bfi News

Herman Miller recently launched two new filing and storage lines as part of its holistic approach toward this market category.

Teneo™ storage furniture represents a new paradigm in storage, providing a broad selection of adaptable products ideal for group space, as well as individual and community spaces. Designed by Ayse Birsel and Bibi Seck, the collection features islands, carts, presentation units, shelf units, cabinets, surfaces, and within-the-workstation choices. A wide range of Materials choices--colors, veneers, unique cladding options, and customizable finishes--is available.

Tu™ filing and storage replaces today’s Quadrant® filing and storage line. Enhancements include storages cases, overfiles, bookcases and a side-facing bookcase configuration on the storage tower. Two new pull styles are being introduced: a full-width integral pull (W-pull), which matches the Meridian® standard pull in its appearance; and an anodized aluminum Teneo compatible pull (T-pull), which allows compatibility within a building.

Contact a bfi representative for more information.

Herman Miller CEO Brian Walker talks about tapping the furniture company's creative network for insights and breakthrough ideas. Read this very insightful article on Businessweek.com

by Brian Walker

Years ago Herman Miller decided to become an advocate for the environment, both because we believed it was the right thing to do and because we saw the potential for a clear business benefit. Ever since, we've been refining our processes to put our aspirations into practice.

Our Perfect Vision campaign, launched in 2003, includes green goals such as no landfill waste, no hazardous waste, no air or water emissions from manufacturing, and the use of 100% green energy, all by the year 2020. These are stringent targets our company cannot reach without engaging over 200 materials and components suppliers in the ongoing task of greening our global supply chain.

As we've examined every aspect of our worldwide supply chain, we've learned one key lesson: A business, and the products it sells, can only be environmentally sustainable through a holistic approach to design, raw materials, production methods, packaging, shipping, recycling, and even marketing--across the entire value chain. It's far too large and complex a undertaking for any organization to go it alone and be truly effective. You know the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." Well, it takes an entire supply chain to green a company.

Here are three things we recommend to companies working with their suppliers on the long-term goal of going green.

1. Design your products with sustainability as a core principal. At Herman Miller, we have a problem-solving, design-driven culture, so we spend a lot of time thinking about how to create our products. In 2001, when we were creating our Mirra chair, we had been working with architect Bill McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart, both leading-edge environmentalist thinkers, toward their vision of a "cradle-to-cradle" design that embraces sustainable materials in a closed-loop life cycle. As a result, we eliminated the use of a chemical called polyvinyl chloride in that chair. Now, PVC has advantages, including the fact that it is inexpensive and durable. However, PVC releases toxins during manufacturing and when it is burned. We decided not to use it and implemented that decision with the help of our suppliers. We embedded those cradle-to-cradle principals in our product development process for all new designs, beginning with Mirra.

2. Refine your goals and put them to paper. We aim to be fully sustainable by 2020, but we're holding ourselves accountable to interim goals along the way. For example, by 2010, 50% of our sales will come from products that conform to our own rigorous Design for the Environment standards, and we aim to reduce our environmental footprint by 80%. Achieving these goals requires paying attention not only to materials, including their chemical ingredients, but also to our sources of energy, to our manufacturing processes, and to our packaging. We don't want to reduce our impact in one area while ignoring it in another. Nor do we want to move our environmental impact upstream into our supply chain.

3. Embrace transparency and meaningful metrics. Our company, our customers, and our industry in general are moving inexorably toward more transparent reporting when it comes to the environment. And, like any other management issue, what gets measured gets managed. When it comes to our supply chain, several measures apply. We award points through our Supplier Quantification Process for formal environmental programs and active waste-reduction programs. We rate our suppliers according to how effectively they are working to help us reach our goals--from researching alternative materials to incorporating our measurable targets into their flow charts. And this is the crux of the issue: We're not only looking at our suppliers, but at our suppliers' suppliers.

We have 12 years and a long way to go before reaching our self-imposed deadline for our Perfect Vision mission. By looking--and forcing change--outside our company as well as inside, we believe we can achieve this goal. By following the three steps above, we believe other companies can reach their green goals as well.

Source: Harvard Business Review

Labels: Environment, Green, Herman Miller

Featured Leaders Include Herman Miller, Inc., CEO Brian Walker, Writing on the Necessity and Steps of Greening the Supply Chain

Harvard Business Review has launched HBRGreen.org, a 12-week, six-part series of online commentary and discussion that will explore best practices and new thinking in green business strategy. Contributors to the site will include Brian Walker, CEO of Herman Miller, Sir Stuart Rose, CEO of Marks & Spencer, and numerous other business and environmental thought leaders.

HBRGreen will examine how environmental issues are affecting six key business disciplines, including marketing, supply chain management, and finance. Each of the six topic discussions will lead with an essay by a green business strategy expert and include response commentary from featured contributors and from visitors to the site.

In the first discussion of the series, "Don't Bother with the Green Consumer," Steve Bishop, a global lead of Design for Sustainability of IDEO, advises marketers, "Instead of focusing on a green niche, focus on green behaviors that everyone can aspire to."

"Environmental issues aren't a fad. Climate change isn't just an emergency. Like globalization, it is a force that will shape and reshape the business landscape for decades to come," said Harvard Business Review Editor Thomas A. Stewart. "By bringing together the expertise of business leaders, HBR editors, and our community of readers, HBRGreen aims to explore new ideas and best practices so that managers are better positioned to embrace the opportunities and manage the risks of a carbon-constrained world."

On February 6, Brian Walker, CEO of Herman Miller, will lead the second conversation on "Three Steps to a Greener Supply Chain." Future lead contributors will include: Sir Stuart Rose, CEO of Marks & Spencer, Judith Samuelson, executive director of the Aspen Institute's Business and Society Program, Andrew Hoffman, the Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan, Nitin Nohria, the Richard P. Chapman Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and Rakesh Khurana, associate professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

About Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review (www.hbr.org) is the leading monthly magazine of management thought and practice, with a worldwide circulation of 246,000. The magazine has 11 international editions, including editions in China, Taiwan, and an English-language South Asian edition published in India. In 2004 and 2006, the magazine was a finalist for the National Magazine Award for General Excellence.

Labels: Environment, Green, Herman Miller

C2^TM Climate Control

Effective immediately, the C2 climate control device from Herman Miller is now available for order. Contact a bfi representative today.

product description

(download .pdf product sheet.)

Be warm. Be cool. C2 climate control lets you choose. This easy-to-use device lets you control the temperature in your immediate workspace. No more arguments over the thermostat. Just plug C2 into a 110-volt outlet and choose a setting that is comfortable for you. Easy to use, easy to move, and easy to adjust. How cool.

Thermal electric technology. Proven in the automotive industry, this advanced technology allows for both heating and cooling in a single unit.

Energy-efficient design. C2 uses uses less than 1.5 amps of AC current, which is approximately 90% less energy than a typical space heater, to affect the 12- to 18-inch space between the device and the user.

Heats, cools, and filters. C2 not only heats and cools, but also cleans the air. Its air filtration system is significantly better than that of a typical home furnace. The filter is GREENGUARD certified and reusable after cleaning. It will remove air pollutants as small as five microns, such as pollen, dust, pet dander, and household airborne particles.

Safe. C2 is not a space heater. There are no exposed heating coils, chemicals, or harmful emissions. Safe to run continuously, C2 has a timer that shuts the unit off after four hours. C2’s power supply is UL approved and plugs into 110v AC.

Human-centered design. Its friendly design encourages user control: C2 is easy to use, easy to move, and easy to adjust.

Labels: Be Collection, C2, Climate Control, cooler, heater, Herman Miller

Herman Miller is the number one choice for computer support, ergonomic seating, furniture systems, and healthcare furniture, according to Contract magazine's readers. The company's ergonomic seating and healthcare furniture make a second consecutive appearance as top pick.

The selection is based on 1,000 interviews with 700 architects and designers who subscribe to Contract, as well as 300 facility professionals from a pre-qualified list provided by Aspen Media and Market Research.

Respondents were asked to provide the brand name of the three top manufacturers they consider when purchasing or recommending products in a number of categories. Brand name preferences were asked on an unaided basis.

According to the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association (BIFMA), seating and furniture systems represent the two largest product categories for the industry.

The 2007 Brand Report appears in the publication's December issue.

bfi (Business Furniture, Inc.) is a New Jersey authorized Herman Miller office furniture dealer, providing office furniture and other related services in the NJ/NY area. More Info »

Labels: ergonomic seating, furntiure systems, healthcare furniture, Herman Miller, office furniture

Veronica Belmont from Engadget reviews the Herman Miller C2 Climate Control System at the International CES 2008 show in Las Vegas. CES is the world's largest annual Consumer Electronics Show that highlights new and upcoming electronic products.

Herman Miller Inc. said it's buying Brandrud Furniture Inc., which makes health care furnishings, for an undisclosed price. Read press release.

Is your office workstation boring? Bring it to life with a cubicle makeover. Wired.com posts an amusing article, Fantastic Fixes Help Your Sad, Pathetic Cubicle . The article is about the book, Cube Chic, by Kelley L. Moore, where she presents 22 whimsical workspace makeovers, from the Nap Cube to the Cubism Cube. There are several extreme makeover photos which unless you work for Google or Yahoo, I'm not sure your boss would appreciate. My favorite is the Nap Cube with the bed beneath the workstation.

Read article

Labels: cubicle, humor

Herman Miller has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the 2007 WasteWise Gold Achievement Award for its ongoing commitment to reduce transport packaging.

The company has reduced its cardboard and plastic packaging by more than 50 percent, a result of shipping many of its products in bulk, securely enclosed in reusable blankets.

"Finding smarter ways to ensure our products reach the customer intact is just one aspect of our environmental commitment," says Paul Murray, director of Environmental Health and Safety at Herman Miller. "We are committed both to integrity in our deliveries and reducing our environmental footprint."

This is Herman Miller's seventh WasteWise award since the program's introduction in 1994. The company also was recognized as Partner of the Year in 1999 and Program Champion in 2000 and 2001.

Gold Achievement Award recipients were announced at the annual WasteWise conference in Washington, D.C., on November 15, 2007.

Labels: Environment, Green, Herman Miller