Environmental Report

Long before governments issued regulations protecting the environment and many years before the introduction of ISO 14001, (The International Environmental Standard) the people at Global were demonstrating a profound respect for the environment through a series of practical and innovative activities.

Our motive behind these activities was as straightforward then as it is today. Simply speaking, it is the right thing to do.

Some of our environmental initiatives include:

• A tree planting program to replace those cut to produce our catalogues
• Not using the tropical woods listed in CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
• Eliminating ozone-damaging Freon, CFC's and HCFC's as blowing agents from our molded polyurethane parts
• Maximizing the use of powder paint finishes on metal parts in our production facilities. Global's responsible manufacturing practices and earth-friendly programmes demonstrate our commitment to the protection and conservation of the environment.

Mandate

At the Global Group of Companies, we recognize that any organization wishing to achieve  business excellence must demonstrate a measurable commitment to the environment. How? Global's answer is to show genuine care and concern for the environment by planning and acting responsibly and by making a positive contribution.

To achieve this objective we have formed the Global Group Environment Committee. Represented on the committee are: Global Upholstery, Teknion, Teknion Quality Assurance, Global Contract, Global Marketing, Global Group Government Affairs, Global Group Quality and the Global Group Environment Management Office.

The mandate for the Global Group Environment Committee is to:

1. Establish and maintain environmental policy for the Global Group of Companies
2. Ensure compliance to all legislative and regulatory environmental requirements
3. Minimize hazardous waste and toxic emissions at all our plants
4. Provide administrative and technical support for the Environment Management Office
5. Promote and support the implementation of ISO 14000 at all of our member companies
6. Continually strive to improve our environmental performance by providing leadership and training for our people

At Global, caring about the environment isn't just an impulse, it's a mandate.

Chrome Plating

Global's chrome plating facility is a showcase for environmentally-friendly waste management.

Not only is this facility fully automated to control water purity, all chemicals are monitored by a micro-processor. This ensures minimum waste and a consistent bath chemistry. A consistent bath chemistry maximizes the life of the solution, minimizes contaminants and keeps the discharge well below recommended limits. Continuous monitoring by highly trained staff and state-of-the-art electronic equipment keep mechanical and chemical solutions at optimal operating levels.

Why is this important? The water that comes out at the end of our plating process is as clean as the water that comes from your taps.

Chlorofluorocarbons

As you know, a protective filter known as the ozone layer surrounds the earth and acts as a barrier from the sun's harmful rays. Almost every spring since 1982, massive holes in the ozone are detected in the Antarctic. Scientists now agree that Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's) have been a major contributor to this hole and the further depletion of the ozone layer. In response to this impending crisis, the Canadian government's "Montreal Protocol" established 1996 as the deadline for the elimination of the use of CFC's and was adopted internationally as a target date.

At Global, we were cheering the government's efforts. Why? Because we had already recognized the dangerous environmental impact of CFC's. As a matter of fact, we had eliminated their use from our foam molding plant in 1993! In doing so, we were one of the first manufacturers of molded foam in North America to institute ozone-friendly processes.

At Global, we continue to lead the way with new earth-friendly technologies.

Metal Finishing

Since 1991, Global has used a powder paint coating process to produce beautiful finishes on chair and panel frames, filing products and storage cabinets. Powder coating provides a high quality finish with excellent chemical and corrosion resistance. It is also environmentally friendly.

How is it environmentally friendly?

• Global's products are powder coated with a durable epoxy polyester hybrid. The powder in its raw form is classified as non-hazardous.
• No solvents are used in the mixing, application or clean up stages of the powder coating process. This keeps the air free from toxins so that it can be recirculated.
• Powder coating is a waste-free process, eliminating the need to vent, filter or recover any solvents – very energy efficient.
• About 98 percent of the excess paint powder is reused eliminating waste.
• Most importantly, powder coating secures healthy working conditions for our employees!

Packaging

We think about protecting the environment even while we're protecting our products!

All companies use shipping cartons and various kinds of packaging to protect their products during transport and storage … and Global is no exception. At Global, however, we are committed to using only recycled cardboard for our shipping cartons. To be classified as "recycled," according to Environment Canada's Environmental Choice program, a product must contain at least 50 % recycled material.

Did we meet the government's guidelines? Once again, we exceeded them! Global's shipping cartons contain at least 80% recycled material.

That's not all… Here are some other ways that Global's packaging programme preserves our environment:

• Global's shipping cartons are made of recycled paper. They too can be recycled.
• Our cartons are imprinted with water-based inks, which do not use harmful solvents, or contain heavy metal pigment. These inks are easier to break down for recycling.
• Global will ship products blanket-wrapped, eliminating the need for cartoning altogether, whenever shipping distances are feasible for this transportation method.
• By using different-sized cartons, we are able to reduce the amount of packaging needed. Our packers choose the smallest box possible for each product.
• Global is shipping more and more chairs "knocked down". These chairs require a small amount of assembly but save 50-75% of cartoning space over fully assembled products.

A lot of small initiatives add up to one big environmental benefit!

Continuous Improvement ISO 14000

The environmental counterpart to ISO 9000 quality management systems is ISO 14000. This is an international standard for the implementation and operation of an Environmental Management System (EMS). Like ISO 9000, it requires a commitment to continuous improvement through a cycle of environmental initiatives. This programme mandates that Global achieves the specific objectives that it sets for itself.

The Continuous Improvement Cycle is made up of:

• Environmental Policy
• Planning
• Implementation and Operation
• Checking and Correcting
• Management Review
• Continual Improvement

Global Environmental Logo

Global Total Office has adopt ed an envir onmental logo to represent our on-going environmental achievements and initiatives. Our logo depicts the Global Total Office corporate logo surrounded by a bird. We designed this image to represent the symbiotic relationship between our company, the global environment and our commitment to keep the environment clean.

Recycling Waste

From chair bases and seat pans to pencil trays, Global manufactures a wide variety of plastic and wood products using recycled materials. This recycled material comes from our very own recycling facility, RT Technologies.

Since 1989, RT Technologies has been a unique recycling facility. By utilizing a patented process of mixing together plastic waste and wood scraps from various Global plants, we have been able to divert 7.3 metric tonnes of plastic and wood waste per day from landfill sites and recycle them into usable office furniture.

What is worth noting is that RT Technologies uses over 80% recycled material for all of its processes and that the products they make can be recycled again!

Today, Global not only recycles tons of plastic and wood waste from its own facilities, it recycles waste for other companies as well!

Global Waste Reduction Plan

The Global Group's Office of Environmental Management has worked diligently for many years on waste reduction programmes. We are constantly looking for new ways to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. Every year we adopt new technologies that will divert more waste away from landfills and toward useful applications.

Our track record is impressive … Global currently recycles close to 95% of the waste materials it generates each year. This means that less than 5% of the total waste generated by Global ends up in landfill! And we are committed to reducing that amount by at least another 5% in the upcoming year.

This is what we are currently recycling:

But there's still work to be done … In addition to waste diversion and reduction plans already in place, we are also developing new uses for our fabric scraps.

We won't rest until we are recycling 100% of our waste! It is possible.