Supplier environmental requirements provide suppliers with information and support on regulatory compliance and environmentally preferred materials and processes. Kimball maintains that suppliers embed considerations for preservation of the environment in the manufacturing and disassembly of products.

A Life Cycle Approach
Kimball must contribute to sustainable development by developing, producing and offering products and services with excellent environmental performance and that enable customers to minimize environmental impact.

This means that we expect our suppliers to:

• Implement and maintain certified environmental management systems in all facilities and obtain a corporate-wide Environmental Management System (EMS) that covers all non-factory operations.
• The Supplier must have an environmental policy. The policy must be based on an analysis of the supplier’s current environmental position and be used as a basis for improvement.
• The Supplier must be aware of and comply with environmental legislation and common practice.
• The Supplier must document significant environmental aspects.
• The Supplier must have an environmental improvement program.
• The Supplier must ensure that the employees have adequate and documented environmental education.

Design for Environment & Manufacturing
Suppliers shall use design for environment (DfE), or equivalent to minimize a product’s environmental impact during its entire life cycle, by considering the use of recycled material, energy consumption during manufacturing and use, material identification, disassembly, choice of material etc.

The Supplier must not use substances (including process chemicals) identified as ozone depleting or those with recognized levels of harmful substances. If the Supplier uses any of these substances, Kimball Furniture Group must be notified in writing, and there must be a timely plan for phasing out the material.

Product Information
The Supplier must be prepared to declare, in accordance with Kimball’s standards, the material content of products delivered to Kimball, be prepared to supply life cycle inventory data for supplier processes and products, and be prepared to provide information about how end-of-life treatment of delivered material will be handled.

Transport
The Supplier must be prepared to provide information about the environmental aspects of transportation of goods to Kimball, for example transportation type, packaging material, and production locations.

For more information contact the Kimball Office Global Sourcing Group