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By Bob Roskos
Getting a competitive edge in any business
depends on anticipating emerging trends. That’s especially true if a
trend is likely to change what clients expect from your facility.
Businesses that demonstrate leadership in responding to changing client
preferences are consistently successful. Of course, there’s more to
maintaining good client relationships than “cutting-edge” programs.
Facilities known for client satisfaction — and by extension, for doing
business the right way — are more likely to retain client loyalty than
those that lack this reputation.
As it happens, emerging trends related to indoor air quality (IAQ) and
furniture recycling could make a significant impact on convention
centers. Should that prove to be the case, then facilities with the
foresight to act accordingly will be positioned to offer what clients
may soon be demanding. By so doing, these facilities will also show
their concern for client satisfaction.
Indoor Air Quality
The World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency have identified polluted indoor air as a significant public
health concern associated with asthma, allergies, developmental and
reproductive disorders, and cancer. In fact, since 2001, the EPA has
hosted an Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools national symposium. An
announcement for the 2006 symposium stated, “Every school year, asthma
accounts for an estimated 14 million missed school days by students and
staff.”
Additionally, one of the EPA’s Northern California Environmental Heroes
for the year 2000 was the San Francisco School District’s Indoor Air
Quality Implementation Committee. Beginning in 1998, the committee took
numerous steps to reduce high rates of asthma in The City’s Bayview/Hunters
Point schools and community. Clearly, IAQ has been a high-priority issue
in the educational community for at least the better part of a decade.
An even earlier milestone in the emergence of IAQ on the national scene
— especially in the context of product certification — goes back to
1996. That’s when Air Quality Sciences Inc., an independent testing
organization, developed a list of products that had met the State of
Washington’s general emissions standards and the EPA’s specification
requirements for office furniture emissions in their new buildings.
This list and the work associated with its development eventually led to
the 2001 founding of the nonprofit Greenguard Environmental Institute (GEI),
which supervises a third-party IAQ certification program for furniture,
flooring, fabrics, ceiling systems, adhesives, air distribution and many
other product groups. Today, the GEI is recognized as America’s leading
independent indoor air quality standards developer and certification
organization. People familiar with IAQ issues know that Greenguard-certified
products can be trusted not to emit unacceptable levels of contaminants
into the environment.
According to Carl Smith, CEO and executive director of GEI, convention
center IAQ is impacted by a broad spectrum of factors.
“Many convention centers are working to improve indoor air quality by
upgrading their ventilation systems,” observed Smith. “That’s a good
first step. As convention centers replace their furniture, repaint their
facilities and make other improvements, choosing Greenguard certified
products for these upgrades will help them achieve and maintain better,
healthier indoor air quality.”
Thousands of convention center clients are certain to have school-aged
children or grandchildren. Many of these youngsters doubtless attend
schools with a history of asthma and indoor air quality issues. To the
extent that these parents and grandparents are concerned about IAQ in
schools, sooner or later the same concerns will be directed toward the
facilities where their conventions take place. With that in mind,
convention centers that have taken comprehensive measures to provide
better, healthier indoor air quality will have done the right thing for
their clients.
Furniture Recycling
Recycling out-of-service furniture makes sense for a number of reasons,
not least of which are the costs associated with landfilling. Although
it’s not possible to pin down a precise figure that would apply to all
convention centers — since landfill charges, transportation fees and
labor rates vary from place to place — it’s instructive to note that a
mid-Atlantic high school recently received a quote of approximately
$50,000 for its old furniture to be hauled away as waste.
This comparison is doubly significant since schools — like convention
centers — are typically challenged to dispose of hundreds, if not
thousands, of out-of-service furniture items when a large-scale
refurbishment takes place. For decades the only practical option for
most schools was landfilling, because even though the steel in their
furniture was recyclable, hardly anyone wanted to reprocess the seat,
backrest and work surface components from chairs, desks and tables.
Things changed earlier this year when Virco — a leading furniture
manufacturer for public facilities and educational institutions —
launched a Take-Back program to help qualifying schools, colleges and
universities recycle out-of-service furniture components. To qualify,
educational institutions are asked to make four commitments:
• To environmental education
• To identify the types and quantities of materials proposed for
Take-Back
• To prepare these materials for shipment
• To be responsible for shipping costs related to the transport of
Take-Back materials.
As a major furniture supplier for convention centers, Virco’s Take-Back
program is open to these facilities. And although Virco doesn’t yet
recycle upholstered seats and backs from stack chairs, the company will
accept plywood or particleboard tops from folding tables. Virco can also
assist qualifying convention centers — as it assists schools — to find
local recyclers that accept scrap steel from old furniture and directly
reimburse convention centers for this in-demand commodity.
Convention centers that go the extra mile to recycle out-of-service
furniture are likely to experience multiple benefits. In addition to
reducing expenditures through recycling, there’s the incalculable
advantage that comes when clients appreciate your commitment to their
satisfaction, and to doing the right thing. That’s why furniture
recycling efforts — and indoor air quality improvements — may well play
a significant role in your facility’s future.
Bob Roskos is a
corporate copywriter for Virco Inc. and is based in Torrance, Calif. |
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