Environmental Requirements

Fibre source
Wood and other natural materials from sources that are not certified under a recognised certification scheme (e.g. FSC or AFS) as being sustainably managed shall not originate from Illegal harvesting, Genetically modified organisms, or Uncertified high conservation value communities

Timber panels are used in some of the CSM Office Furniture products for the purposes of ramps and false floors. The sources of timber used in the CSM Office Furniture products have been approved on the basis of plantation fibre sources and low formaldehyde emissions.

Treatment
Wood and natural materials used in furniture and fittings products may not be treated with fungicides and insecticides that are classified due to their hazardous nature by the World Health Organisation as type 1a and Type 1b for storage and/or transportation. Refer http://www.who.int/whopes/recommendations/en/

The previously identified new panel product sources have already been verified by GECA as compliant to the requirements of this criteria.

Air Emissions
Products made from wood and other natural products that contain formaldehyde based additives, shall be subject to air emission limits for formaldehyde as measured using the Air Chamber, Desiccator or Perforator test methods. Raw timber and natural materials is exempt from this criterion.

The previously identified new panel product sources have already been verified by GECA as compliant to the requirements of this criteria.

Salvaged & Reclaimed Timbers
Salvaged or reclaimed timbers may be used in certified furniture and fittings. Salvaged and reclaimed timbers must be certified by the EU Flower label or the Nordic Swan label or, once released, satisfy the requirements of the GECA Standard No – : Salvaged and Reclaimed Timbers.

Plastics - Resin Identification Code
An appropriate plastics resin identification code promulgated by the Plastics and Chemical Industry Association must be marked on each individual recycled plastic products or components weighing greater than 100g.

Padding material requirements
Polyurethane padding requirements:
1. CFC, HCFC, HFC or Methylene Chloride shall not be used as blowing agents.
2. Analine based amines, and pigments and catalysis based on mercury, lead, cadmium, and chromium must not be added to the padding material.
3. Where organic tin catalysts are used in the production of flexible polyurethane, the manufacturer must have in place a contract with a licensed or registered hazardous waste disposal company who is responsible for the correct disposal of the hazardous waste.

Fabrics
Fabrics must be certified by the Good Environmental Choice Label, the EU Flower label or the Nordic Swan label or satisfy the requirements of the GECA Standard No – 19: Textiles.

Glass
Lead glazing, crystal glass, mirror glass, wire reinforced glass and/or laminated glass must not be used in the furniture or fittings.

Adhesives
Adhesives must be certified by the Good Environmental Choice Label, the EU Flower label the New Zealand Environmental Choice Label or the Nordic Swan label or satisfy the requirements of the GECA Standard No – 1: Adhesives. Adhesives used to fasten textiles on to padding are exempted from the VOC requirements specified in GECA Standard No – 1: Adhesives.

During the verification stage CSM replaced a previously used solvent based adhesive with a water-based alternative which is fit for its purpose, and acceptable to GECA.

Hazardous Materials
The following substances shall not be added to eco-labeled furniture during the production process:
Arsenic
Cadmium
Chromium
Copper
Lead
Mercury
Fluorine
Chlorine
Pentachlorophenol (PCP)
Tar oils (benzo(a)pyrene)

CSM Office Furniture Solutions uses a powder coating in the manufacture of its products which does not contain hazardous materials restricted under this criterion. MSDS sheets for powder coating and other ingredients used in manufacturing, such as cleaning solutions, have been received and reviewed for conformance to this criterion. No other metal surfacing, cleaning or coating solution is used on the product range.

Chemical Additives
Furniture or fittings shall not contain carcinogenic substances in categories 1, 2A as classed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer – http://www.iarc.fr. At levels which expose the user to emissions greater than 1/20th of the NICNAS recommended limits

Prohibited Substances
Halogenated organic binding agents, analine based amines, phalates, aziridine or polyaziridines as well as pigments and additives that contain lead, tin, cadmium VI, mercury or their compounds are prohibited. There are some exceptions, for example the coating of metal gas lifts

None of the substances mentioned in this criterion are added to the products under assessment; this is apparent by a review of MSDS for all production ingredients. The PVC shutters used in the products under assessment have been replaced with Polypropylene shutters, which are appropriately labeled with resin codes.

Separability
The eco-labeled product shall be easily disassembled making possible the recovery and recycling of materials used. In order to facilitate recycling of the materials used in products, the following materials have to be easily separated:
- Aluminium, if it composes ≥ 5% by weight of the eco-labelled product;
- Steel, if it composes ≥ 10% by weight of the eco-labelled product;
- Glass, if it composes ≥ 10% by weight of the eco-labelled product;
- Plastic, if it composes ≥ 20% by weight of the eco-labelled product.

There does not seem to be any technical barrier to the disassembly of the product range for further recovery and recycling. Compliance to this criterion has been established by an examination of the product range during a site assessment.

Product Custodianship
The applicant shall accept their product without additional cost (not including transportation costs) for further recycling, or have arrangements with an Australian plastics or steel recycler to accept the product, or have an established product stewardship program.

The CSM corporate product stewardship policy is provided to customers upon product delivery and is also displayed on the company's website.

Coatings and treatments
Furniture and fittings products (or components) must not be impregnated, labelled, coated or otherwise treated in a manner which would prevent post consumer recycling. Exemption may be made for products with a long product life where a coating or treatment would further extend the useful life of the product.

Replacement Parts
For those parts of a product which are subject to wear, e.g. hinges, locks, table leaves, functionally compatible replacements shall be guaranteed for a period of at least five years. Replacement parts are available to all products.