Humanscale is the premier designer and manufacturer of ergonomic products that improve health and comfort of work life. Our functional yet minimal designs and ergonomic consultation services help transform traditional offices into active, intelligent workspaces. We have become an industry leader in sustainability, advocating for more rigorous standards and incorporating a Planet Positive philosophy into every aspect of our business. As a global company, our approach focuses not only on minimizing our negative impacts but working to produce significant positive contributions. Our goal is to make an overall Planet Positive impact on the Earth. Achieving Living Product certification for our first two products in 2016 gave us a tangible example of what being Planet Positive looks like. We added to that certification in 2021 for a total of 26 products and are now embracing the Living Product Challenge once again. Trea™ Lite Task, Freedom® Active Pony and Smart™ Conference are our newest products to be certified.
Where traditional stools are often uncomfortable, static and stiff, Freedom® Active Pony task stool incorporates the same ergonomic design considerations as every other Humanscale product. The result is a fun, versatile, and ergonomic stool that encourages movement while remaining comfortable and promoting workspace wellbeing. Active Pony was designed to encourage movement by gently rocking 7° in all directions. This added movement activates a wider variety of core muscles, which helps build strength and minimizes fatigue. Active Pony features locking casters that stay in place while you are engaging the stool. It also offers the same ergonomic design, support, and comfort as our other Freedom stools.
Humanscale chose to add 3 new products for a total of 29 products to our Living Product Challenge certification as a next step in having a Planet Positive impact on our environment. The LPC framework has become a part of how we approach manufacturing, making sustainability integral to our other goals, and not a competing force.
Top Hurdles to Certification
1. Handwriting Requirement
Creating handprints equivalent to 110% of our LPC-certified products’ footprint was a top hurdle to certification. Accomplishing this for each impact category required a variety of handprinting activities and a combined effort from many people. Humanscale has distributed high efficiency light bulbs to conserve energy, supported environmental programs in schools, and among others, sponsored the refurbishment and installation of wells in rural India. Our most impactful handprints came from sponsoring the installation of solar panel systems for non-profits. Each of these handprinting initiatives required a lot of research and calculations on the back end to determine their full impact. After each product’s footprint was calculated and verified with Life Cycle Assessments, we conducted a lot of research and further calculations into handprinting possibilities that were impactful and realistic.
2. Volume and Complexity
Humanscale manufacturers complex products with many configurations and a global supply chain. This challenge wasn’t limited to a few configurations of each product or to one manufacturing location. All configurations for all 3 new products from all four global manufacturing locations were included. This amounts to hundreds of product variations. This required communicating with suppliers all over the world to research material composition and it required all of our factories worldwide to all rise to meet the rigorous standard of the Living Product Challenge.
Place Petal
The Freedom® Active Pony stool is made with 16% post-consumer and 6% pre-consumer recycled content. Using recycled content makes use of material that could otherwise be sent to landfill, reduces the demand for the extraction of virgin materials and among other things, conserves energy and water and reduces emissions.
On a local level, each of our owned manufacturing locations have unique three-year landscaping plans to support surrounding ecosystems. They include removing invasive species and replacing them with indigenous varieties to provide habitat and diet for local wildlife and for more robust biodiversity.
I01 Responsible Place (Core)
Humanscale operates out of four manufacturing facilities globally: Piscataway, New Jersey; Fresno, California; Nogales, Mexico; and Dublin, Ireland.
Our New Jersey factory is located on the south side of the Raritan Valley in Piscataway. Founded in 1666, Piscataway remains home to a number of forests and a good population of wildlife. It also contains a significant amount of industry and manufacturing, including a number of global headquarters. Humanscale Piscataway is situated in an industrial campus, surrounded by similar warehouse facilities, roadways and parking lots. Humanscale installed a walking path through the trees, along the stream, and around the building to encourage employees to reconnect with nature and to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle.
Like Piscataway, our Fresno location is located in an industrial corporate campus, surrounded by similar warehouse facilities, roadways and parking lots. Founded in 1872, Fresno is a city in California’s San Joaquin Valley and is the fifth most populous city in the state. Humanscale rents this space in Fresno and therefore does not have control over the property nor its landscaping.
Humanscale Dublin is located in the Poppintree neighborhood of Ballymun in an industrial park, surrounded by similar warehouse facilities, roadways and parking lots. An outdoor lunch area for employees is set up next to the on-site pond, which is used regularly during the summer. It also has beehives and a vegetable garden on the grounds that are shared among employees during the annual barbeque. Humanscale maintains the pond and has identified every plant species on the property and have removed those that are invasive while planting more indigenous species.
Our Nogales facility is located just south of the United States-Mexico border and on the northern border of the Mexican state of Sonora. Established in 1884, Nogales located 1000 meters above sea level and doesn’t get as hot as the Sonora desert. Nogales is a semi-dry, sub humid climate with rainfall occurring during their very hot summer season. A coordinated “Green Event” takes place annually, where employees spend the day planting gardens with native plants.
Industrial centers are often located in close proximity to wildlife. However, in researching the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) species report, Humanscale determined that our manufacturing facilities do not directly contribute a threat to recognized endangered species in the area. As part of our three-year plan, we will expand our garden space specifically situated for local pollinators and endangered wildlife and will begin to transition to circular system for irrigation.
Exceptions
Humanscale’s facility in Fresno consists of a leased portion of a larger building. Humanscale has no control or influence over the landscaping.
I02 Habitat Exchange
In 2008, Humanscale began to work closely with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on a community and wildlife program that aims to restore and protect the Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary in the Mondulkiri Protected Forest in the Eastern Plains of Cambodia. The initiative was a natural fit for Humanscale, as we’ve always been concerned about the impact our operations have on biodiversity, and our CEO, Bob King, has been a long-time supporter of WWF.
The program creates jobs within the local community as rangers maintaining the reserve – sometimes engaging the same people who had once been poachers. Crime is also reduced through the additional policing of illegal poaching. The land, which was once devastated from civil war, is being restored to the point that it can support the health and wellbeing of the local community. WWF works closely with the provincial government and the surrounding communities to address the challenges in the area, which include snaring, illegal logging, and poaching.
I03 Living Economy Sourcing
Humanscale pursued the alternative compliance path.
Humanscale publishes an annual Sustainability Report aligned with the GRI Standard.
In it, Humanscale outlines our commitment to having a positive impact on our local communities and what that looks like in practice. Our current report covering the 2022 year can be found here.
Lessons Learned
While completing the requirement of this Place Petal during our re-certification/certification in 2021, Humanscale asked our landscapers at each of our owned manufacturing locations to disclose the type of fertilizers they use. We discovered that at our Piscataway location, a petrochemical based fertilizer was being used. We asked our landscaper to immediately stop using fertilizer until an acceptable 100% natural alternative was found.
Water Petal
Water is our most critical natural resource and vital to life. Without care and attention, our operations could consume a significant amount of water. With that in mind, we’re always seeking ways to reduce our consumption. Our Sustainability team reviews our water bills from local municipalities and water companies and tracks our usage over the course of a year. Our approach is iterative in nature – we regularly look for ways to reduce consumption and use natural rain harvesting where feasible. The process water needs at Dublin, Nogales and Piscataway locations are met completely with on-site captured rainwater. Humanscale’s Dublin location is now using harvested rainwater for all irrigation needs as well.
I04 Water Footprint (Core)
Very little water is used in the assembly of Humanscale products. In fact, water is only required onsite during the manufacturing of foam seat cushions for our seating line, powder coating of metallic parts, and a very small amount in the injection molding of plastic components.
At our Piscataway and Dublin locations, cushions are made of a two-part polyurethane, which chemically reacts in the mold. Water is used to regulate temperature for each of the two chemicals prior to being injected in the mold, as well as the mold itself. This ensures the chemistry will react the same way each time, allows the process to be controlled, and produces consistent quality parts. The foam machine is used for all Humanscale chairs requiring foam cushions. Water is used for cooling during the injection molding of plastic components. As part of our first LPC certification in 2016, Humanscale implemented an on-site rainwater harvesting system at our Piscataway location and in 2020 implemented the same system at our Dublin location as part of our Living Product Challenge certified product expansion.
At our Nogales facility, process water is used in the powder coating metallic parts including seating bases, seating chassis mechanism parts, and aluminum monitor arm components. Parts are rinsed with water prior to coating to ensure debris has been removed from the surface. Water also helps prepare the surface to be coated with chemicals that assist in powder coat adhesion. Water is also used to dilute the chemicals involved with surface preparation. As part of our LPC certified product expansion, Humanscale installed an on-site rainwater harvesting system at our Nogales location in the Fall of 2020. This year, Humanscale installed a water re-use system for our powder coat line as well. While rainwater is used for this production, the installation of this system reduced the amount of rainwater required by about 50%, allowing for a reduction in overall water use in production. Rainwater is now additionally being used outside of production in equipment such as evaporative coolers to provide cooling to the building in the warmer months.
| Water consumption per unit of measure: | m3 | |
| On-site water annual use: | (includes water used from drinking and bathrooms)Dublin: .055Piscataway: 6,487.7Nogales: 5,121 | |
| LCA Unit of Measure: | m3 | |
| Life Cycle Analysis results for water: | Average for all assembly locations: 0.36 m3 | |
Water Hotspots
- Market for aluminum
- Polyurethane production, flexible foam
- Market for synthetic rubber
- Market for zinc
- Corrugated board box production
I05 Net Positive Water
Humanscale calculates the water footprint of each of our products through Life Cycle Assessments. We use the OpenLCA software with the most current version of the Ecoinvent database, version 3.8. LCA models followed established Product Category Rules to determine the scope and many assumptions. Data was pulled from a number of sources, including production Bill of Materials, ERP data about vendor location and shipping method, and primary data for on-site energy and water consumption and waste. The system boundary started with point of extraction, included processing, shipping, manufacturing, and ended with final assembly by Humanscale. Through the use of recycled content, we have been able to substantially reduce our products’ water footprint. To maintain net positivity for water, we launched a variety of handprinting campaigns in which water was conserved or fresh water provided. Our most recent and largest water handprint project we have undertaken was refurbishing/installing 20 wells in rural India to provide a source of clean drinking water to thousands of people.
Lessons Learned
Humanscale has installed rainwater harvesting systems at our three facilities that use water in manufacturing in order to eliminate the need for municipal water in the final assembly of our products. These efforts will lower Humanscale’s water footprint however, we know that much of our product’s water consumption occurs upstream of our facilities. By increasing the amount of recycled content in our products, Humanscale has found that we can have a positive impact to our upstream water footprint.
Energy Petal
Energy consumption is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, so we consider measuring and reducing ours a major indicator of our sustainability. We keep careful track of the energy we use during production and look for ways to use less. Our sustainability team tracks monthly energy use and matches it against our anticipated annual goal. We use cloud-based software that allows us to easily examine our energy use, intensity, and reductions based on data from previous years. Each year, our executive team reviews our annual total energy use and progress. We continually look for opportunities to reduce our usage globally. In 2022, Humanscale also set Science Based Targets including scope 1 & 2 reduction targets, and a scope 3 supplier engagement target, which align with a <1.5° C change, and were approved by SBTi in October 2022
Main uses for energy at the facility of final assembly include natural gas for heating, and electricity for lighting, machinery, processing, assembly power tools, a central air compressor, and air conditioning. Whole building energy use is tracked annually. Energy use was allotted to the each of our products’ production based on the proportional amount of total production from the facility, calculated by % sales.. At our largest manufacturing facility, electricity is generated on-site by a 775.5. kilowatt photovoltaic system and we expect to install another system at our Dublin facility before the end of the year.
I06 Energy Footprint (Core)
Electricity, natural gas, and propane are the energy sources at our manufacturing facilities. Electricity provides power for air conditioning, lighting, air compressors that drive hand tools and assembly mechanisms, machinery including sheet metal presses, automated textile cutting machine, cardboard cutting machine, injection molder, fork lifts, industrial sewing machines, CNC router and foam molding equipment, a machine shop, and computing equipment. Natural gas is used to provide heat and hot water. Propane is used to fuel some forklifts.
| Energy consumption per unit of measure: | kWh | |
| On-site energy annual use: | Piscataway: 8,713,924 kWhFresno: 654,139 kWhDublin: 2,395,740kWhNogales: 4,929,120 kWh | |
| LCA Unit of Measure: | kg oil-Eq | |
| Life Cycle Analysis results for Energy: | Average for all final assembly locations: 9.9 | |
Energy Hotspots
- Market for synthetic rubber
- Market for polypropylene, granulate
- Market for nylon 6
- Market for steel, unalloyed
- Polyurethane production, flexible foam
I07 Net Positive Energy
Humanscale calculates the energy footprint of each of our products through Life Cycle Assessments. We use the OpenLCA software with the most current version of the Ecoinvent database, version 3.8. LCA models followed established Product Category Rules to determine the scope and many assumptions. Data was pulled from a number of sources, including production Bill of Materials, ERP data about vendor location and shipping method, and primary data for on-site energy and water consumption and waste. The system boundary started with point of extraction, included processing, shipping, manufacturing, and ended with final assembly by Humanscale. Through the use of recycled content, we have been able to substantially reduce our products’ energy footprint. To maintain net positivity for energy, we launched a variety of handprinting campaigns in which energy was conserved or produced through renewable energy sources. These included installing high efficiency light bulbs and sponsoring the installation of solar panel systems at non-profit organizations.
Lessons Learned
Through Life Cycle Assessments, it is evident that most of the energy required to manufacture our products occurs upstream during material extraction and pre-processing. This makes the product design process even more important. For example, creating virgin aluminum requires significant amounts of energy. It has been much easier to source recycled aluminum to be used in die cast parts, so our designers aim to use die cast aluminum instead of extruded aluminum parts. As we continue to increase the amount of sustainable material and recycled content in our products, we can have a substantial impact to our products’ overall energy footprint.
Health and Happiness Petal
Humanscale provides its employees with numerous opportunities to access nature, natural light, and programs that encourage an active, healthy lifestyle. In addition, all employees have access to ergonomic chairs, lighting and desks. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, most of our office employees have transitioned to a hybrid work schedule, coming into the office a few times a week and working from home on the other days. In an effort to continue to provide our employees with a healthy and ergonomic working environment, Humanscale offered all employees a significant discount on work-from-home ergonomic office furnishings.
Humanscale focuses on creating a more comfortable place to work. This is reflected in the products it manufactures, which are aimed to keep people in healthy, natural body postures. Its products aim to fit technology to the human body, instead of the other way around. Humanscale has pioneered workplace design that promotes healthy movement. Helping to create an active workspace, Humanscale’s products are intelligent designs built on ergonomic principles, each helping to support users build more activity into their daily routine for long term health and well-being.
All of our products go hand in hand with this concept of active, natural movement. Humanscale work tools and our essential workstation make a workplace active simply by their design, and with intuitive features, the products themselves are active, too.
By using these products, at the office or at home, the user enjoys benefits of the active workspace such as improved health and productivity. Humanscale’s designs create a workspace that automatically adjusts to the individual user’s work style, embracing each person’s unique approach to work.
All Humanscale products have are LEVEL 3 certified which examines multiple attributes of each product, including water use, energy use, emissions, chemicals, waste, and design for environment. LEVEL is audited by a third party, and reviews the product itself, the manufacturing facility, and the company as a whole.
Each product is also SCS Indoor Advantage™ Gold certified ensuring that they meet strict indoor air quality chemical emission limits. Humanscale tests all our major product lines to confirm they do not off-gas and meet SCS IAQ Gold.
I08 Red List (Core)
Material transparency has been the key sustainability program for Humanscale. Every product has gone through the material inventory and material transparency label through the Design for Environment phase. To achieve the Living Product Challenge this time, the product BOM and material ingredients information were uploaded on Toxnot and reviewed by a third-party verifier, WAP Sustainability. Supporting documentation, including SDS, full material disclosure and red-list free declarations were attached to each material as well. Since the products were evaluated against ILFI red-list during DFE and every engineering change process, there was no need for material change to achieve the 3PV Declare label and red-list free/approved status.
I10 Human Thriving
Humanscale focuses on creating a more comfortable place to work. This is reflected in the products it manufactures, which are aimed to keep people in healthy, natural body postures. Its products aim to fit technology to the human body, instead of the other way around.
It is also reflected in the manufacturing facility, which provides numerous opportunities for the employees making the products to have access to nature, natural light, and programs that encourage an active, healthy lifestyle.
Materials Petal
Humanscale’s Design for Environment process for all new product development is designed to comply with the requirements of the materials Petal. The sourcing, durability, and end of life treatment of materials is systematically reviewed prior to manufacturing launch.
Humanscale had to evaluate the usage of Single-Use Plastic in its packaging due to imperative 12 and is developing SUP-free alternatives including reusable packaging and compostable materials. The wide range of products being certified, the nature of furniture logistics, and our customers’ expectations of aesthetics and performance upon delivery make the removal of Single Use Plastic a very difficult challenge. The entire industry is looking for solutions, and Humanscale hopes to lead the way in this regard.
I11 Responsible Industry (Core)
Humanscale follows FSC Chain of Custody guidelines and requires FSC-certified material in its certified Living Products. The Float tabletop is the sole wood product Humanscale certifies to the LPC, and all tops are FSC-certified.
Humanscale also ensures that packaging is either FSC-certified or 100% recycled and vets new vendors for these criteria.
As part of our supplier agreement, we mandate all vendors state compliance with the RMAP protocols. Additionally, Humanscale does not use materials that fall into other protected categories outlined in Imperative 11.
Sources for wood
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified wood
I12 Regenerative Materials
Durability is one of the core tenets of Humanscale’s company philosophy. Creating the longest useful life product is the most beneficial and respectful use of the materials that are consumed to make it. Humanscale has industry-leading product warranties and test durability of products to the length of those warranties.
Humanscale also considers end of life and recyclability as part of its Design for Environment process. Full disassembly of the product is required in order to maximize potential recyclability. Materials and resins are selected based on their recyclability, and Humanscale has a program called BEAM (Building Equipment and Material) that assists customers in diverting their end of life products from landfill, whether that result is donation, resale, or recycling.
I13 Net Positive Waste
Humanscale follows the principles of the TRUE® Zero Waste framework to reduce waste overall and increase diversion from landfill. Our global waste diversion rate for Humanscale’s four facilities is over 94% of waste from landfill & incineration are either TRUE® Gold or TRUE® Silver certified as of 2022. Brought out by GBCI, “The TRUE Zero Waste certification system enables facilities to define, pursue and achieve their zero waste goals, cutting their carbon footprint and supporting public health.” Waste is considered in the Design for Environment program, which evaluates potential reductions of overall material use, scrap reduction, incoming packaging materials, and customer-facing packaging. An emphasis is made to reduce or eliminate Single Use plastic where possible. All facilities follow the same principles and guidelines, with adjustments to materials separated and process as needed.
Inside Humanscale’s manufacturing facilities, an evaluation is conducted to understand the sources of waste, the material nature of the waste, and the available reuse and disposal options for each within the framework of local laws and waste regulations. Once waste streams are identified, external vendors are contracted for pickup, and the material stream is separated using color-coded signs and bins to prevent disposal in landfill. All materials are separated with the aim of reuse or recycling prior to being thrown out for landfill waste. Vendors and internal material managers supply monthly volume amounts and diversion rate is calculated.
Humanscale’s specific waste program includes training of production and warehouse staff on the various material types that emerge as waste from daily operation and providing means for separating each material. The main streams of waste in our facilities are Pallet Reuse, Corrugated Cardboard, Pallet Scraps for recycling, Single Stream Recycling, Plastic Stretch Wrap, Scrap Metal, and Landfill. Signs and bins are placed as defined by each production line’s needs and are iteratively improved based on employee feedback.
Material handlers and robots collect separated materials and bring them to a central waste collection point. There, materials are taken at specific times of day to their final disposal point, whether that is a baler, dumpster, pickup trailer or compactor. Only designated representatives may access the landfill compactors or dispose of materials in final collection points.
The Design for Environment program also prepares Humanscale products for reduced waste at the end of life. All products receive a Design for Disassembly and Recycling Evaluation. Designers and engineers review the products and identify components of differing materials that once assembled, cannot be separated. These components are suggested for redesign with a goal of full disassembly. The process also stresses specification of recyclable materials and provides instruction for disassembling and properly disposing of material waste at end of life.
As with other imperatives, waste is evaluated on a product-share basis.
| List final percentages diverted from landfill: | 94% (global average) | |
| Metals: | 100% | |
| Paper & Cardboard | 100% | |
| Soil & biomass | Not found in material streams | |
| All others – combined weighted average | 94% (global average) | |
Implementation of Waste Handprints To Reach Equivalent of 100% Waste Diversion
Humanscale is creating targeted Waste Handprints where the Living Product Challenge is looking to make its biggest impact: the built environment. Our BEAM (Building Equipment and Materials) Handprint Program connects facilities managers, purchasers, and office managers with certified diversion partners who assist in diverting waste from landfill at the end of life. Humanscale has seen that many building products from flooring, lighting fixtures, office equipment, and furniture are not disposed of properly and the default option is to have material taken to a landfill.
The BEAM program offers participants the opportunity to donate, recycle, or resell these materials and provides transparency back in the form of weight diverted from landfill and emissions prevented. The BEAM program is designed to scale as it does not accept only Humanscale material but provides these diversion connections to any type of material in the built environment.
I14 Net Positive Carbon
The majority of our products’ embodied carbon emissions are attributed to processes that occur before the components enter our facilities. Material extraction and processing contributes to the largest proportion of the products’ carbon footprint followed by transforming the raw material into product components. Utilizing recycled content and specifying sustainable materials from sustainable vendors lowers these impacts.
Humanscale’s own facilities contribute very little to the embodied carbon of our products. The on-site contributions that do exist come primarily from energy consumption. Main uses for energy at the facility of final assembly include natural gas for heating, and electricity for lighting, machinery, processing, assembly power tools, a central air compressor, and air conditioning. Whole building energy use is tracked annually. Energy use was allotted to each of our products’ production based on the proportional amount of total production from the facility, calculated by total weight. At each manufacturing facility, energy efficiency solutions have been implemented such as sky lighting and LED lighting. At the largest manufacturing facility, electricity is generated on-site by a 775.5 kilowatt photovoltaic system.
Humanscale aims to create products that will last a long time with as few material as possible. We specify sustainable, non-toxic materials that contain recycled content and prioritize sustainable suppliers. During our product design process, we consult Life Cycle Assessment to make informed decisions to lower our products’ embodied carbon. Once we have reduced our products carbon footprint as much as possible, Humanscale creates carbon handprints equal to 110% of their embodied carbon values. This way, each time they are manufactured, there is a 10% net positive impact for carbon. Some of our handprint projects so far have included sponsoring solar panels at nonprofits around the country including animal shelters and affordable housing complexes and installing energy efficient lightbulbs at low-income homes. These handprinting efforts not only support a more sustainable world, but also create quantifiable social benefits as well like saving the non profits and low income families money on their energy bills.
| On-site annual climate impact: | Piscataway: 251 mTCO2eFresno: 3 mTCO2eDublin: 67 mTCO2eNogales: 266 MTCO2E | ||
| LCA Unit of Measure: | kg CO2-Eq | ||
| Life Cycle Analysis results for Climate: | Average for all assembly locations: 29 |
Climate Hotspots
- Market for nylon 6
- Market for steel, unalloyed
- Market for synthetic rubber
- Market for aluminum
- Polyurethane production, flexible foam
Lessons Learned
The sources of embodied carbon in our manufacturing and supply chain are directly from energy use, so we learned that giving preference to lower energy manufacturing process, and sourcing recycled material (for which extraction and initial processing has already been done) will significantly reduce the carbon footprint. Packaging materials and transportation method have the next highest impact, which goes past the product design and into logistics.
Equity Petal
Humanscale understands that the impacts from the decisions we made for our products and operations go beyond our offices and factories. We are part of a much bigger community; an ecosystem. Therefore, for every product we make, the impacts from our supply chain and the impacts on our customers are all taken into consideration. The ethical supply chain core imperative is useful to provide some high-level information of the risks, hotspots and relevant standards landscape. However, we felt it’s only the very beginning of the ethical supply chain. We started an onsite audit program in 2019 to gain more first-hand information of our suppliers social and environmental performances, which will be important to form the bases of improvement and capacity building in the future. The Just label also continues to present certain social and diversity issues in front our management team and allows us to continue our conversations for transparency and improvement. Additionally, Humanscale collaborated with
Grace Farms and architecture firms on the Design for Freedom toolkit, which was launched in March 2022. Lastly, each of our handprint activities had social benefits. Through our well refurbishment and installation project, thousands of people now have access to clean drinking water; through our campaigns that saved energy, individuals were able to save money on their electricity bills; and through supporting tree planting initiatives, national forests, which are valuable for a multitude of reasons, were reforested. Additionally, the organizations where solar panel installations were installed will save money and be able to better serve their communities and increase the impact of their cause.
I15 Ethical Supply Chain (Core)
required by LPC and identified.
After the risk identification, we compare it with our own supplier sustainability audit program and confirmed that all critical social risks have been assessed.
GTAP Sector and Associated Critical Social Risks
| Country | GTAP Sector | Critical Social Risks | |
| China | fmp | Labor Rights & Decent Work | |
| China | fmp | Labor Rights & Decent Work | |
| USA | omf | Labor Rights & Decent Work | |
| China | rpp | Labor Rights & Decent Work | |
| China | ele | Labor Rights & Decent Work | |
| China | fmp | Labor Rights & Decent Work | |
| Taiwan | ele | Labor Rights & Decent Work | |
| Mexico | rpp | Health & Safety | |
| Lithuania | omf | Human Rights | |
| China | ele | Labor Rights & Decent Work | |
I17 Just Organizations
Humanscale’s Human Resources department gathered company-wide information about its employees and activities in order to pursue a Just label. Information about employees in all regions of the world was evaluated. Countries with fewer than 5 employees were not included in the calculations since there was not a large enough population sample to represent diversity and equity issues. Information about worker happiness comes from an annual survey that Humanscale puts out to their employees to gain an understanding of employee satisfaction.
The process of obtaining a Just label was an interesting learning experience for the company. Areas of key focus to their organization, such as animal welfare and employee happiness, were well featured. It also brought to light other areas where they can expand their focus. The Just label was one of the factors that influenced the decision to expand parental leave in some locations. It caused additional discussions about gender diversity and company sponsored volunteering. Seeing the framework Just used to evaluate different subjects was interesting and informative.
I18 Social Co-Benefits
Humanscale has completed a variety of handprinting initiatives in order to have a planet positive impact for our Living Product Challenge products. From tree planting to solar installations, we find it necessary to have a variety of handprinting actions in order to have a positive impact in all three categories; carbon, water and energy. We have been selective with the handprints we choose to carry out to make sure that they create positive social change as well.
One impressive organization that Humanscale has partnered with is BridgIT Water Foundation who’s vision ‘is to provide improved drinking water to better the quality of life of people living in rural areas of developing countries.’ Together, we refurbished and installed 20 wells in rural India providing a source of clean drinking water to thousands of people. Prior to our intervention, these communities who cannot afford to buy water, were forced to use any available water, which is often remote, consumes a lot of time to collect and is of poor quality. Consequently, this marginalized section of the population is affected by water-borne epidemics such as jaundice, cholera, diarrhea or gastroenteritis. Typically, the pressure of water collection falls on women and girls as they bear this domestic responsibility. Many times, girls spend their days collecting water rather than attending school. In some villages, people must walk many kilometers to the outskirts of the village for water.
The communities that received new wells gained access to safe drinking water for the first time. The wells that Humanscale refurbished were originally installed by well-intended groups but failed because there wasn’t a maintenance/upkeep plan in place once they left. The most critical part of Bridgit Water Foundation is that they work with recipient communities to establish Water User Committees (WUC). These committees are responsible for the effective maintenance and operation of the well asset and ensuring sufficient funds are raised to cover the cost of repairs into the future. They charge a very small fee for water access, which is affordable and is used to cover repair costs.
In September of 2022, Humanscale supported One Tree Planted’s Monarch High Forest Reforestation project by sponsoring the planting of 6,000 trees to restore crucial Monarch butterfly habitat. These forests are not just vital to the health of our environment by supporting ecosystems and habitats, stabilizing the climate, enriching soil, supporting biodiversity, etc., but are also invaluable to humans too. Among many other benefits, restoring these forests, ensures that they can continue to purify the air we breathe and the water we drink, and they have huge economic and recreational value too. The communities that inhabit this region (mainly being the indigenous community of San Juan Zitacuaro, the indigenous community of Nicolás Romero, and the indigenous community of El Aguacate) depend on the wellbeing of the ecosystem for two main reasons: keep the ecotourism and protect their water resources. The ecotourism is a big way in which the communities get their income; by being a known nesting site for the monarch butterfly it receives visitors from all over the country and other parts of the world, and if the habitat of the monarch gets displaced (or even worse disappears) so will the visitors that travel to witness the beautiful natural occurrence. The communities’ water resources are tightly connected to the vegetative cover of the area, springs are found over the region and are the main source of water for the communities, the springs need the vegetative cover to remain healthy and reload. By planting the right species at the right time, and ensuring they survive we help to keep the communities to keep one of their sources of income and, more importantly, safeguard their water.
Humanscale has sponsored the installation of solar panel systems at nonprofit organizations. Through our partnership with RE-volv, deserving nonprofits are able to save money on energy bills and better serve their communities. Most recently, Humanscale has sponsored the installation of solar panel systems at a charter school, an organization that provides services such as substance abuse support, job training and housing, and a food pantry.
Lessons Learned
Equity petal has a strong emphasis on social impact, which can be harder to define and measure. Both the Just label and the supplier assessments have given us a deeper understanding of the influence we have on social issues. Unlike addressing energy or water use which can be solved by changing equipment, social impact requires engagement from many individual people on many levels in many locations. It seems to be most effective not to approach improvement as a series or projects, but as culture change – open to dialogue and influenced by those who are affected.
Beauty Petal
Humanscale manufactures products for the workplace environment with the aim of making “a more comfortable place to work.” Working in uncomfortable or unhealthy postures is known to lead to long term health issues. Humanscale believes that work tools and technology should fit the human body, rather than the reverse. The in-house Design and Ergonomics teams work together to ensure that all products are developed to optimize the ergonomics, and provide maximum health benefit to the user. Active Pony went through this standard consideration during the product development process.
I19 Inspiration and Education (Core)
I20 Beauty and Spirit
Humanscale’s design philosophy can be illustrated by this quote by Niels Diffrient: “The best designs in the world are based on purpose and function. When a design solves a functional problem as simply and elegantly as possible, the resulting form will be honest and timeless.” Simple and elegant solutions can seem obvious once they have been defined, but they take a concerted refinement effort to achieve. Based in the New York headquarters, Humanscale’s Design Studio works hard to ensure that every product is simple and elegant enough to be considered beautiful. Their efforts have been acknowledged by numerous design awards, including the Red Dot award – possibly the most prestigious design award worldwide.
Lessons Learned
Humanscale always aims to create timeless, simple, beautiful products. It’s interesting to realize that this also makes the product most sustainable, since people who love their products will care for them and use them for as long as possible, and therefore use less resources in making new products.
Process Summary and Benefits of LPC
The Living Product Challenge provided us with a good framework for Humanscale to evaluate when our products are planet positive, and in which ways. This framework aligned our internal team around a unified and wholistic understanding of sustainability. When Humanscale achieved the Living Product Challenge for our first two products in 2016, we noticed how exciting it was for many of our employees that we manufacture and leave the world better off in a measurable way. Expanding this program to include a total of 29 products for all of our manufacturing locations was a big undertaking but a natural next step for our company. Our internal global teams were excited and rose to the challenge. We expanded our sustainability program by, among other things, pursing the Just label for each of our manufacturing locations, installing rainwater capture systems so that all water used in final assembly is provided by rainwater harvested on-site, and we received third party verifications for our product Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) reports. By assigning tasks to different teams, the effort was more evenly spread out across the company and departments felt greater ownership of the work that Humanscale was doing — because everyone had a role to play.