April/May 2008

100 Friends of Colorado

Haworth Sets New Bar With Corporate Donation

Sustainable line of office furniture is a perfect fit for Chapter

by Patricia Mason, USGBC Colorado Chapter Graduate Student Intern

Andy Paterson, Haworth’s Business Development Director in Denver, is responsible for coordinating
a recent donation to the USGBC Colorado Chapter of close to $10,000 in office furniture and interior
design expertise.  

 “When the opportunity came up to support the Colorado Chapter of USGBC we jumped at it.”   

According to Paterson, Haworth has always prided itself in not just talking about sustainability but
structuring the company and its products in a way that actually "walks the talk.” Supporting the USGBC
Colorado Chapter's mission is further evidence of Haworth's sustainability leadership.

Armed with unlimited access to Haworth’s line of work stations and chairs, Paterson enlisted Tracy Norlin
from Pear Commercial Interiors to help pull it all together.

Pear Commercial Interiors is the region's fastest growing commercial interiors firm. A "Preferred" Haworth dealer, Pear serves clients with an integrated
design approach that generates quality results in a broad diversity of project situations.  “The integrated approach encourages collaboration between
multiple disciplines and seemingly unrelated aspects of design. The end result permits synergistic benefits to be realized,” said Norlin.    

One benefit that visitors to the office realize almost immediately are the Zody chairs. Colorado Chapter
Product Manager Molly Miller is concerned that they are too comfortable. “People from other offices in
the Alliance Center are always trying to steal them from us.”   The Zody chair that has fellow tenants
scheming is “cradle-to-cradle” certified by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry. The Cradle to Cradle
Design Protocol is used to evaluate and optimize a product's materials and the effects of production processes
in order to maximize health, safety, effectiveness, and high quality reutilization over many product life cycles.
The chair’s materials contain up to 50 percent recycled content and are up to 98 percent recyclable at the end
of the chair's life. It is PVC-free, chrome-free, CFC-free, and noticeably more comfortable than the average
priced office chair.  All Haworth's products are manufactured in ISO 14001 plants and are
Green Guard certified.

Colorado Chapter Executive Director Deb Kleinman helped Norlin select accent colors and surfaces that would highlight the room’s wall color and exposed
brick. Norlin also used Deb’s input to create a functional design that allows staff to work either independently or in a group. While the Greenguard certified workstations are a perfect fit, Kleinman is most pleased by their versatility. “I like that they can be removed. The Chapter will probably outgrow this space,
but will never outgrow the need for beautiful and sustainable furnishings.”      

This generous donation to the Colorado Chapter demonstrates Haworth's commitment to living its core values. "We think
beyond our business to our communities. We cultivate hope for our future by investing in people, education and a sustainable world. In our small way, we will help make the world a better place to work and live".

Colorado Chapter President and Chairman Tom Hootman expressed his gratititude to Haworth, commenting that " Haworth's donation to the Chapter
headquarters will help us better manage the programs, events, workshops and initiatives that serve the green building community in Colorado.
We welcome Hawortha s our newest 100 Friends of Colorado supporter.

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CBG / Apr.May 2008 / Page 3