The real point of sustainable design
What does sustainable design really mean? How can you make a holistic assessment of a product's total impact? At the press conference during this year's edition of the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, Kinnarps wanted to give new answers and insights into the subject. An open panel discussion was held with guests like Gert Wingårdh, award-winning architect, Louise König, sustainability manager of the year 2017 in Sweden, Erik Huss from think tank Fores, Johanna Ljunggren, sustainability manager at Kinnarps, and Robert Petersson, CEO at Kinnarps. The moderator was Renée Nyberg from TV4 (Swedish Television).
The starting point for the discussion is The Better Effect Index – a unique tool that evaluates the sustainability of products by means of a points system. The tool is designed on the basis of the areas that different customer groups have identified as being important in enabling them to make sustainable choices. Six different areas – raw materials and resources, pure materials, reuse, climate, social responsibility and ergonomics – are rated on a scale from 1 to 3. This creates a very clear picture of the product's sustainability advantages and what is missing to make it even better.
An example is Kinnarps' Capella task chair, which has an average of 2.40 points – this is a very high value. The tool is completely transparent, so both customers and competitors can see how Kinnarps evaluates its products. Choosing and comparing sustainability has never been easier, and our hope is that The Better Effect Index will create a new industry standard for sustainability work.
The customer has the right to know how sustainable a product is and to be able to compare it with products from other brands. We see it as a matter of cooperation. If everyone discloses their data, we can start to compare with each other. This will lead to a quicker transformation in the whole industry
About Kinnarps
KINNARPS IS A WORKSPACE SOLUTIONS COMPANY
Kinnarps provides interior workspace solutions for offices and public environments. High quality and low environmental impact mark the entire value chain - from raw material to finished solutions for the workspace. Kinnarps is currently one of Europe's largest provider of workspace interior solutions. Sales operations are conducted in about 40 countries and the group had a turnover in 2016/2017 of about SEK 4,0 billion. Kinnarps was founded in 1942 by Jarl and Evy Andersson. Today it is a wholly-owned family company.
Do you have any questions?
For more information, please contact:
Jessica Candemar, TF Marketing & Communications Manager
Tel: +46 515 388 07
jessica.candemar@kinnarps.se
