Archive for December 2009

For this post please read page 31 of the LEED 2009 for Commercial Interiors Rating System

In the UK each year DEFRA studies have shown the UK construction industry is the largest producer of waste in England.

…The Government’s Waste Strategy for England 2007 identifies the good potential to increase resource efficiency in construction and reduce waste. The construction industry is a major source of waste in England, using the highest tonnage of solid material resources in any sector, over 400 million tonnes. The construction, demolition & excavation (CD&E) sector generates more waste in England than any other sector, and is the largest generator of hazardous waste, around 1.7 million tonnes…

As new regulations are created to curb this environmental catastrophe, construction waste is costing companies fortunes in disposal penalties.

To encourage participating developers to look more at the construction waste issue, LEED offers points to Material Reuse (called MR Credits). In future posts, I will talk how this relates directly to furniture reuse and refurbishment (MR Credit 3.2) and Recycled content (MR Credit 4), but before then I want to talk about how Pli offers a unique opportunity to help score points in MR Credit 3.1: Materials Reuse.

Pli’s Wrap table, which normally uses Oriented Strand Board (OSB) in its core, was designed to accept various board materials. This means it is possible to reuse a percentage of your own project’s construction waste in the manufacture of your new Wrap tables. We will work with your construction company to divert suitably selected waste boards back into the core of your tables. Those tables will be treated by Pli as new and covered by all our warranties.

Points earned from using the recycled board would naturally fall under MR Credit 4: Recycled Content. However, considering you are using recycled waste from your own construction site, we also think you have a strong case for including the tables in your points calculation for MR Credit 3.1.

We wanted to contribute in some way to the Copenhagen climate conference. Jens, our sales agent in Denmark, found a way. The public dimension of the Copenhagen conference is called Klimaforum09–”The People’s Summit”: this is where citizens can meet and discuss the activities of the governments at the UN talks. Klimaforum09 needed chairs for the media centre, so we donated 21 Reee chairs.

It’s a strange time: things have been building up to the UN Climate Conference for months, the debate has sharpened and minds have focused, yet the overriding sensation is uncertainty. As a small business that makes furniture, all we can do is give people something to sit on while they work it out. But we’ll be watching the outcomes of the conference closely to see whether they give us a new sense of direction. Fingers crossed…

Go to the Klimaforum09 page on the COP15 website…

When making a decision, most people look for outside endorsement. We at Pli value the opinions of companies like Steelcase and Herman Miller, who are the market leaders in the office furniture industry. Both these companies are early adopters of LEED-thinking and it’s application to furniture design. They see the value to the customer of furniture that will help contribute towards the credentials of green building projects. Herman Miller even sets an example: its European Headquarters at the VillageGreen facility in Chippenham, England, was one of the first buildings in the UK to gain LEED NC Gold (new construction) certification.

BREEAM is the UK version of the US based LEED building certification system. BREEAM is a good system but does not have as much emphasis on interior furnishings. Fixed furnishing, such as fitted cabinets, falls under BREEAM but loose furniture does not. We want our products to make as much impact on a project as possible. Using BREEAM, our furniture would be purchased in the spirit of the project, but using LEED it makes a positive contribution to the overall interior project rating.

Example of the LEED points label for commercial interiors

The following posts in the “LEED & Pli” series will explain exactly how our products will earn points for your project. Over the certification process, Pli’s products can help towards 10 out of 100 possible LEED Commercial Interior certification points, and at least 1 of the 6 extra points available in the Innovation in Design section. (see LEED label above).

With the difference between the various levels of certification being 10 points, your choice of furniture could be the difference between just certifying your project and achieving silver, gold, or platinum certification. Considering the cost of the furniture compared to the total cost of some building projects, there are valuable points to be earned.