Case Study: National Business Furniture
Taking a Front Seat With NSF Sustainable Service Provider Certification
Founded in 1975 in Milwaukee,
National Business Furniture is a
leading provider of office furniture
to large and small businesses,
government institutions, medical
facilities and educational organizations.
National Business Furniture earned certification to NSF
Protocol P391: General Sustainability Assessment Criteria for
Services and Service Providers to illustrate its commitment
to sustainability, differentiate its brand and, as a General
Services Administration contract holder, demonstrate
compliance with U.S. Executive Order 13514.
The Challenge
National Business Furniture was interested in sustainability
due to customer demand and because it is a vendor to the
federal government, which requires its suppliers to improve
environmental practices and energy use in compliance
with U.S. Executive Order 13514. Obtaining sustainability
certification would enable National Business Furniture to
demonstrate its commitment to sustainable practices, and
would also be in keeping with the green philosophy of its
parent company, K+K America, LLC.
“We wanted certification as a way to show our customers,
specifically the government, that we take environmental
stewardship seriously. Not just as an attribute of the
products we sell, but in how we conduct our business,”
says Rick Wachowiak, National Business Furniture General
Manager.
However, most sustainability certifications apply only to
product manufacturers, not service providers, and as a
service provider National Business Furniture was having
difficulty finding an applicable sustainability certification
program. Enter NSF International.
The Solution
While several protocols and standards define what
constitutes a sustainable product, NSF P391: General
Sustainability Assessment Criteria for Services and Service
Providers is the first protocol in North America to define
and assess sustainable services.
“We knew that as a leader in certification and sustainability,
NSF would have the expertise to define a protocol for
service providers and would be able to guide us toward
certification,” says Scott Nichols, National Business
Furniture Internet Merchandising Manager.
Similar to LEED, the protocol is based on a point-based
system that allows certification at Conformant, Silver, Gold
or Platinum levels. National Business Furniture earned
Conformant certification to NSF P391.
“The levels make certification attainable by being able to
enter at one level and work over time to achieve higher
ones,” says Nichols. “Companies can’t do everything at
once, and NSF certification recognizes that sustainability is
a process of continual improvement. Because the protocol
was developed by a committee of balanced stakeholders
including members of the service industry, it also provides
some flexibility depending on your specific sector and the
unique constraints of your business.”
To gain certification, National Business Furniture submitted
information about its operations to NSF Sustainability (a division
of NSF International), who evaluated it against the sustainability
performance criteria in NSF P391 in three key areas:
•
Environmental impact – Energy use and greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions
•
Labor impact – Health and safety and employment
practices
•
Social responsibility impact – Community assessment
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After verifying National Business Furniture’s information,
NSF performed an on-site audit to validate the procedures
and processes to ensure they meet the performance
criteria. Annual documentation audits and triennial on-site
audits are required to maintain certification.
“The certification process was straightforward and took
about eight months. The process and requirements were
laid out clearly from the beginning,” says Nichols.
National Business Furniture is part of a family of five
companies in North America taking steps to implement
more sustainable practices. The company works with
vendors to minimize packaging waste and encourage the
use of soy-based products instead of Styrofoam. It offers
environmentally friendly products that contain recycled
fabrics and plastics or that are certified to support better
indoor air quality by having low chemical emissions.
The Results
NSF P391 sustainable service provider certification allows
National Business Furniture to differentiate its services,
build its brand and pursue preferred vendor status with
organizations seeking more sustainable operating solutions.
This includes local, state and federal government agencies
and others attempting to comply with U.S. Executive Order
13514, which helps ensure that 95 percent of government
contracts include products and services with sustainable
attributes (e.g. energy and water efficiency and recycled
content). Many of these sustainable attributes are included
in criteria for NSF P391.
National Business Furniture provides products to the
government as a General Services Administration contract
holder and also holds blanket purchase agreements with the
U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force.
see certification as a differentiator and as a way to help us
grow.”
Certification will also help National Business Furniture in
its marketing efforts. “Certification is a great way to be
transparent and show customers what we can do for people
beyond what the competition can or is willing to do,” says
Nichols. “It’s a great marketing tool in our competitive
industry. We’ll use the NSF certification mark in all our
catalogs, on our website and in social media.”
An unexpected result was closer relationships with business
partners and employees. Nichols explains, “As part of the
certification process, we had to share information about
our core values (putting the customer first, being results
driven and valuing integrity and continuous improvement)
with everyone we work with. We got good feedback from
our vendors about how they shared the same values, and it
created a conversation we would not have otherwise had.
The certification process also encouraged good internal
discussions as we reviewed our employee handbook to make
sure everything was clear. As a result, unspoken procedures
were formalized and our policies were reinforced.”
For details about NSF P391 certification, email
sustainability@nsf.org, call +1.734.476.2543, or visit nsf.org.
A Standard for Sustainable Service Providers Is Underway
NSF Protocol 391 is serving as the basis for developing a new
American National Standard by a joint committee of service
providers, suppliers, regulatory agencies, environmental
organizations and end users, including representatives from
the General Services Administration (GSA).
“A large part of our business is government contracts, so
certification is important to show our commitment to
sustainability,” says Nichols. “Certification also keeps us
ahead of the game with businesses seeking vendors that
comply with U.S. Executive Order 13514.”
Certification
has
also
helped National Business
Furniture distinguish its
brand and company name.
“Certification provides us
a business advantage and
allows us to show we’re
responsible, as an issue of
trust,” says Nichols. “It’s
a way to demonstrate we
know our industry and are
a trustworthy company. We
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