Herman Miller Eames Aluminum Group Chairs - Environmental Product Summary - Manual

Our sustainability goals by the year 2020:
• Zero carbon footprint
• Zero landfill
• Zero hazardous waste generation
• Zero air emissions (VOCs)
• Zero process water use
• 100 percent renewable electrical energy use via renewable
energy credits and a power purchase agreement
• Company buildings constructed to a minimum LEED Silver certification
• 100 percent of sales from DfE approved products
Environmental Product Summary
Eames ® Aluminum Group Chairs
Design Story: Timeless Collector’s Classics
This is furniture that came in from the cold.
Charles Eames’ inspiration for the design resulted
from conversations he had with Alexander Girard
about the lack of high-quality outdoor furniture available
in the 1950s. Eames produced the first chairs and
ottomans as a special project for the Irwin Miller House in
Columbus, Indiana. Eero Saarinen designed the house
and Girard the interior. When Herman Miller began
marketing aluminum group furniture in 1958, it promoted
it as suitable for both outdoor and indoor use.
Herman Miller’s Design Protocol
Our commitment to corporate sustainability naturally
includes minimizing the environmental impact of each
of our products. Our Design for Environment team (DfE)
applies environmentally sensitive design standards to
both new and existing Herman Miller products.
Our DfE Protocol goes beyond regulatory compliance to
thoroughly evaluate new product designs in four key
areas:
• Material Chemistry and Safety of Inputs—
What chemicals are in the materials we specify, and
are they the safest available?
• Disassembly—Can we take products apart at the
end of their useful life, to recycle their materials?
• Recyclability—Do the materials contain recycled
content, and more importantly, can the materials be
recycled at the end of the product’s useful life?
• LCA—Have we optimized the product based on the
entire life cycle?
Global GreenTag CertTM GreenRate Certified
Eames Aluminum Group chairs are Global GreenTag CertTM
GreenRate Level A certified. Global GreenTag CertTM is an
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
(ACCC) approved National Certification Mark, an ISO
compliant ecolabel and Green Building Councils of
Australia and New Zealand recognized third party
certifier. GreenTag GreenRate certification enables
products to be allocated Level A, B or C in the Green
Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and New Zealand
GBC’s Green Star
TM tools and certify both VOC and
formaldehyde (composite wood) credits.
Material Content
Components for the Eames Aluminum Group chairs
are constructed from aluminum, steel, and other
materials.
Eames Aluminum Group chairs are up to 95 percent
recyclable at the end of their useful life.
Eames Aluminum Group chairs are comprised of up to
60-percent recycled materials. This figure breaks down
to 32-percent post-consumer recycled content and
28-percent pre-consumer recycled content.
z
1
Y
® Y and Z and Eames are among the registered trademarks of Herman Miller, Inc.
Global GreenTag CertTM is an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) approved National
Certification Mark.
® GREENGUARD is a registered trademark of the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute.
© 2012 Herman Miller, Inc., Zeeland, Michigan
POST-CONSUMER
RECYCLED CONTENT 32%
PRE-CONSUMER
RECYCLED CONTENT 28%
ALUMINUM 50%
STEEL 33%
FABRIC 10%
OTHER 7%