Untangling the Complex Web of Chemicals: BIFMA’s 2015 Chemicals Summit

by Mallory Budy | May 4th, 2015

As wellbeing continues to earn increasing attention in interior design and architecture, the list of standards geared toward achieving it also grows. LEED, C2C, HPDs, Facts, level, Reach, Declare, California Prop 65, Pharos, WELL, GreenScreen – it’s no wonder architects and interior designers take caution in their practices when attempting to adopt these standards. Also important to note is that things are complicated for a very good reason; alignment of these standards is tough because each standard measures something unique, while also forming overlap. LEED measures energy and environmental components in buildings, while the WELL Building Standard measures human wellness within the built environment. BIFMA’s level standard measures sustainability in furniture products, while GreenScreen and Health Product Declarations (HPDs) focus on the root level of direct chemical hazard assessment, and so on. Each measure requires differing components related to its focus, but overlap exists due to obvious connections in the …