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Eco-design by
The increased awareness of human impact on the environment has led to new developments in design and quality.
At Roche Bobois, eco-design integrates the following concepts: a product is only creative and high-quality if it is
respectful of the earth’s environment and of our customers’ environments. We have worked with the FCBA** to develop
our own qualitative assessment tool, Eco8. This tool allows us to measure the impact of our products on the environment
and find solutions to improve these impacts when possible. We are not only developing
new eco-designed products, but are also revisiting existing products to make them more ethical.
More than 150 products have passed the assessment. These products are designated
in the catalogue with the following symbol:
Eco8 is based on 8 criteria grouped into 4 sets:
MATERIAL
1 - Environmental profi le for materials used for the structures (recyclability, etc.).
2 - Environmental profi le of materials used for upholstery.
MANUFACTURING
3 - Stains, varnishes, glues, and fi nishes used.
4 - Environmental approaches used in the workshops (certifi cations, etc.).
USE
5 - Product durability.
6 - Where applicable: type and effi ciency of electrical lighting in a product.
RECYCLING
7 - Quantity of materials used.
8 - Separability of materials used.
Each of these criterion is rated from 1 to 4, then an average is calculated.
We have determined that a product must obtain a score equal or greater than 3 to be designated as eco-designed.
Roche Bobois has taken certain actions to improve its environmental impact, including:
• Reducing VOC emissions:
• using natural fi nishes for certain collections (using oils or waxes instead of polyurethane varnishes);
• to reduce formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products, being compliant with the CARB/TSCA Title VI, which is a very strict regulation that is required in the US.
• Having our workshops achieve certain standards and certifi cations:
• ISO 14001 for environmental management (43% of our products come from manufacturing workshops that meet this standard);
• ISO 9001 for quality-control;
• OHSAS 18001 for workplace health and safety;
• FSC/PEFC for using wood from sustainably managed forests: we are progressively increasing the proportion of products made from wood panels and solid wood that comply with these
certifi cations.
• The implementation of an eco-design guide for our designers and workshops to systematise good practices during product development, including using the Eco8 assessment tool.
**FCBA: French Institute of Technology for Forest Based and Furniture Sectors.
Aster* I dining table
designed by Reda Amalou
see index p. 203
Scala* I sideboard
designed by Bina Baitel
see index p. 206
Legend I bookcase I designed by Christophe Delcourt
see index p. 215
The solid oak version, with an oiled fi nish, obtained
a score of 3.6/4 on the Eco8 eco-design tool.
*
