GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — February 18, 2011 — The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) International was honored to be notified of selection by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) this week as recipient of the 2011 ASID Innovation Award. The annual ASID awards honor the achievements of individuals and companies in the field of interior design.

level™ certification is a multifaceted approach to sustainability certification. Based on the ANSI/BIFMA e3 standard, level™ is a third-party verification program that provides manufacturers with valuable resources for evaluating and communicating the environmental and social impacts of their furniture products, company and processes. Under the level™ program, products and processes are evaluated based on criteria including: materials,use of energy, atmospheric impacts, human & ecosystem health, and social responsibility. Certification allows a manufacturer to ensure greater sustainability for their products and throughout their entire supply chain.

BIFMA Executive Director Tom Reardon stated, "We are delighted to receive this prestigious award. There are nearly 1000 products that have been level™certified to date and the program is transforming our industry. We hope that customers are finding level™ to be a simple interface for grappling with the array of environmental and social impacts that need to be considered in the process of delivering increasingly sustainable products."

A complete list of all certified products, certification bodies involved with the program, consultants available to assist manufacturers, and educational/training opportunities providing more in depth knowledge of the standard are all available at www.levelcertified.org. ASID Award winners will be recognized at Celebration during ASID@NeoCon, an awards ceremony being held on June 13, 2011 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

Posted on February 22, 2011

Source: BIFMA