NSF releases guidebook for carpet standard
NSF International, a nonprofit group that certifies products and writes standards for food, water and consumer goods, has published a guidebook to help flooring makers understand the NSF/ANSI 140-2007 Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard. According to NSF, the guidebook is aimed at "making it easier to understand NSF 140 and establish consistency in the data collection and documentation required for certification."
"We envisioned the Guidance Manual as a resource for manufacturers seeking to enter the certification arena. The final draft of the document is extremely well done, and I think will prove to be even more valuable than we originally expected," said Frank Hurd, vp and COO of the Carpet and Rug Institute, one of the architects of the standard.
The 71-page guidebook is designed to help carpet manufacturers measure criteria including environmental and social responsibility, quality control and record keeping, public health and the environment, energy use, manufacturing processes, reclamation and end of life management, and innovation. An appendix document offers a Target Achievement Level Scorecard so manufacturers can evaluate whether they are on target for gold, silver, or bronze-level certification.
Initiated by CRI, the standard was developed by the NSF Joint Committee for Sustainable Carpet, a multidisciplinary consortium of stakeholders from business, academia, environmental interests and government regulators. It applies to all broadloom and tile carpet floor coverings, and is intended to be used to evaluate carpet in commercial and institutional applications. Carpets certified under NSF 140 contribute towards building project totals under the United States Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System in several categories, including innovation.
The complete document is available here.
"We envisioned the Guidance Manual as a resource for manufacturers seeking to enter the certification arena. The final draft of the document is extremely well done, and I think will prove to be even more valuable than we originally expected," said Frank Hurd, vp and COO of the Carpet and Rug Institute, one of the architects of the standard.
The 71-page guidebook is designed to help carpet manufacturers measure criteria including environmental and social responsibility, quality control and record keeping, public health and the environment, energy use, manufacturing processes, reclamation and end of life management, and innovation. An appendix document offers a Target Achievement Level Scorecard so manufacturers can evaluate whether they are on target for gold, silver, or bronze-level certification.
Initiated by CRI, the standard was developed by the NSF Joint Committee for Sustainable Carpet, a multidisciplinary consortium of stakeholders from business, academia, environmental interests and government regulators. It applies to all broadloom and tile carpet floor coverings, and is intended to be used to evaluate carpet in commercial and institutional applications. Carpets certified under NSF 140 contribute towards building project totals under the United States Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System in several categories, including innovation.
The complete document is available here.
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