Implications of Sustainable development for UK reproduction furniture manufacturers

  
 

Introduction

Sustainability is the guiding concept for current and future UK and EU environmental policy. It involves ensuring that we can provide for our own needs (environmental, economic and social) without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same. BFM Ltd received funding by the Sustainable Technologies Initiative to undertake a "feasibility study to evaluate the sustainability of the UK reproduction furniture manufacturing sector."

The overall aim of the project was to document the variables which contribute to the sustainability of the reproduction sub-sector. More specific objectives included the identification and prioritisation of issues which hinder the move towards more sustainable production. The Executive Summary is reproduced below.

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Executive summary 

Sustainable development is having an increasing influence upon the furniture industry. At present, this impact is largely through legislation and economic instruments which are often perceived by manufacturers as burdensome and costly. However, there are significant competitiveness opportunities available to those that take a proactive stance.

This report considers the practical implications of sustainable development in relation to reproduction furniture manufacture. It goes on to identify priority issues which need to be addressed to enable the sub-sector to operate more sustainably.

The project initially quantified the process inputs and outputs of a typical reproduction process in order to build a picture of their relative importance. It was found that the cost of raw materials accounted for around 28% of turnover, with timber spend (8.67%) being of primary importance. 26% of turnover was spent on labour, 6% on capital expenditure and delivery costs were just under 3%. This quantification, in addition to discussions held with manufacturers, led to the identification of a number of priorities worthy of further investigation:

  • Sustainable design: integrating concepts such as the optimisation of material selection with a reduction in material intensity and energy consumption. 

  • Import of pre-made furniture: evaluating the impact on sustainability of the increasing amount of furniture imported by UK manufacturers

  • Waste management: consideration of the potential to close the loop of production through the utilisation of process residues

  • Transport: evaluation of the potential to optimise transport to and from reproduction furniture companies.

  • Wood coatings: development work to enable the adoption of low solvent coatings and address issues such as coating delivery systems

  • Health and safety: facilitation of good health and safety systems within small furniture manufacturing operations.

BFM Ltd intends to run follow-on projects to address these and other issues which can promote more sustainable development within the sub-sector.