For Your Office

Minimum Required Criteria: A minimum of 30% Post-Consumer Recycled Content (PCRC), agricultural residue content (must come from sustainably grown and harvested, non-GMO sources that do not replace forest stands or food crops), or Green Seal GS-07 certified

Preferred Criteria: 100% PCRC or agricultural residue content, or FSC Recycled labelled, with additional preference for paper that is Processed Chlorine Free (PCF)

Minimum Required Criteria: Energy Star and EPEAT Bronze 

Preferred Criteria: Energy Star and EPEAT Gold

Minimum Required Criteria: Is either high yield or remanufactured (must meet the State of California’s Specifications for Remanufactured Toner and Ink Cartridges: 

https://www.dgs.ca.gov/-/media/Divisions/PD/Engineering/EPP/BuyingGreen/OfficeSupplies/BidSpecs/Buyers_Office_InkToner_Spec_3610-2991_ADA_Final.pdf?la=en&hash=BE51749811E104635DBAFDA631C10BA97266121D

Preferred Criteria: Is both high yield and remanufactured

Furniture includes individual (e.g. task chair) and group seating; open-plan and private-office workstations; desks of all types, tables of all types; storage units, credenzas, bookshelves, filing cabinets and other case goods; integrated visual display products (e.g. markerboards and tackboards, excluding electronic display products); hospitality furniture; and miscellaneous items such as mobile carts, freestanding screens, and movable partitions. Movable partitions include office furniture system cubicle panels that are typically integrated with work surfaces, desks, and storage furniture. Furniture does not include office accessories, such as desktop blotters, trays, tape dispensers, waste baskets, all electrical items such as lighting and small appliances, and accessories such as aftermarket keyboard trays, monitor stands and monitor arms.

Minimum Required Criteria: GREENGUARD Gold or SCS Indoor Advantage Gold certified and free of the 6 classes of chemicals of concern described below. Search for compliant products

1. Flame Retardants: All furniture shall be free of flame retardant chemicals at levels above 1,000 parts per million in both standard and optional components, excluding electrical components.
   1. All upholstered seating subject to TB 117-2013 shall be labeled as not containing flame retardant chemicals consistent with the manner described in Section 19094 of the California Business and Professions Code.
   2. A product may contain flame retardants if required to meet code or regulation (e.g., TB 133 or ASTM E 1537), in accordance with the following criteria:
      1. No halogenated flame retardant chemical may be used at levels above 1,000 parts per million by weight of the homogeneous material, excluding electrical components.
      2. Products that contain flame retardant chemicals that have been fully assessed using GreenScreen v1.2 (or newer) and meet the criteria for benchmark 2, 3, or 4 will be preferred.
2. Formaldehyde and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): All furniture shall comply with ANSI/BIFMA e3-2014 Furniture Sustainability Standard, Sections 7.6.1 and 7.6.2, using either the concentration modeling approach or the emissions factor approach.
   1. Test results shall be modeled using the open plan, private office, or seating scenario in ANSI/BIFMA M7.1, as appropriate.
   2. Furniture products that additionally meet ANSI/BIFMA e3-2014 Section 7.6.3 and/or California Department of Public Health Standard Method v1.1 (emission testing method for California Section 01350) are preferred.
   3. Salvaged and refurbished furniture more than one-year old at the time of re-use is considered compliant, provided it meets the requirements for any site-applied paints, coatings, adhesives, and sealants.
   4. All composite wood materials, including hardwood plywood, particleboard, or medium density fiberboard, used in office, classroom, or healthcare furniture shall comply with Phase 2 of California’s Code of Regulations, Title 17 §93120.2 – Airborne Toxic Control Measure to Reduce Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products.
3. Per and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) used as stain/water/oil resistant treatments: All furniture shall be free of any long- and/or short-chain per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl compounds and fluorinated polymers used as stain, water, or oil resistant treatments above 100 ppm by weight of the homogenous material.
4. Antimicrobials: All furniture shall be free of any added or built-in chemical antimicrobials. Antimicrobials added to raw materials for the sole purpose of preserving the product are exempt, with the exception of triclosan and triclocarban which are explicitly prohibited.
5. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC): All furniture shall be free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) greater than 1% of product by weight, excluding electrical components. Electrical components that are free of PVC are preferred.
6. Heavy Metals: All furniture shall be free of any heavy metals, including hexavalent and trivalent chromium, in concentrations greater than 100 ppm.

Preferred Criteria: Must have at least one of the following additional certifications. Search for furniture by certification

• BIFMA Level (preference for Level 2 or 3)
• Cradle to Cradle (C2C) (preference for Silver or Gold)
• Meets the Healthier Hospitals Initiative (HHI) Safer Chemicals Challenge and has published product list on the Healthier Hospitals Healthy Interiors Goal website
• Forest Stewardship Council (for products containing wood)
• Textiles certified by one of the following recognized certifications:
  • GOTS
  • Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex
  • STeP by Oeko-Tex
  • Cradle to Cradle
  • Facts 
• Complete Health Product Declaration (HPD)
• Complete Declare label

Minimum Required Criteria: A minimum of 25% of purchases are certified by one of the following recognized certifications:

• Green Seal
• UL Ecologo
• EPA Safer Choice
• Forest Stewardship Council (for janitorial paper products)

Preferred Criteria: At least 75% of purchases are certified by one of the above recognized certifications

For help shopping for sustainable cleaning products, check out this Guide!