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Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment

Guidance by Project Type

Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment

Table of Contents

Follow these sustainable strategies when procuring the movable furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) that have no permanent connection to the structure of a building. Federal projects should meet or exceed the Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings. Refer to the Apply Section of SFTool for representative project case studies to discover key practices, benefits, results and checklists.

For sustainable strategies specific to non-office workspaces, such as cafeterias and labs, refer to the Explore Section.

Furniture
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  • Follow federal environmental and energy guidelines for product and service purchases
  • Select products and materials having environmentally preferable attributes as certified by a third party, and locally sourced where possible
  • Avoid new furniture that is made with foam cushions that contain polybrominated flame retardants which are suspected of causing cancer
  • Select durable furniture products and materials with long warranties to reduce the impact of producing new furniture
  • Select products and finishes that are easily cleanable using cleaning products having environmentally preferable attributes as certified by a third party

Minimize waste

  • Request blanket wrapping of furniture, rather than plastic or foam wrapping, during shipping to encourage off-gassing before the furniture enters the interior space and to reduce waste associated with plastic or foam wrapping
  • Consider reused or refurbished furniture whenever possible or refurbish existing furniture
  • Select products that can be salvaged or reconfigured in the future or materials that can be recycled again and again

Maximize access to daylight and views

Design workspaces to minimize stress and strain on the body

  • Provide active workstations with adjustable height work surfaces
  • Provide task chairs with adjustments for seat/back tension; seat height, depth and tilt; and arm height (separate from seat height)
 
Fixtures
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  • Follow federal environmental and energy guidelines for product and service purchases
  • Confirm the availability and operational details of recycling and composting infrastructure and include well labeled recycle and compost containers to reduce waste
  • Install signage and displays to educate visitors about the organization’s sustainable goals and the sustainable attributes of the space
  • Select window treatments having environmentally preferable attributes as certified by a third party, and locally sourced where possible
  • Maximize access to daylight and views
  • Protect Indoor Environmental Quality
    • Install entryway systems with recessed grates and/or ‘walk-off’ mats to prevent dirt and debris from entering the space
Equipment
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  • Follow federal and environmental and energy guidelines for product and service purchases
  • Provide mobile phones to reduce the need for cabling, reduce move and churn costs, and support mobile work
  • Protect Indoor Environmental Quality
    • Centralize and separately ventilate printers and copiers to reduce air quality problems
  • Design workspaces to minimize stress and strain on the body
    • Ensure all computer equipment components are adjustable

Optimize energy performance

 

References/Resources

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