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Our sustainability goals by the year 2020:
• Zero carbon footprint
• Zero landfill
• Zero hazardous waste generation
• Zero air emissions (VOCs)
• Zero process water use
• 100 percent renewable electrical energy use via renewable
energy credits and a power purchase agreement
• Company buildings constructed to a minimum LEED Silver certification
• 100 percent of sales from DfE approved products
Environmental Product Summary
Limerick
®
Chair
Design Story: A Side Chair that’s Ergonomic
and Green
Designing the award-winning Limerick chair allowed
Tom Newhouse to exercise two of his passions: the
study of emerging office issues and the implementation
of socially conscious, green design concepts.
He observed that office workers are increasingly using
temporary seating, so he made Limerick chairs light,
stackable, and easy to move. Then, Newhouse added
the unexpected: He applied his industrial design
expertise to make Limerick highly ergonomic, an
uncommon feature in side chairs.
And since he’s committed to designing products and
using technologies that preserve the environment,
it’s no coincidence that Limerick is also 100 percent
recyclable.
Herman Miller’s Design Protocol
Our commitment to corporate sustainability naturally
includes minimizing the environmental impact of each
of our products. Our Design for Environment team (DfE)
applies environmentally sensitive design standards to
both new and existing Herman Miller products.
Material Content
The Limerick chair’s components are constructed from
steel and plastic.
STEEL 74%
PLASTIC 26%
The Limerick chair is up to 100 percent recyclable at
the end of its useful life.
Limerick is comprised of 71-percent recycled materials.
This figure breaks down to 59- percent post-consumer
and 12-percent pre-consumer recycled content.
PRE-CONSUMER
RECYCLED CONTENT 12%
The DfE Design Protocol goes beyond regulatory
compliance to thoroughly evaluate new product
designs in four key areas:
• Material Chemistry and Safety of Inputs—
What chemicals are in the materials we specify, and
are they the safest available?
• Disassembly—Can we take products apart at the
end of their useful life, to recycle their materials?
• Recyclability—Do the materials contain recycled
content, and more importantly, can the materials be
recycled at the end of the product’s useful life?
• LCA—Have we optimized the product based on the
entire life cycle?
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• Steel components contain approximately 35 percent
recycled content and are 100 percent recyclable.
• Most metal components have a powder-coat paint
finish that emits negligible volatile organic compounds
(VOCs).
• Plastic components are identified with an ASTM
recycling code whenever possible, to aid in returning
these materials to the recycling stream.
® Y and Z and Limerick are among the registered trademarks of Herman Miller, Inc.
® GREENGUARD is a registered trademark of the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute.
© 2012 Herman Miller, Inc., Zeeland, Michigan
POST-CONSUMER
RECYCLED CONTENT 59%
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Environmental Product Summary
Limerick
®
Chair
• Recycling instructions are injection-molded into the
seat bottom.
• Returnable/Recyclable Packaging—Packaging materials
include corrugated cardboard and a polyethylene
plastic bag. These materials are part of a closed- loop
recycling system, meaning they can be recycled
repeatedly.
– Whenever possible, shipments between
– On large North American orders, disposable
Manufacturing Process
• Renewable energy and Emissions—The Limerick
chair is manufactured at Herman Miller’s GreenHouse
seating operations in West Michigan using 100
percent renewable energy via renewable energy
credits and a power purchase agreement. No air or
water emissions are released in Limerick’s production.
• The GreenHouse is also a LEED Pioneer building.
• ISO—The GreenHouse is within the scope of
Herman Miller’s ISO 14001 certified environmental
management system.
• Worker Health and Safety—Herman Miller strives to
meet or exceed OHSA standards. The GreenHouse
is within the scope of Herman Miller’s OHSAS 18001
certified safety management system.
Herman Miller and its suppliers include the use
of pallets and other returnable packaging to
minimize waste.
packaging can be replaced with reusable
shipping blankets.
Supplier Support
At Herman Miller, we are committed to working closely
with our suppliers to reduce our collective impact on the
environment. We not only encourage our suppliers to
minimize their operations’ environmental impacts, but
require they assist us in decreasing our facilities’
negative environmental effects, as well.
LEED
The Limerick chair may contribute to LEED credits
due to its returnable/reusable packaging, durability,
pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled content.
Depending on location, Limerick also may contribute
to a LEED Regional Materials credit. Please refer to
http://hermanmiller.com/ecoScorecard or contact
your Herman Miller representative for detailed
LEED information.
It’s important to note that no interior furnishings,
individually or collectively, can guarantee a
specific number of points for LEED certification.
Product Performance
• Easy assembly for cost-efficiency and quick parts
replacement.
• Easy disassembly for recyclability.
• Lightweight and stackable for easy storage.
• Designed for durability, an important environmental
criterion.
• Backed by Herman Miller’s 12-year, 24/7 warranty.
Indoor Air Quality
The Limerick chair is GREENGUARD® certified as a
low-emitting product that meets current indoor air
quality standards.
Corporate Environmental Policy
For more information on Herman Miller’s Corporate
Environmental Policy and other environmental
efforts, visit the “Environmental Advocacy” section of
HermanMiller.com.
Herman Miller complies with the Federal Trade commission’s Part 260
Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims.
® Y and Z and Limerick are among the registered trademarks of Herman Miller, Inc.
® GREENGUARD is a registered trademark of the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute.
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© 2012 Herman Miller, Inc., Zeeland, Michigan
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