 Sustainability: More than a Slogan
The Sustainable Furnishings Council is a non-profit balance coalition of industry players founded at High Point, NC in October 2006 to promote sustainable practices among manufacturers, retailers, and consumers alike. The SFC recognizes the overwhelming scientific consensus that our world is experiencing dangerous global climate change. SFC members acknowledge the tremendous urgency, and take immediate steps to minimize carbon emissions, waste stream pollutants, un-recyclable content and primary materials from unsustainable sources from any product platform under their control.
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Our Dedication
SFC members support the triple bottom line of “People – Planet – Profits” and lead the industry in developing awareness of best practices throughout their supply chains. Members accomplish this goal by increasing their purchases from suppliers that show continual improvement toward meeting our high standards.
SFC members utilize Life Cycle Assessment as the best method for analyzing the environmental impact of their products, and a verifiable chain of custody as the only acceptable method for tracking wood flow.
Our goals are as follows:
• To raise awareness of the sustainability issue
• To assist companies in adopting good practices
• To serve as an information clearing house
• To create a symbol of assurance for consumers
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As a citizen and tenant of the planet, Sklar Furnishings has pledged to work towards becoming “greener”. Our Green commitment started with joining the Sustainable Furnishings Council. This organization places expectations and responsibilities on retailers to monitor their vendors and to act responsibly themselves.
To date we have done the following:
1) Replaced old A/C units with new high efficiency ones which resulted in an immediate savings of 35-45%.
2) Installed compact fluorescent bulbs—as lights burn out we replace old ones. Almost all of the showroom is now finished. This too will cut down our electrical bill.
3) Decreased the number of lights left on in the showroom at night—basically now just have the lights that illuminate the front of the store for security purposes.
4) Increased recycled material (previously had just been corrugated cardboard) to include paper, plastic, aluminum and newsprint. Installed special receptacles in the kitchen, office and Design Center.
5) Formed a Green Committee at work and started educating staff. Several long and short term goals were laid out and monitoring will start immediately so we can gauge our success.
Our goals for the store include:
1) Decrease paper waste
2) Recycle More
3) Decrease Junk mail and Catalogues
4) Decrease plastic bottle use
5) Decrease energy use even more
6) Decrease packaging
7) Use More Recycled Products
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