Generation by Knoll™ to be Featured in “I'm SMaRT Ask Me Why” Campaign at Greenbuild

Generation by Knoll™ to be Featured in “I'm SMaRT Ask Me Why” Campaign at Greenbuild

November 6, 2009
NEW YORK, NY, November 6, 2009 — Generation by Knoll™ will be featured as part of the "I'm SMaRT Ask Me Why" 2009 campaign at the U.S. Green Building Council's 2009 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, the world's largest conference dedicated to green building. The conference, which will take place November 11-13 in Phoenix, AZ, brings together building and workplace professionals for educational sessions, green building tours and networking events.

The 2009 "I'm SMaRT Ask Me Why" campaign will showcase Generation by Knoll, the first task chair to earn a Sustainable Platinum rating under the SMaRT© Sustainable Product Standard. Designed for Knoll by New Zealand-based Formway Design, a recognized leader in the design of environmentally-conscious furniture, Generation was designed in accordance with the Knoll "Design for the Environment" guidelines, which define sustainable practices for the total design, development, and manufacturing of a Knoll product.

Commenting on Knoll's participation in the 2009 SMaRT campaign, Lou Newett, Knoll Environmental, Health, and Safety Manager, said: "Knoll chose SMaRT because it is consistent with our holistic approach to sustainability and considers all three criteria of the sustainability triple bottom line: environmental, social and economic impacts."

He continued, "SMaRT is a Leadership Standard with third party certification going beyond the status quo and we believe this standard is the most meaningful certification tool for sustainable products."

At Greenbuild 2009, Knoll joins Philips, Forbo Flooring, Milliken Contract, Eaton and the Alliance for Sustainable Built Environments in the "I'm SMaRT Ask Me Why" campaign.

Generation and LEED®

Generation by Knoll can help contribute to achieving the following LEED® credits: Recycled Content (2 points); Low-Emitting Materials (1 point) with its GREENGUARD Children & Schools certificationSM; Innovation in Design (1 point) with its SMaRT© certification. A point for Regional Materials (1 point) may also apply, depending on project location.

The total recycled content for the chair with arms and aluminum base is 46% and for a plastic base is 40%. Generation by Knoll contains no polyvinyl chloride (PVCs). Generation by Knoll has earned a Sustainable Platinum rating under the SMaRT© Sustainable Product Standard and GREENGUARD Children & SchoolsSM certification. An alternate version of the Generation by Knoll chair using material derived from a renewable source is in development.

In addition, Generation is manufactured in the Knoll LEED Gold and ISO 14001 certified Lubin Building in East Greenville, PA, using clean technologies. In 2008, Knoll initiated a program to offset greenhouse gases at this site with electricity generated by wind power.

About SMaRT©

SMaRT is distinguished from other certification programs as follows: it is a transparent, consensus-based and quantified sustainable product standard that measures a product's environmental benefits throughout the global supply chain.

SMaRT was developed by The Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS), a non-profit group that brings together a powerful coalition of sustainable product manufacturers, environmental groups, and key state and local government leaders with the goal of increasing the sale and market share of sustainable products.

SMaRT product certification is based on the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED model. Requirements include:

* GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certification at the stringent California 01350 standard
* The completion of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): a science-based measurement of a product's environmental impacts throughout the global supply chian, from raw materials sourcing through manufacturing, shipping, use, and re-use or end-of-life
* No polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or other toxic chemicals

About Knoll

Since 1938, Knoll has been recognized internationally for creating workplace and residential furnishings that inspire, evolve and endure. Today, our commitment to modern design, our understanding of the workplace and our dedication to sustainable design has yielded a unique portfolio of products that respond and adapt to changing needs. Knoll is aligned with the U.S. Green Building Council and the Canadian Green Building Council and can help companies, healthcare organizations and educational institutions achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) workplace certification. Knoll is the contract furniture industry's first member of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX®) and is the founding sponsor of the World Monuments Fund Modernism at Risk program.