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Discover the November 2023 updates to the methodological reference framework for environmental display in the furniture sector.
The aim of this standard is to provide companies and brands with a methodological framework for theenvironmental assessment of the furniture sector, as part of an eco-design and environmental display approach.
The aim of this project is to assess the environmental impact of furniture using a multi-criteria life-cycle approach.
The term "furniture" refers to products intended for domestic use (indoors and outdoors), furnishing living spaces such as living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, offices, gardens, or for professional office use.
This methodological framework is constantly evolving, to reflect current eco-design and sustainability practices. In this article, we summarize the recent revision of the framework and its implications.
Generally speaking, this evolution of the methodological reference framework for the furniture sector marks a rapprochement with the European methodology of the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) METHODOLOGY. It also takes better account of the furniture sector's notions of circularity.
The way in which product circularity is taken into account when measuring impact has changed. From now on, the methodology will take into account the Circular Footprint Formula (CFF) set out in the European Commission's Product Environmental Footprint Method (PEF).
This update also clarifies how the use case of reusing a part of a piece of furniture is taken into account. Indeed, to assess the impact of a component re-used in a piece of furniture, the Circularity Formula (CFF) also applies.
If you would like to know more about these updates and the formulas used, you can access the published by ADEME here.
The new version of the standard has also been updated to take end-of-life into account, by specifying the different end-of-life scenarios. This development brings us closer to the realities of the recycling channels managed by Ecomaison and Valdelia.
Here is the summary table provided by the standard for end-of-life product management:
The new version of the standard has also clarified the calculation of product lifespan.
If you want to claim a longer service life than the default, you can always rely on physical wear-resistance test standards.
But it is now possible to increase this lifespan by focusing on scalability and repairability.
To justify the upgradable or repairable nature of a piece of furniture, the standards propose several accepted methods of proof (presented on page 72 of the standards).
The reference system groups together the elements needed to calculate the impact of the following product categories:
The revised standard now covers the following products:
In line with the ADEME guidelines, several stages are excluded from the environmental assessment. This is particularly the case for flows linked to product Research & Development, flows linked to employee home-to-work transport and business travel, as well as flows linked to product marketing and advertising.
The product use stage is also excluded from the boundaries of the study, as the scope does not include energy-consuming products.
Here are the steps taken into account:
Calculating the environmental impact of products is made possible by carrying out a life cycle analysis (LCA).
To carry out an LCA, product components and packaging must account for at least 95% of the product's mass.
We have already written a full article on the LCA method, which you can read here.
As a reminder, carrying out a product lifecycle analysis requires an upstream data collection phase.
The methodological frame of reference defines the data to be used for the LCA.
The repository defines 3 types of data:
To find out more about these different categories of data, please consult our dedicated article.
ADEME's Empreinte database should be used as a priority when applying this standard. Some of the necessary data is not available in the Empreinte database. In such cases, other databases can be used, in particular Ecoinvent (v3.8), GABI and EIME.
Service life is a highly influential parameter in the environmental assessment of a product. This is why the way in which a product's lifespan is defined is crucial, and must be as accurate as possible.
The subject of duration must therefore not be addressed solely from the angle of physical durability, but must also take emotional durability into account. Taking this criterion into account is a debate that cuts across all business sectors.
This is particularly the case for the textile sector, for which a finalized methodology will be published before the furniture sector.
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