are resources. The Cradle-to-Cradle principle is based on two complementary cycles: a technical cycle, in which materials can be recycled without any loss of quality, and a natural cycle, in which materials are repeatedly transformed into nutrients for new life through composting processes.

To ensure that every product can be reused in its entirety, a new production concept is needed; currently, we can reuse only a fraction of items because bonding, welding, and connections to other product components often make loss-free “deconstruction” difficult or impossible.

(English: “from cradle to gate”) A phase in the “life cycle analysis of a product,” for example in life cycle assessment. This phase ranges from the extraction of raw materials, through processing and product manufacturing, to delivery to the user. Subsequent impacts resulting from the use of the product or its recycling are not yet included.

(English: from cradle to grave) The cradle-to-grave cycle refers to an assessment that tracks the life stages of a product from the point of raw material procurement, through manufacturing and use, to the product’s disposal. In other words, it is “Cradle-to-Gate” expanded to include the two subsequent phases of a product’s use and disposal. In the so-called linear economy, “Cradle-to-Grave” describes the entire “life” of a product, including all its impacts on the climate, health, and the environment. However, if the choice of materials and the design of a product make it possible for the product not to be disposed of but instead to be completely broken down into its original raw materials for use in new products, a cycle is created: “Cradle-to-Cradle.”

The Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF) describes the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions (including CO₂ emissions) generated directly or indirectly by a company’s business activities. The CCF provides companies with an overview of exactly where greenhouse gas emissions occur within their operational processes and value chain, and how high these emissions are. This enables companies to collect data that they can use to set reduction targets.

The abbreviation “CSR” stands for the English term “Corporate Social Responsibility.” Literally translated, it refers to corporate social responsibility. In the German-speaking world, CSR is understood to mean the social responsibility of companies in the context of sustainable business practices.

Corporate Sustainability Reporting (in the current context of sustainability reporting) – This refers to corporate reporting on sustainability (reporting requirement)

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive – The directive (the set of rules, the guideline) according to which a sustainability report must be prepared.

End of life (of a product)

End of use (of a product)

The acronym for the three sustainability-related areas of corporate responsibility: Environment, Social, and Governance. These include, for example, environmental pollution, workplace safety, and a company’s management and control processes. Unlike CSG, ESG places greater emphasis on measurable results from quantitative goals.

EUDR (European Union Deforestation Regulation) – EU Regulation

The consumption of and trade in wood-based raw materials and products must not contribute to deforestation and/or further degradation of forest ecosystems. The regulation takes effect on December 30, 2025; the final transition period ends on July 1, 2026. The affected products must be deforestation-free as of December 30, 2025. This means that, in the areas where the relevant raw materials are produced, no forests were converted into agricultural land, and no harvesting operations took place that are unsustainable and result in a reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of forest ecosystems.

FSC (certified wood source)

FSC-certified means certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. FSC is an international certification system for forest management. It is designed to ensure that wood and paper products come from forests managed according to strict environmental, social, and economic standards. In the office furniture industry, the FSC label indicates that the wood materials used come from responsibly managed forests and thus contribute to the promotion of sustainable forest management.

The Forest Stewardship Council was founded in 1993 by the environmental organization Greenpeace. FSC conducts audits based on internationally comparable standards it has established itself.

The ISO 59000 family of standards is a new series (2024) of international standards designed to establish a common understanding and provide consistent guidelines for implementing the circular economy within organizations. The goal of the circular economy is to preserve and use raw materials for as long as possible while maintaining the highest possible quality. This is achieved by redesigning products, services, and value chains, thereby reducing the demand for primary resources and increasingly meeting that demand with secondary resources.

The ISO 59000 family of standards currently consists of seven documents that define terminology, principles, and guidelines.

The circular economy aims to keep all resources required for production and the product itself within a cycle of use and reuse, without loss or waste.

Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains.

Companies must ensure respect for human rights throughout the entire supply chain. Key areas:

• Prohibition of child labor below the minimum legal age
• Prohibition of the worst forms of child labor
• Prohibition of forced labor
• Prohibition of slavery
• Compliance with occupational safety and health standards
• Prohibition of violations of the freedom of association
• Unequal treatment
• Fair compensation
• Prohibition of causing harmful soil degradation, water pollution, and air pollution
• Prohibition of unlawful eviction / confiscation of land, forests, and water bodies
• Prohibition / Deployment of Security Forces

Companies with 3,000 or more employees (corporations) were required to fully implement the Supply Chain Act as of January 1, 2023. As of January 1, 2024, this requirement applies to all companies with 1,000 or more employees.

The linear economic system is the currently dominant system based on the “take-make-waste” principle and differs from the circular economy in its lack of circularity. Raw materials are extracted, products are manufactured, sold, consumed, and then discarded. This results in raw material shortages, emissions, large volumes of waste, and associated environmental impacts.

Part of “non-financial reporting”

In Germany, larger companies are required to publish a sustainability report: those with total assets exceeding 20 million euros, revenue exceeding 40 million euros, more than 500 employees, and a capital market orientation, as well as banks, insurance companies, and fund management firms. Effective January 1, 2025: Expansion to all large companies (regardless of their capital market orientation) with 250 or more employees. Effective January 1, 2026: Expansion to small and medium-sized enterprises with ten or more employees if they are capital market-oriented. The sustainability report must be audited by a certified public accountant or a certified service provider. The format of the sustainability report is not clearly prescribed. It is recommended to follow best-practice standards that ensure the correct scope. This includes, among other things, EMAS III.

The sustainability report must also address social issues such as supply chain considerations. The topic of greenhouse gases (GHG)/CO2 must also be reported. The scope of this reporting depends on the materiality of the topic for the business. Starting in 2024, the sustainability report must be integrated as part of the management report. A separate sustainability report is permitted only in addition to this.

Topics covered in the sustainability report:

• Environmental topics: Climate protection, adaptation to climate change, conservation of water and marine resources, circular economy, prevention of environmental pollution, and preservation of biodiversity.
• Social issues: Ensuring equal opportunities for all employees, gender equality, creating safe working conditions with a good work-life balance, and respect for human rights.
• Governance issues: The role of the company’s administrative, management, and supervisory bodies (including with regard to sustainability matters), as well as anti-corruption and anti-bribery measures, the company’s political engagement, and any lobbying activities.

The Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) is the most widely accepted method for determining a product’s climate impact. Throughout a product’s entire life cycle—from raw material extraction to recycling or disposal—climate-relevant impacts arise in the form of greenhouse gas emissions. The carbon footprint is not limited—as the name might suggest—to carbon dioxide emissions, but also includes other greenhouse gases.

The climate impact of the various greenhouse gases is expressed in CO2 equivalents, since the gases have different global warming potentials.

•  Methane (CH4)
• Nitrous oxide (N₂O)
• Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
• Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
• Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
• Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3)

The life cycle assessment for a product can be examined for defined stages of the “product life.” In a linear economy, a product’s life spans from A1 to C4—that is, from the initial procurement of raw materials to the disposal of waste at the end of the disposal phase. In the circular economy, “waste” is defined as a nutrient for new products. For this reason, the potential for recycling is examined under D. Labeling the phases with standardized abbreviations facilitates the structuring of analyses and communication about them.

Certified Wood Source

PEFC certification stands for “Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes.” It is an international forest certification system that ensures wood and paper products come from sustainably managed forests. For the office furniture industry, this means that furniture bearing the PEFC seal comes from responsible sources, thereby promoting the protection of forests.

The PEFC initiative was founded in 1999 and has been active worldwide since 2004. PEFC verifies compliance with applicable ISO standards on a country-by-country basis.

The Product Category Rules (PCR) for office furniture are expected to be introduced in 2025/26. This is part of a project that establishes and tests methods for increasing the lifespan and recyclability of furniture. The PCRs provide basic rules for the environmental declaration of products and are crucial for the comparability and sustainability of office furniture.

"Refurbishing" (or "refurbished") refers to the quality-assured overhaul and repair of products and their subsequent resale.

Rethinking products and processes from scratch—for example, edible cutlery, renting products instead of owning them, on-demand buses instead of scheduled bus routes, autonomous driving instead of driver-operated vehicles…

Increasing efficiency in product manufacturing or use by reducing the consumption of natural resources and materials

The reuse of a discarded product that is still in good condition and can once again fulfill its original function by another consumer, or its continued use for a different purpose.

Repair and maintenance of a defective product so that it can continue to be used for its original purpose.

Assembling a new product from discarded parts. An advanced form of refurbishing in which a complete product is modernized or repaired simply by replacing a few parts.

According to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, a company’s greenhouse gas emissions are categorized into three scopes:

• Scope 1: a company’s direct emissions, such as the CO2 emitted by a company’s vehicle fleet.
• Scope 2: Indirect emissions, such as those resulting from the energy used in production, which generate emissions during their generation.
• Scope 3: indirect emissions that are outside the company’s direct control, such as those from the supply chain.

The SEAQUAL INITIATIVE is a global community of NGOs, fishermen, researchers, scientists, government agencies, and private stakeholders. Together, they are committed to cleaning up the oceans, rivers and estuaries, beaches, and coastlines. Certified manufacturers use this seemingly useless waste to produce a high-tech yarn that is unmatched in terms of sustainability and resource efficiency: SEAQUAL® YARN. The QUEST fabric collection by Camira, used at WINI, consists of 75% SEAQUAL yarn.

In 2015, the international community adopted the 2030 Agenda, thereby establishing 17 global sustainability goals—the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—for socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable development. The Agenda is a roadmap for the future designed to enable a dignified life for people worldwide while, at the same time, permanently preserving the natural resources on which life depends. 

Greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is just one of them. Some other greenhouse gases are more or less harmful to the climate than CO2. To facilitate comparison, the other greenhouse gases are converted to CO2 equivalents based on their differing climate impacts. The value is then expressed as CO2-eq (CO2 equivalent), as “equivalent to … kg of CO2.” (For more information, see also PCF)
 

TCPP is a phosphoric acid ester and is used as a flame retardant, including in fabrics. Since it is barely soluble in water and has been accumulating in the environment since around 1960 due to its widespread use over decades, it is considered potentially hazardous. (E.g., mentioned in the WINI OFML Newsletter 10/2023: Camira Replay … is free of TCPP)

An abbreviation and umbrella term for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that evaporate into the air at room temperature (or higher) (and could have a negative impact on human health). Many of these substances are not harmful, but some can cause symptoms such as irritation, fatigue, headaches, etc. Formaldehyde, for example, is also classified as a VOC. VOCs can be produced, for example, by plasticizers in plastics, solvents in paints, flame retardants, mold inhibitors in cardboard packaging, and surfactants.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

The German Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG) stipulates that “placers on the market” of electrical appliances must register with the ear Foundation (Register of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment). This serves to identify them for controlled recycling processes. WINI is registered under WEEE No. DE32810288 as a supplier of electrically adjustable table systems. Suppliers of electrical components, such as LINAK and Bachmann, also have their own WEEE registration numbers. Due to the separate Battery Disposal Act (BattG), WINI has maintained the additional WEEE No. DE73030483 for this component since the introduction of battery-powered tables. The WEEE number is also listed on the environmental product data sheets for the series featuring the corresponding electrical components.

"Zero emissions" means that a process, product, or activity does not produce any direct emissions of pollutants or greenhouse gases (e.g., during the operation of a vehicle or a facility). From a sustainability perspective, this reduces the environmental impact and air pollution—provided that the underlying energy and supply chains are also as low-emission as possible.