Several articles that crossed my desk this week pertaining to standards and Product Category Rules (PCRs) deserve your attention. First of all, the Convention Industry Council announced that its Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX)-led initiative to create standards for environmentally sustainable events has reached an important milestone. Eight of the nine draft standards have completed review by the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) committee where they have been under development. This final vote marks the completion of the consensus process for the development of the standards and clears them for final approval and ratification as official ASTM Standards. That’s right, the green meeting standards that everyone has been waiting for since 2008 are almost complete.
In other important standards news, NSF International, an independent developer of American National Standards, announced the completion of the official American national standard for sustainable commercial furnishing fabrics—NSF/ANSI 336: Sustainability Assessment for Commercial Furnishings Fabric. Also this week, the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) International announced that it is collaborating with NSF International’s National Center for Sustainability Standards to develop PCRs and an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for the furniture industry. PCRs help meet the growing demand for science-based support to verify environmental product claims and eliminate greenwashing. An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a third-party-verified report that functions like a nutrition label to explain the data generated from a life cycle assessment.
The suite of green meeting standards mentioned earlier covers all facets of event planning and management: Accommodations, Audio-Visual, Communication & Marketing, Destinations, Exhibits, Food & Beverage, Meeting Venue, On-Site Office, and Transportation. The standards are reviewed at the Executive Level by ASTM’s Committee on Standards which reviews the process and vote counts before sanctioning the publishing of the standards. Based on the closing dates of the two recently completed ballots, the APEX standards will be reviewed by the body on two meeting agendas. Exhibits, Food and Beverage and On-Site Office will be reviewed by the Committee on Standards in July; Audio-Visual, Communications, Destinations, Meeting Venue and Transportation will be reviewed in August. After these reviews and approvals the standards will also undergo a final editorial stage and then be released for publishing.
The ninth and final standard, Accommodations, is undergoing final revisions. The APEX volunteers anticipate balloting those revisions later this month, with a completion date in late summer.
Standard Covers Top of Bed Fabrics
The commercial furnishing fabrics standard (NSF/ANSI 336) addresses the environmental, economic and social aspects of fabrics used in commercial furniture and other furnishings. A variety of fabrics can be certified to the standard, including woven, non-woven, bonded and knitted fabrics used for upholstery (e.g. hotel furniture), as well as vertical fabrics (e.g. drapery, panel system fabrics) and decorative top of bed applications (e.g. bedspreads) that are commonly used in hospitality settings. The standard also incorporates life cycle assessment criteria, which measures inputs, outputs and environmental impacts of textile products across their entire lifespan, from cradle to grave.
The standard outlines several criteria that are used to measure a product’s sustainability attributes. The criteria are divided into categories such as fiber sourcing, water and energy use, and recycling practices, and a weighted point system is assigned to each category. A fabric’s total score determines Compliant, Silver, Gold or Platinum tier certification. For example, a product certified Compliant meets entry level criteria, and Platinum adheres to the most strenuous requirements.
More on the PCRs for the furniture industry: They define how to conduct a life cycle assessment for a particular product group and what to include in the resulting report. A life cycle assessment measures inputs, outputs and environmental impacts of a product across its lifespan, from cradle to grave. Adopted by European countries and growing in recognition in the United States, PCRs and EPDs provide an international method of communication to compare and report a product’s environmental impact throughout its entire life cycle.
In addition to the BIFMA collaboration, NSF’s National Center for Sustainability Standards also is working with several flooring trade associations on the first North American PCR for resilient, carpet, laminate, tile, and wood flooring products.
Be sure to continue to read Green Lodging News for additional news on these developments.
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