Have any of you had any experience in dealing with this credit in an international project, particularly in Asia?
Has anyone ever heard of NQA / UKAS Environmental Management. This certificate "certifies that the Environmental Management System of [X Ltd.] has been assessed and registered by NQA against the provisions of ISO 14001:2004. This registration is subject to the company maintaining an environmental management system, to the above standard, which will be monitored by NQA." I guess this itself would not meet the requirements of this credit as it does not provide any certification of the VOC emissions of the actual product.
Has anyone ever heard of China Environmental Labeling Product Certificate? It states that "Furniture comply with HJ/T 303-2006 Technical Requirement for Environmental Labeling Product Issued by Ministry of Environment Protection of P.R. China..." and
"Certification Mode: Type Test + Initial Factory Inspection + Follow-Up Inspection
China Environmental Labeling Certification System Complies With GB/T24024:2001 idt ISO14024:1999..."
Any comments appreciated.
Randal Carter
Director, Global Product Safety and ComplianceSteelcase Inc.
91 thumbs up
August 24, 2011 - 2:22 pm
Certification to the standards you mention does not demonstrate compliance to LEED-CI EQc4.5-2009. There is furniture available in the Asia-Pacific region that is directly compliant with this credit, as can be found on the Scientific Certification Systems and Greenguard websites.
With respect to other options internationally, it may be helpful for you to consider the LEED 2012 2nd public comment versions, which contain a credit for "low-emitting interiors" that is available now as a pilot credit. This credit is updated to no longer specify any single proprietary certification program brand by name, but rather requires compliance with the newest American National Standards for furniture emissions and furniture sustainability (expanding on the current ANSI/BIFMA option).
Please note the pilot credit also requires compliance for walls, insulation, flooring, and ceilings in addition to furniture. However, it also includes an international compliance option that allows LEED projects outside of North America to use compliance to the German AGBB criteria for everything except furniture, if the AGBB results also demonstrate compliance with a tougher formaldehyde limit (details are spelled out in the credit).
See "Pilot Credit 21: EQ - Low Emitting Interiors" available in the USGBC pilot credit library at this link: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2104