ANN ARBOR, MICH.—NSF International, an independent organization that aims to protect human health and the environment, has promoted Tom Bruursema to general manager of NSF Sustainability. In this role, Bruursema will lead the growing portfolio of NSF Sustainability services that assists organizations in greening their products, operations, systems and supply chains. These services include standards development through the National Center for Sustainability Standards founded by NSF International in 2010.
NSF develops life-cycle based, multi-attribute sustainability standards for green products and services, including building products and materials, furniture, carpet and flooring, fabrics, wallcoverings, roofing membranes, green chemicals, and water and wastewater infrastructure.
Additional services through NSF Sustainability include environmental claims testing and verification; certification of green products such as water systems, consumer products, chemicals and construction and building products; and process verification services such as greenhouse gas verification, e-waste recycling certification, environmental footprinting and other environmental management systems registrations.
Twenty-five Years of Experience
Bruursema has 25 years of experience in the fields of sustainability, environmental technology and water systems. Prior to his new appointment, Bruursema managed the NSF testing and certification program for on-site wastewater treatment technologies. In this position, he led the development of the American National Standards for water reuse treatment technologies, which are crucial for regions affected by increasing water scarcity.
Bruursema also led the NSF Drinking Water Treatment Units Certification Program, as well as NSF’s Environmental and Research Services, which have developed evaluation methods (protocols) for a wide range of innovative products and environmental technologies. These include protocols for evaluating Rainwater Catchment Systems, Composting Toilets, and Eco-Efficiency Analyses used to quantify the environmental and economic performance of products and processes. Additionally, Bruursema helped launch other environmental services including a testing program that verifies biodegradability and compostability claims of plastic products.
Earlier this year, NSF Sustainability launched certification programs for on-site residential and commercial water reuse technologies, sustainable roofing membranes and sustainable commercial furnishings fabrics. These new programs complement existing NSF certification programs for sustainable building products and materials; sustainable furniture, carpet, flooring and wallcoverings; green chemicals and drinking water quality. Bruursema also will lead new services debuting later this year, including a certification program that standardizes chemical data reporting, which will help chemical purchasers select products that are less hazardous to human and environmental health by facilitating direct comparisons between different chemicals and suppliers.
Bruursema holds a Master of Science degree in biology and a Bachelor of Science degree in medical technology from Eastern Michigan University. In addition to his NSF role, Bruursema serves as chair of the Water Quality Association (WQA) International Standards and Regulations Task Force and is a former Board Member of the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA).
For more information on NSF Sustainability, visit www.nsfsustainability.org.
