The American Home Furnishings Alliance is pleased to present Enhancing Furniture's Environmental Culture (EFEC).  EFEC is the environmental management program developed by AHFA to help its members create and maintain a strong, proactive environmental program that makes them industry leaders.

EFEC Mission Statement

AHFA members commit to leading our companies in ways that benefit society, the economy and the environment while maintaining a strong commitment to consumers, the community, employees and shareholders


EFEC is a voluntary environmental management system (EMS) for furniture manufacturers. EFEC was created with the purpose of maintaining and furthering the industry’s strong environmental performance.  EFEC is a set of management tools and principles that your company needs to integrate environmental concerns into its daily business practices.  EFEC provides a systematic approach to review and improve operations for better environmental performance and improved profitability.  Benefits are obtained by setting up procedures to get the work done and reviewing these procedures to ensure they are working properly.

In addition, many state regulatory agencies are creating benefits for companies that have an EMS in place. These benefits may include less reporting, fewer inspections, permit flexibility, faster permit approvals, government recognition, and reduced permit and application fees.

EFEC provides a uniform EMS for AHFA members.  EFEC’s purpose is to:

  Create a proactive environmental management system

  Implement an environmental system in a business setting to create new opportunities to increase company value

  Create a communication forum to showcase industry’s environmental commitment  

  Serve as a foundation for future business requirements including environmental certification

The EFEC program is designed to take the furniture industry to the next level in environmental performance, manufacturing efficiency, customer satisfaction and public image.  EFEC allows you to work with your existing programs and realize your company's full environmental potential.

EFEC provides practical tools to implement a strategic approach to your environmental program.  Environmental issues impact the furniture industry on two levels.  Internally, environmental issues directly affect production, types of materials used (i.e., compliant coatings), worker safety, and use of human resources (i.e., training, environmental monitoring and record keeping).  Externally, the general public (your customers) cares about the environment, pollution, and community safety.  The successful furniture company will manage and control environmental issues in a way that provides opportunities and benefits.  EFEC creates the system that helps address all of the legal, commercial and other challenges related to the environment (laws and regulations, production, liability, worker safety).  It also assures those outside of the company that you are committed to the community and the environment.

In the end, EFEC makes good business sense.  EFEC provides you with an understanding of the environmental impacts of the manufacturing process, raw materials, finished product, and overall inputs and outputs.  Through understanding these impacts, they can be managed to improve the company's overall performance through cost savings, increased production efficiencies, and other improvements.

The regulatory community will look positively toward companies that implement EFEC.  Proactive companies are viewed as managed and much less likely to violate environmental regulations.  Regulators are beginning to provide incentives for industry to implement proactive environmental programs like EFEC.  These incentives include faster permitting, flexible reporting requirements, less frequent inspections, technical assistance, consolidation of permits, permit flexibility, and other incentives.  
Internal Benefits

  Reduce incidents and liability

  Efficiency

  Performance

  Improved corporate culture
External Benefits

  Public assurance and recognition

  Market access and differentiation

  Regulatory flexibility

  Expression of due diligence

  Public image and community relations

  Financial markets reassurance

improved environmental performance
enhances company's image as environmental leader
raises environmental awareness among company executives
reduced liability
improved regulatory compliance and relationships
improved operational performance and efficiency
ability to better track environmental costs
financial savings from managing resources and raw materials
lower insurance and borrowing costs
increased shareholder value
better image in community
green branding opportunities
fewer accidents
heighten customer satisfaction
fewer and shorter delays in responding to environmental emergencies

EFEC was developed in a phased approach.  Elements of successful management programs were compiled and, with the help of industry representatives, the program was formed.

Phase 1 of the project defined the elements and framework of the program. AHFA began the process by taking the best components of environmental management programs used by other industries and adapting them to the furniture industry’s needs. An industry steering committee selected and refined the final elements. These elements were presented to an Independent Advisory Board Focus Group.  The objective of the focus group presentation was to gain awareness, acceptance, and ideas from other industries and regulators.

Phase 2 fully defined the program and developed this guidance document.  This includes the registration process and rewards and recognition program. In addition, a pilot program was conducted to test the program for quality, ease of use, and required resources.  

Phase 3 is the implementation of the program.  The program guidance document, workshops, and registrar programs are  made available to the membership via AHFA’s web site.   

  EFEC Elements

  Environmental Policy

  Facility Aspect Analysis

  Goals and Objectives

  Employee Awareness and Education

  Incident Preparedness Plan

  Public Education/Communication

  Working with Suppliers and Contractors

  Informing Regulatory Agencies

  Information and Technology Exchange

  Measuring the Progress and Performance

  Corrective Action Plan

This guidance document will outline the specific requirements of EFEC and how to meet them in order to obtain EFEC registration from AHFA.  In short, EFEC requires that you implement the following at your facility:

  develop a written environmental policy signed by a responsible company official

  conduct an evaluation of the environmental aspects of your facility

  develop written environmental goals

  conduct EFEC awareness training for your workers

  ensure all emergency and contingency plans are current and in place

  develop a communications plan/approach for internal and external audiences

  inform suppliers of your program

  inform regulators of your program

  allow AHFA to share your experiences

  measure and monitor your program

  develop a corrective action plan for any program deficiences

After implementing EFEC, an AHFA certified auditor (who can be an employee of your company) audits your facility and your registration application is submitted to the EFEC Board of Examiners.  This board will provide the final registration that will be valid for three years.

The EFEC Guidance Document has five sections plus appendices. Throughout the sections there will be hyperlinks and text boxes to show examples and hints to help you set up your program. The sections are listed to the left and are hyper linked to the specific file.  The document is meant to walk the user through creating and implementing an EFEC program. In addition, there is a section on the registration process, including becoming an AHFA EFEC certified auditor. Useful tools are included in the Appendices to help you implement your program.  This document is not intended to provide legal advice.  Please contact the appropriate regulatory agency to determine the current status of programs and regulations.

Hard copies of each section can be printed out using the print command (make sure you select the print option on your browser that restricts printing to the selected frame).  In addition, some materials are available for download.  These materials include tools and forms that will be helpful as you implement EFEC.  

One of the objectives of EFEC is to assist companies that wish to pursue ISO14001 certification.  EFEC can serve as a foundation for any company who wishes to take their program to this level.  EFEC has been tailored to the furniture industry and will provide benefits similar to ISO14001 while implementing a more manageable system.

ISO14000 is a series of voluntary environmental standards developed by the International Organization of Standardization.  The standards in ISO14000 address a broad range of environmental disciplines including EMS, auditing, performance evaluation, product labeling, life cycle assessment, and product standards. ISO14001 is the standard for EMS.    

  More ISO14000 Information:

     ISO9000/14000 Web Site

     EPA Web Site

     NCDENR Web Site

ISO14001 has gained acceptance both nationally and internationally. It has become a standard for companies that believe in continual improvement of their environmental program. Many foreign owned companies now require their American subsidiaries to adopt ISO14001 standards.  In addition, some large companies (Ford, Honda, IBM) have adopted ISO14001 and are requiring their suppliers to also adopt the program. 

Both EFEC and ISO14001 are voluntary programs. The basic components of ISO14001 are similar to EFEC. The primary difference between the two systems is the reporting and documentation requirements, where ISO requires much more detail and documentation than EFEC. A more comprehensive comparison between the two systems can by found at EFEC vs. ISO - Tale of the Tape.