April 9, 2015
MILAN, April 9, 2015 – UL (Underwriters Laboratories), a global safety science leader, presents “Sustainable Furniture to the World,” an event during Salone del Mobile and FuoriSalone that will inspire, educate and inform architects and designers on how to create sustainable and healthy interior environments with sustainable furniture and furnishings. The UL event on April 15th at 10 Watt in Milan will bring together members of the design community, furniture manufacturers, end-users and those who are looking for innovation, ideas and new concepts in sustainability during Salone del Mobile and FuoriSalone.
UL’s event is held in collaboration with Federlegno Arredo, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), Green Building Council Italia, and the European Federation for Office Furniture Manufacturers (FEMB), and will feature speeches from Mario Zoccatelli, past president of Green Building Council, Italia, and senior consultant at, Quality Net, and Marco Fossi, technical advisor of Federlegno Arredo. The event will also feature a photo gallery of GREENGUARD Certified furniture products and projects from leading furniture manufacturers including Arper, Della Valentina Office, Magis and Herman Miller.
“The demand for lower-emitting, more sustainable products is rapidly growing among architects, designers, and the end-users of furniture,” said Alberto Uggetti, vice president and general manager, UL’s furniture division. “This event will inspire the design community with new ideas and innovations in sustainable furniture during Salone del Mobile and FuoriSalone. By introducing the design community to sustainable products, such as GREENGUARD Certified products, we are expanding upon UL’s 120-year history as a safety science company.”
Architects and designers of furniture are a critical part of creating lower-emitting products and indoor environments such as workspaces. By designing and specifying materials with people and the environment in mind, and by building LEED-certified buildings, they are contributing to the next wave of safety and innovation.
UL serves the furniture industry with laboratories around the globe, including a furniture testing and certification laboratory in Cabiate, Italy. The full-service laboratory is accredited to certify furniture products to UL safety standards, features a full range of performance and flammability testing, as well as chemical content and emissions testing. Other advanced services that UL’s Cabiate Lab offers are durability tests for furniture components that have complex movements using a special collaborative robot arm, and 3D scanning of complete furniture pieces down to small-scale models. These new capabilities and equipment will expand the service and speed available to manufacturers and suppliers in the European market.
About GREENGUARD Certification
GREENGUARD Gold Certification demonstrates that a product is low-emitting, thus contributing to better indoor air quality. Products are tested to meet stringent emissions standards, screening for more than 10,000 chemicals and more than 360 volatile organic compounds, also known as VOCs, which pollute indoor air and contribute to health issues. To view GREENGUARD Certified products and certificates, visit UL’s Sustainable Product Guide.
About UL
UL is a premier global independent safety science company that has championed progress for more than 120 years. Its nearly 11,000 professionals are guided by the UL mission to promote safe working and living environments for all people. UL uses research and standards to continually advance and meet ever-evolving safety needs. We partner with businesses, manufacturers, trade associations and international regulatory authorities to bring solutions to a more complex global supply chain. For more information about our certification, testing, inspection, advisory and education services, visit www.UL.com.