Entry Forms For Furniture Environmental Award Available

Furniture World Magazine

The American Home Furnishings Alliance announced the award criteria and complete entry form for the 2008 Sage Award are now available online at www.sustainablebydesign.us. The Sage Award was created to recognize excellence in the home furnishings and bedding industries in the areas of sustainable business practices, social responsibility and profitable growth. To be sponsored by Cargill’s BiOH™ polyols, the Sage Award will honor its first recipient at AHFA’s Sustainability Summit on Nov. 13, 2008, in Greensboro, N.C. Cargill’s BiOH polyols also will sponsor the two-day Sustainability Summit. The Sage Award will recognize a manufacturer or designer of finished home furnishings or bedding products or a retailer in the home furnishings or bedding industry. Nominees must demonstrate leadership in reducing the industry’s environmental footprint and expanding its positive social impact while running a profitable business. The deadline for submitting an entry for the 2008 Award is Sept. 5, 2008. An independent panel of judges from the home furnishings and bedding industries, as well as from environmental and social organizations, will conduct a blind evaluation of each entry. Company names will be removed from all applications and will not be shared with the judges at any time during the judging process. Applicants need not be AHFA members nor users of Cargill’s BiOH polyols to enter. Criteria for the Award include: Sustainable Business Practices. The nominee’s organizational policies and procedures related to environmental stewardship will be assessed. Environmental impact programs and initiatives will be taken into account, including responsible raw materials sourcing, recycling efforts, employee education and reducing energy usage, water consumption and waste. Additional considerations will include product design and merchandising that promotes sustainability or extends product lifecycle; shipping, manufacturing and warehousing operations that reduce use of non-renewable energy in transportation; and support of organizations focused on addressing environmental challenges. Social Practices. The applicant’s leadership in supporting community involvement and social equity will be taken into account. Items considered might include supplier management practices or codes of conduct and recognition or reward of employee and supplier social stewardship efforts. Profitable Growth. Applicants must demonstrate how their sustainable business practices have translated into business growth and success. Cargill is an international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services. Its BiOH brand polyols were the first commercially successful bio-based industrial polyols used in flexible foams. Derived from natural vegetable oils such as soybean oil, BiOH polyols help flexible polyurethane manufacturers reduce their environmental footprint and market their choice to downstream customers. AHFA represents more than 400 leading manufacturers and suppliers in the home furnishings industry. Among the programs designed to promote the growth and global leadership of its member companies is Sustainable by Design, a certification program that provides a roadmap for home furnishings companies to create a corporate culture of conservation and environmental stewardship by implementing sustainable business practices.