Contract Magazine - September 2019 - 19

ANSI/BIFMA e3 Furniture Sustainability Standard. The LEVEL certification
program is stronger than ever with more than 4,600 products listed on
levelcertified.org and a comprehensive update to the standard that was
just published in February of 2019. All of the BIFMA standards are voluntary
so apart from a program like LEVEL and now BIFMA Compliant, there
hasn't been an easy mechanism for design professionals to know if the
furniture products they are recommending to their clients have been
tested for safety, performance, or sustainability. What has changed is our
engagement with the architecture and design community, which has
allowed BIFMA to have a dialogue and to better respond to its needs. And
it's not only design practitioners who are asking for this assurance. The
array of professionals who may have some influence on the furniture that
ultimately ends up in a commercial environment is only growing. As we
engage with all these influencers, we consistently hear the request for a
mechanism to reliably identify products that conform to BIFMA standards.
Can you give us an example or two of how this program will better
serve the needs of the industry and the public?
Take, for example, the General Services Administration (GSA), who is
responsible for procuring furniture for the nation's largest purchaser-
the Federal Government. Many of your readers will be familiar with the
importance of being listed on the GSA schedule as a prerequisite for
competing for these contracts. Conformance to the relevant BIFMA safety
and performance standard has long been among the criteria required in
order to be listed, but enforcement of this has been a challenge for the
GSA. We can say with confidence that the GSA is very supportive of
BIFMA Compliant.
I mentioned our outreach to the design community. A relationship we
have with HOK, one of the largest global architectural, design, and
engineering firms, led to a collaboration in developing specification
language that they will use with clients related to furniture product
conformance with the BIFMA standards. They see this as an important
level of professionalism that they bring to the practice of design, which also
ensures that their clients are not exposed to unnecessary risk.
There are so many labeling programs today, how do you feel this
program will be different?
BIFMA Compliant emerged from the voice of the market asking us to do
this. You mentioned already that BIFMA has been around for more than 45
years. In that time, we have gained the trust of the market when it comes to
commercial furniture-something we do not take lightly. That said, we also
know that we need to design our program for an excellent user experience,
which translates to intuitive, easy, and fast. The BIFMA Compliant Registry
will be easily accessed from the BIFMA homepage bifma.org. But BIFMA
Compliant products will also be readily identified on other platforms that
designers and specifiers are already using. As well, our members-who are

developing all this amazing product-will be able to promote their BIFMA
Compliant products with easily identified branding.
Will there be a logo so that end users can see if furniture is compliant
or will there be other ways of addressing the need for better
understanding this new program?
Yes, on both counts. BIFMA Compliant will be a branded program with a
logo (shown above) that is easily identified and associated with BIFMA. We
will be out in the market talking about it as part of our ongoing outreach
and educational initiatives. Anyone who has met the criteria for the
program is encouraged to use the branded materials to communicate to
their customers. BIFMA will maintain the Registry of all products in the
program and it will be the official place to search for products and take the
deeper dive to learn more. To learn more about BIFMA Compliant right now
and to stay up to date, simply click the Compliant logo on our homepage.
Traditionally, BIFMA's standards have been open to BIFMA members
and non-members alike. Will this program be open to non-members?
Why do you feel the need to do this?
Yes, the program will be open to both members and non-members, but will
feature preferred pricing for members. BIFMA is a not-for-profit
organization representing the interests of the industry at large. We have an
important role related to the commercial built environment and safety
certainly falls under this umbrella. Our primary members are companies
that manufacture commercial furniture. We provide unique services to our
members to help them make better business decisions, but not everyone
with a vested interest in furniture is eligible for membership. BIFMA
Compliant-like LEVEL, which came before it-are examples of where our
expertise overlaps with meeting a market need. We are happy to step into
the role of meeting this need for the benefit of all who occupy spaces to
work, learn, and heal.
How do you see architects and designers interfacing with this new
program?
Our goal is to have BIFMA Compliant product information included
wherever architects, designers, and clients are already going to make their
furniture selections. This may be a manufacturer's website or through their
representatives, product selection tools such as My Resource Library or
Designer Pages, or databases such as those used by institutional buyers
like the GSA. As we forge these relationships-and as the official, one-stop
for verification-the BIFMA Compliant Registry will be maintained by
BIFMA and will be the comprehensive product listing resource.
When does BIFMA Compliant launch?
It is set to launch in October 2020. We are already working behind the
scenes to construct the platform, get products loaded, and develop all the
support materials to ensure that at launch, this program will be robust,
reliable, and ready to go!
contract
http://www.levelcertified.org http://www.bifma.org
Contract Magazine - September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract Magazine - September 2019
