Furnishing industry charity The Furniture Makers’ Company is organising a round table event to share knowledge of and discussing the issues surrounding climate change.
The Climate Change Sprint Challenge will be held at The Furniture Makers’ Hall in London on Thursday, July 20. The event is free and delegates will get the opportunity to take part in round table discussions moderated by sustainability champions from different sectors of the furniture and furnishings industry.
The day will include a complimentary lunch and there will be four round table discussions.
The Table One discussion is themed ‘Avoiding harm to people and planet;’ and will cover persistent organic pollutants (POPs), fire retardancy, indoor air quality and minimising waster. It will include what we are doing to minimise waster and what action should be taken.
Table Two will be all about ‘Standards and Certification’ and consider whether there are different standards for corporate buyers and the general public, whether labelling would help consumer education and engagement and how to standardise to allow fair comparisons.
‘Material Selection’ will be up for discussion on Table Three and will consider carbon impact, biodiversity, recyclability and durability and how we prioritise these factors. It will also look at whether waste impact and reuse potential should be a primary consideration.
Then final round table discussion on Table Four will be on ‘The Circular Economy’. Topics covered will be how we keep products in circulation for longer, whether there is too much focus on recycling and whether this is counterintuitive for manufacturers and whether Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) would help level the playing field.
There will be representatives in attendance from industry associations, including Commercial Interiors UK, British Furniture Manufacturers Association (BFM), the National Bed Federation (NBF) and Carpet Recycling UK.
The event will be sponsored by Fira, Ocee and Four Design, Panaz and Satra Technology.
Commenting on the event, Joanna Knight, chairman of the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee at The Furniture Makers’ Company, said: “The ‘Routes to Greater Sustainability’ conference held earlier this year was a great success, so the committee wanted to provide an opportunity for greater participation and collaboration. We’d like to thank Fira, Ocee and Four Design, Panaz and Satra Technology for sponsoring the event, enabling it to be free for members of industry to attend.”