Office Planner receives world's premier recognition for environmental performance

First office furniture maker and Asian-owned manufacturer in Singapore to receive Environmental Choice Ecolabel.

Office Planner has become the first office furniture manufacturer, and first Asian-owned manufacturer in Singapore, to receive the prestigious and coveted Environmental Choice Ecolabel certification by environmental body GECA (Good Environmental Choice Australia), according to an Office Planner report.

The Ecolabel Mark is recognised by government, consumer and industry groups, as the premier declaration of environmental performance within the building and consumer product sector in Australia and among Green Building Councils around the world.

Mr Petar Johnson, the founder of the Environmental Choice Mark (GECA), said, "It is important that leading companies like Office Planner gain international recognition and grow Asia's global competitiveness on a global stage. It is possible to convert green product design into strong environmental outcomes and market reward and success. I congratulate Office Planner as leader in South East Asia for furniture design also now firmly committed to guaranteeing environmental benefits to the market from their products."

The Mark is limited to only rewarding the top 10 % of products within any market sector, which clearly shows the leadership of Office Planner in the region.

“We are honoured to receive this recognition, and hope that Blade will help spearhead a rise in green consciousness in offices in the region, says, Mr Gavin Woo, Managing Director and co-founder of Office Planner.

In the stringent selection process, here are some of the areas which Blade met GECA’s stringent criteria, as follows:
A. Materials
1. Salvaged or reclaimed timbers are not illegally sourced and are certified by ECAL
2. Wood products must conform to formaldehyde testing outlined in AS 1859
3. Content of free formaldehyde in glues must not exceed a certain range.
4. No plastic components over 100 grams
5. No latex or foam rubber content

B. Post Consumption Recycling and Labelling
1. Certified products must be easily disassembled to facilitate the recovery and recycling of constituent materials
2. Materials must be easily separated without the need for special tools or expertise.
3. Products have a 10 year period for the availability of the replacement parts.
4. No chlorinated or halogenated plastics are used in the product packaging.

C. Compliance to Labour, Anti-discrimination and safety regulations
1. Lowest wage employee does not fall below a certain level
2. No discrimination against any worker of any race or nationality

“Presently, there is no official recognition for products and goods which are environmentally friendly, apart from the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, which is a recognition that a construction project or building can attain by utilizing environmentally friendly building practices during construction or remodeling. Obtaining a GECA Ecolabel is the highest form of recognition that a product can have, in support of the environment,” says Mr Woo.

Blade is an extremely flexible open-plan panel system which functions at many varied levels: it affords privacy, absorbs sound, stackable upwards, creating a secondary level above the main work surface.

“Blade is simple, very direct, with its strength in the reduction of elements. The concept of flexibility and the ease, in which products are re-used, is vital to the system. Every wire is managed perfectly to accommodate new electronic devices which are introduced almost daily in today’s progressive world,” says Mr Gavin Woo, Office Planner’s Managing Director and co-founder.

This eco-friendly system supports emerging work styles with flexible functionality and wire management capabilities. With its complete suite of component add -ons, the range of planning possibilities and permutations increase the ability to manage the evolution of the workplace, by enabling changes, from gradual upgrading to a complete transformation.

“New technologies have transformed the workplace, changed organizational structures and defined the way people work and interact with each other. Blade supports technology -driven initiatives and allows users to make efficient use of multiple technologies, including laptops, blackberries and other electronic equipment,” comments Ms Katrina Tan, Marketing Director and co-founder of Office Planner.

GECA is the only environmental labeling program in Australia (and one of few organizations in the world) which indicates the environmental performance of a product, awarding labels to products that meet voluntary environmental performance standards which have been created and assessed in conformance to international environmental labeling standards.

Being green in business is a cross country marathon, and not a 100m sprint,” observes Mr Gavin Woo, Managing Director of Office Planner, who firmly believes that a company’s green efforts should be sustainable and bear long-term effects.