American Home Furnishings Alliance spotlights sustainability
Summit reviews progress being made in green furnishings
Heath Combs -- Furniture Today, 11/24/2008 9:35:15 AM
GREENSBORO, N.C. — The first things to go at the American Home Furnishings Alliance's Sustainability Summit at the Proximity Hotel here last week were the lights.The AHFA kicked off its second Sustainability Summit by focusing on companies that have pushed efficiency to the front of their business models, and have begun building sustainable products.
As he got up to speak in the hotel's conference room, Dennis Quaintance, president of the company that built the Proximity, switched off the lights so the room was filled only with natural lighting from the windows.
Quaintance said it was ironic that the Proximity, the only U.S. hotel certified to the U.S. Green Building Council's Platinum level of LEED standards, was in Greensboro. Most would probably guess that such a place would be on the West Coast or in a city with a greener reputation, he said.
He said that in achieving sustainability, the hotel put the focus on affordability, good design and the use of durable materials.
Sustainability hasn't been a popular concept in the hospitality industry because hotel builders have focused on immediate financial returns. However, he said the Proximity will make its investment into solar thermal energy back in four years with a 25% return.
"It's ridiculous to me that somehow us capitalists expect a 30%, 40%, 50% return on energy investments, but we'll buy a piece of real estate or a business proposition that maybe has a 12-year, 15-year return on investment," Quaintance said.
He said he believes that New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman is right when he says that while the business world is talking a lot about "green," it isn't taking much serious action.
"We're not having a green revolution. We're having a green advertisement. We're having a green party," Quaintance said.
He also criticized hotel industry "greenwashers" who make exaggerated claims of saving the environment because, for instance, they are just laundering fewer towels.
Also speaking at the summit was Charles Kennedy, senior vice president at DYG Inc., which analyzes social trends. He said he believed the United States is going through a severe economic downturn that could last three to four years.
Such a long slump could create a new social norm, with the nation placing an emphasis on efficiency as it rebuilds its infrastructure, he said.
"A marketplace based on 72% of all economic activity being around consumer spending is not going to sustain itself. That's going to shift so we're going to have to shift with it," said Kennedy.
Green companies need to think about how their product is seen by anxious consumers, emphasizing practical features.
"We need to be thinking about how ‘green' is filtered through a very concerned, very nervous and anxious consumer right now," he said.
Diana Dobin, senior vice president of fabric supplier Valley Forge, told how her company was forced by its customers in the hospitality industry to begin creating green product lines in 2005.
Valley Forge can have a significant effect on environmental issues such as water quality, erosion and pollution because it ships millions of yards of fabrics, bedding and drapery upholstery that must all be high performance and conform to fire codes, Dobin said.
The move to sustainability changed a business model that had been successful for three decades for the company, she said.
Valley Forge created a product line called FRESH, or Fabrics Redefining Environmental Standards for Hospitality. The products use 100% recycled content, are recyclable themselves, and can be reclaimed through the company, she said. Valley Forge released its first collection of 500 FRESH fabrics 18 months ago and now has about 1,500 in the line.
Education has become increasingly important to the company, which has three LEED-accredited professionals on its staff now and four more studying for the credential.
Presentations for the AHFA seminar also included case studies on manufacturers Bernhardt and C.R. Laine Furniture and a talk by Cisco Pinedo, the founder of manufacturer Cisco Bros.
