United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals

HOWE has been using the UN Sustainable Development Goals to focus our efforts.

As a manufacturer of high-end multifunctional contract furniture, we truly believe we can make a major contribution to a more sustainable future. Although all the UN Sustainable Development Goals are integrated in our activities, the following four are most material to HOWE and where we can make the biggest difference.

Good health and well-being

We develop safe and non-toxic products to reduce emissions and chemicals, producing an absolute minimum of both. Our stringent chemical assessments, application of the components with Oeko-tex and Greenguard certificates as well as VOC emissions testing guarantee that our products contribute to a healthy working environment.

The EPD and HPD declarations issued by a third party verify the life cycle of each product and provide disclosure of their chemical content, ensuring consistent and transparent information for the industry.

Moreover, we do our utmost to only use materials and chemicals that do not pose any environmental risk to the water supplies and are safe at all stages of life. For instance, we avoid using Formaldehyde, Per- And Poly-Fluorinated Alkyl Substances (PFAS), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Antimicrobials (Especially Triclosan and Triclocarban), or Flame Retardants in the production of HOWE components and/or products whenever possible.

Responsible consumption and production

We take environmental challenges into account. We source our materials and manufacture our products according to a comprehensive code of conduct. As an example, to demonstrate what’s included in our protocols, we can point out the use of chrome III which is the best option for the environment and for production employees in a chrome plating process.

We only work with suppliers that meet the same high standards we set for ourselves. Through good design and conscious choice of materials, we strive to maximize the life cycle of our products.

We regularly perform strength and durability tests, such as BIFMA and EN standards, on our designs and offer up to 10 years of guarantee on the furniture due to its endurance, durability designed for heavy usage, and long-lasting properties of the components. All HOWE products are designed to be easily disassembled. This enables better material recovery, refurbishment, and effective recycling.

Climate action

We aim to produce outstanding functional designs with minimal environmental impact — at every step in the process. By implementing and following HOWE Sustainable Design Guidelines, we maintain the highest standards for both new and existing designs while setting the right tone and focus for continuous improvements.

We have launched the Take Back Program and accept used furniture from partners and customers. Through the program, all returned furniture is either donated to charitable organizations or disassembled to have its usable parts reused or recycled.

We manufacture products that are long-lasting and space-saving, therefore resource-saving. We include ethical and sustainable thinking in all that we do, starting from our daily office routines. We educate our employees and promote good environmental practices in our supply chain.

Whenever possible, we choose local suppliers to avoid overseas components’ transportation. We organize the supply chain and products’ logistics in such a way that the trucks are fully loaded, and the drivers’ routes are optimized. We collaborate with logistics partners who use energy-efficient vehicles to further reduce our carbon footprint.

Life on land

We source responsibly in regard to materials, employees, and the environment. We have earned both FSC® and PEFC™ certifications verifying the forestry practices of all wood sourced for HOWE designs. The plastic identification codes provided for all our plastic components help with the proper segregation and facilitate recycling.

We pack our products to ensure proper protection during transport; moreover, we have reduced the environmental impact of our packaging solutions by implementing responsibly sourced materials made of recycled content that is more easily recyclable.