At the Greenbuild Expo in Boston, BuildingGreen announced Humanscale’s Float Table among the winners of its annual Top 10 Green Building Product Awards. Each year, BuildingGreen recognizes green building products that transform the industry by achieving a more positive environmental impact, conserving resources and integrating sustainability into building systems. The inclusion of the Float table speaks to Humanscale’s ongoing mission to achieve a net-positive impact on the earth.
As a testament to their continued achievement in raising the bar for sustainable design and manufacturing, Humanscale kicks-off the fourth quarter with five notable award wins. From demonstrating outstanding leadership as an organization to implementing an exemplary recycling program at its Piscataway, NJ facility, each award honors a different facet of Humanscale’s robust sustainability program. Supporting the company’s overarching mission to create a net-positive future, the program includes restorative initiatives that give back to the earth and its customers. Humanscale continues to chart a new path as it sets a higher standard for corporate social responsibility worldwide. In turn, organizations are recognizing the company’s bold and comprehensive approach to responsible, sustainable design with awards for their continued leadership.
On October 12, Humanscale earned top marks at the annual Sustainability Awards from Business Intelligence Group. The only brand to receive multiple honors, among several major companies such as AT&T, Oracle, and Air Canada, Humanscale was selected for the Sustainability Leadership award, as well as the Sustainability Initiatives of the Year award, granted to honor the company’s work to achieve Living Product Challenge certification. Humanscale’s Sustainability Officer, Jane Abernethy, was awarded Sustainability Champion (non-executive). Under Abernethy’s direction, Humanscale made major improvements to its Piscataway, New Jersey manufacturing facility in order to meet the rigorous sustainability criteria established for Living Product Challenge certification. Such changes included implementing one of New Jersey’s largest solar panel installations, an advanced rainwater capture and reuse system for all production, and an improved waste diversion program. As a result, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) in coordination with Association of New Jersey Recyclers (ANJR) also recognized Humanscale this month in its annual Recycling Awards. Judges identified Humanscale as a leader in the business category for the impactful initiatives introduced at the Piscataway facility.
Humanscale approached the challenge of recycling and waste diversion from the bottom-up, consulting production managers, line workers and waste collectors while utilizing design-thinking methodology and user-centered research. The Piscataway facility serves as the foundation for Humanscale’s greater corporate diversion program. Waste tracking has since extended to the company’s other three manufacturing facilities in Fresno, CA; Dublin, Ireland; and Nogales, Mexico. As a result, each facility has worked to find new diversion streams in order to pursue the 90% waste diversion target. Details about these efforts, as well as insights into Humanscale’s approach to sustainability and the Living Product Challenge, were shared in a presentation by Sustainability Engineer Ross Bergman at the Recycling Awards luncheon and symposium on October 18th.
“Sustainability has been a core value at Humanscale since day one and we’ve spent years working toward our goal to achieve a net-positive impact,” says CEO & Founder Robert King. “I'm proud to see how far we've come, as we continue to use healthy materials, implement sustainable processes and find new ways to give back. Our unwavering commitment to making the office and the world a healthier place continues to propel us forward and raise the bar for the industry at large.”