Carbon Efficiency Estimator launched for furniture design

A tool that measures the total amount of carbon a furniture piece uses in its lifecycle has been launched.

The Carbon Efficiency Estimator, which aims to accelerate sustainability in the furniture and fixtures industry, has been created by certification company Design Conformity.

The tool allows designers, estimators and procurement managers to measure the carbon footprint of a design, with 90-95% accuracy, in less than five minutes, enabling them to create furniture and fixtures with lower carbon impacts.

The estimator considers material, weight, sourcing, production location and electrical efficiency comparisons, as well as carbon efficiency benchmarking to the top 50 Design Conformity-approved products by category.

Across all industries consumers are increasingly seeking sustainable products, and by 2030, businesses with more than 250 employees and a turnover of £36m will have to report the carbon emissions of bought-in goods, including furniture and fixtures.

Design Conformity’s Carbon Efficiency Estimator allows designers and manufacturers to better calculate how sustainable their furniture is and produce self-declaration estimates for their customers. It also benchmarks their products against industry averages of carbon efficiency.

Once the estimator has been used and the furniture design has been finalised, Design Conformity offers a third-party, independently verified Circular Design Certificate for accurate carbon reporting, giving the furniture its own unique Carbon Efficiency Rating.

Adam Hamilton-Fletcher, founder of Design Conformity, said: "We created the Carbon Efficiency Estimator and Design Conformity Certification due to the lack of industry sustainability standards and the need for circular design and carbon reporting. Our ambition is to become the global standard in circular design certification."

Design Conformity is the first independent quality and sustainability design standard for the furniture and fixtures industry. Manufacturer members receive access to a wide range of resources to help them design and manufacturer more sustainable products, reducing the carbon impact of companies.