Interior Solutions to the Climate Crisis

As the panel discussion began, Rajagopal set the stage: “Interiors might seem like a small percentage of greenhouses gases, but every time a space is refurbished it brings in carbon-intensive materials. Interior designers have a huge role to play.”

Gabe Wing, director of sustainability for Herman Miller, stated that his company is working diligently to reduce carbon emissions in its iconic line of modernist furniture. “I remember doing our first life cycle analysis years ago and it was sort of a lonely pursuit,” he said. “Now we have life cycle professionals on staff.” Wing sliced and diced some interesting talking points about his products. “As for environmental effects, with our furniture, 55 percent comes from materials selection, 25 percent from production and the remaining 20 percent from the end-of-life impact. We’re pushing our vendors to be more sustainable. For example, a lot of our steel suppliers are using renewable energy to run their mills.”

Picking up the playbook from Iyalla’s CDP, Perkins&Will’s Jon Penndorf, senior associate and sustainability leader, said his firm has a website called Transparency which “documents chemicals and substances of concern” in interiors products. Penndorf averred that “there might be a premium for clients to pay if they want to get to net zero.” But he added that he encourages clients to do more with less, and in the process save money: “The idea is of recycling and refurbishment—lower your carbon footprint. Look at what you can reuse.”

“Interiors are not sufficiently part of the discussion,” said Jennifer Chen, principal, LMN Architects. Since products are made worldwide, she brought up the subject of social equity: “Who’s doing the manufacturing and how are they benefitting?”

Agreeing with this, and wrapping up the event, Rajagopal said: “Talk to vendors about transparency and disclosure. We can’t reduce what we can’t measure.”

Would you like to comment on this article? Send your thoughts to: [email protected]

• Research
• Workplace

• James McCown
• LMN
• Perkins&Will