Setting Higher Standards for Furniture Manufacturing

As we move closer to the end of summer, we know many of our customers are reflecting on potential changes they’d like to implement in the coming months. Educators and school administrators are refreshing their curricula and learning spaces. If they haven't already, employers are creating more holistically healthy workplaces to encourage their teams to return in full force.

At KI, we’re also thinking through how we can continually improve our ability to take care of our planet and people. We design and manufacture furniture with purpose, specifically keeping human-centered design at the forefront while also engaging responsible material sourcing and manufacturing practices.

With that in mind, we're excited share a few of highlights from our latest corporate social responsibility report.

Going Above and Beyond Industry Standards

We believe in providing our customers with products and services that are unmatched in terms of quality, aesthetics and craftsmanship. To achieve this goal, we hold our team and our manufacturing processes to the highest of standards.

Though not an industry requirement, KI has been ISO 9001 certified since 1994. This certification encompasses seven principles, from a strong customer focus to evidence-based decision making, and requires periodic third-party audits for a company to retain certification.

Last year, we also achieved ANSI/BIFMA e3-2019 LEVEL® certification for nearly 140 product families. Akin to the LEED certification of contract furniture, this label identifies products that are made in an environmentally and socially conscious manner.

Extensive stringent criteria address corporate, facility and product impacts related to recycled materials, chemical disclosures, lifecycle assessments, manufacturing processes, labor and human rights and much more.

Our products are also tested to meet various environmental certifications, including SCS Indoor Advantage™ Gold for indoor air quality and standards from the California Air Resources Board and the Toxic Substances Control Act regarding toxic emissions.

Furniture Manufacturing That Minimizes Environmental Impact

We’re also continuously improving our manufacturing processes to conserve natural resources and reduce waste and consumption. A few of our standard sustainability practices include:

• Waste reduction: We work to reduce our landfill contribution at every step of the design and manufacturing process. Last year alone, we diverted 8.4 million pounds of materials from landfills to recycling centers. Our goal is to achieve 100% recyclable packaging to eliminate even more materials from making way to landfills.
  
  
• Water conservation: Since 2010, we’ve reduced our water usage by around 52% through recycling water, improving processes and installing water-efficient technologies.
  
  
• Design for the Environment (DfE) analysis: Whenever we’re designing a new product or refining an existing one, we convene a team of experts from our design, procurement, manufacturing and environmental programs. This group works together to improve a product’s biodegradability or recyclability, as well as reduce its energy use, water use and environmental impact. The DfE team also analyzes manufacturing facilities and processes to find opportunities to minimize our environmental impact.
  
  
• Furniture end-of-life options: We offer customers assistance in the removal, repurposing, resale or recycling of used products or products that are no longer needed.

8.4M

pounds of materials diverted from landfills to recycling centers

164

number of unique disassembly instructions offered for end-of-life component recycling

52%

reduced water usage since 2010 baseline year

4

number of cross-functional team members on DfE team

Challenging Ourselves to Constantly Improve

At KI, we’re committed to making our planet a better place while building the best quality product for our customers. We don’t view sustainability and quality as benchmarks to meet and move on, but rather as linchpins that continually guide the way we do business.

For an in-depth record of our manufacturing standards and sustainability goals, take a look at our latest corporate social responsibility report via the button below.

View Corporate Social Responsibility Report