Certificates for Our Furniture and Company

Tested and recommended Certificates and Sustainability at VS

Not only have our products been awarded multiple certificates, so, too, has our company.

Our focus has been on sustainability for many years. In that time, we have considered it one of our duties as a company, and thus socially relevant player, to take binding actions to protect and support people, nature and the environment. While manufacturing outstanding products under economically practical conditions. Because we are certain that we will achieve success only by being responsible.

Company-Related Certificates

How does a company act as a manufacturer, property developer and property owner, employer, social player? What are the bases of its actions? What is the quality of its processes, have they been clearly defined and are they documented? Minimum requirements for this have been laid down in various management standards, which companies align themselves to and according to which they - just like us - can have themselves certified externally.

Management Systems

DIN EN ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 are internationally recognised. Recertification is every three years. VS has been certified to ISO 9001 since 1996, to ISO 14001 since 2004 and to ISO 50001 since 2016.

DIN EN ISO 9001 Quality Management System

Certification according to ISO 9001 is the basis for the continuous improvement process of the company’s quality management system. Quality management encompasses all activities including specifying the responsibilities that contribute in any way to achieving an organisation's quality goals.

The principles of quality management are: customer orientation, management responsibility, involving the people concerned, process-oriented approach, continuous improvement, objective decision-making approach and supplier relations for mutual benefit.

DIN EN ISO 14001 Environmental Management System

ISO 14001 gives an organisation a framework for protecting the environment and enables it to react to changing environmental conditions in accordance with socio-economic demands and changing environmental conditions.

The sustainable development of the organisation is made possible by a systematic approach in the following areas: protecting the environment, reducing negative environmental conditions on the company, improving environmental performance, environmental orientation of the entire life cycle of products, gaining economic advantages by using environmentally compatible alternatives, and communication of environmental information.

DIN EN ISO 50001 Energy Management System

This standard refers to the factors that can be influenced by the company and can be adapted to individual requirements. Accordingly, companies can systematically and continuously improve their energy efficiency.

The purpose of energy management is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts and to save energy costs. The company is installing systems and processes that are needed to improve energy performance, such as energy efficiency and consumption.

Certificates for Product Sustainability

Higher sustainability standards consider products in the round – from the choice of the material and the production process right up to delivery of the furniture. The areas of energy, environmental impact and social impact are recorded. VS products have been certified according to these standards.

Product Sustainability

Product Sustainability BIFMA e3 level

BIFMA e3 level is the sustainability standard of the American Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA). It is an evaluation and certification system for environmentally friendly and socially responsible school, office and contract furniture.

Validity at VS

Since October 2013, the majority of VS products have been certified to BIFMA e3 level. In the recertification in 2016, all of the certified products were awarded the product-related BIFMA certification at the highest level 3 or platinum.

Prosuct Sustainability Cradle to Cradle

“Cradle to Cradle” is the idea of a waste-free economy, which thinks completely in cycles, i.e., circular value-added chains. All of the materials used are part of a natural or technical cycle. As a result, all waste in the conventional sense is avoided, because all of the materials are either reused or continue to be used, or they can be composted without any harmful residues.

Validity at VS

JUMPER Air Active from VS is the first school and institutional chair to achieve the complex certification in silver. The school chair PantoSwing- LuPo has also been certified silver. The tables Uno-C und EcoTable (https://c2ccertified.org/certified-products) have been awarded bronze. The certification is recognised worldwide and is valid for two years.

ISO 38200

ISO 38200 an internationally recognised standard for the manufacturing cycle (CoC, Chain of Custody) of wood and wood products, which is valid worldwide. The standard governs the passing on of information along the supply chain. In particular, it is designed to support and implement responsible and legal wood sourcing - including the context of the EU Timber Regulation.

Validity at VS

All VS products that contain wood materials are delivered to our customers under the ISO 38200 test label.

Certificates on Product and User Safety

Many certificates refer to clearly-defined sustainability aspects – for example, pollution, or the safety of the product. A large number of core processes and statutory minimum requirements are incorporated as basis components in the certification. Our products have been awarded the following certificates.

Product and User Safety

Emissions-Tested, Pollutant-Tested

This test label from TÜV Rheinland tests the emission behaviour and the pollutant content of a product and documents the level of harm to health when used as intended.

Validity at VS

Each certificate applies to one of the following product groups:

Pupils’ desks and desk systems
Upholstered multi-purpose and pupils’ chairs
Non-upholstered multi-purpose and pupils’ chairs
Pupils’ and multi-purpose chairs with plastic seats, plastic backs, upholstered and non-upholstered
School boards and projection surfaces
Storage space and carcass furniture for schools and offices

The certificate is recognised nationally. After the first test has been successfully conducted, further monitoring is carried out annually.

GS Tested Safety

The Tested Safety seal (GS label) certifies a product the safety, strength and durability.

What criteria is the certificate based on?

Products with the GS label have been tested by an accredited laboratory in accordance with the German Product Safety Act. The requirements are primarily defined in DIN and European standards. Testing is on the basis of the manufacturer’s application and is voluntary. TÜV Rheinland LGA Products GMBH conducts tests for VS.

Validity

Most of VS series products bear the GS label. The certificate is valid nationally, and applies to the certified product for five years.

Greenguard

The Greenguard certificate indicates that the products fall within the upper limits for chemical emissions for use in offices and other indoor spaces. Greenguard ‘gold’ certification stipulated more stringent standards for products that are used in schools, childcare settings or other environments where children spend a long time. The majority of VS furniture has been awarded the “Greenguard” or ‘Greenguard Gold’ certificate.

Validity at VS

To date, around 90 VS products have been listed at Greenguard through VS America, Inc. This list can be viewed publicly here. In the ‘Manufacturers/Brands’ filter, enter VS America. Our 103 products are listed here.

Fire Protection

In public areas, fire protection is always extremely important for safety. However, there is often uncertainty as to which standards are to be applied to furniture. The prevailing fire protection standard is DIN 66084 for the “Classification of Fire Behaviour of Upholstery Compounds” with the classes P-a, P-b and P-, which can also be applied to other seating.

Classification in accordance with these standards uses the cigarette test according to DIN EN 1021 Part 1, the match test according to DIN EN 1021 Part 2 and the paper cushion test laid down by DIN 54341.

Validity at VS

In close collaboration with recognised, independent testing laboratories, VS upholstered furniture and chairs are tested according to the applicable fire protection standards. Even in the standard version, the VS upholstered furniture and chair models comply with the classification standard P-c (low) and P-b (medium). The classification P-a (high) is achieved if the furniture is also fitted with a barrier material. VS offers this version as an option.

Certificates

Which product has which certificates? This can be found in the complete catalogue.

To the complete catalogue

Do you want to find out more about how we implement sustainability?

Then write to us!

sustainability@vs-moebel.de

This could also interest you

Our Sustainability Report

How we live and implement sustainability

To our sustainability report

Sustainability at VS: How does it actually work in practice?

A look at VS production using the example of the JUMPER Air Active school chair shows what is important in sustainable production and why the circular economy is not new for VS.

Certificates for Our Furniture and Company | VS

Certificates for Our Furniture and Company | VS

Tested and recommended Certificates and Sustainability at VS

Company-Related Certificates

DIN EN ISO 9001 Quality Management System

DIN EN ISO 14001 Environmental Management System

DIN EN ISO 50001 Energy Management System

Certificates for Product Sustainability

Product Sustainability BIFMA e3 level

Prosuct Sustainability Cradle to Cradle

ISO 38200

Certificates on Product and User Safety

Emissions-Tested, Pollutant-Tested

GS Tested Safety

Greenguard

Fire Protection

Certificates

This could also interest you