STEELCASE SHOWCASES ITS SUSTAINABILITY COMMITMENT AT BIENNALE ARCHITETTURA 2016

Steelcase partners with EPEA and shows its latest Cradle to Cradle Certified™ product Gesture® at 15th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia

Venice, June 2016 – Steelcase is announcing its participation at the 15th Biennale di Venezia 2016 featuring the Gesture chair in the installation “Celebrating our Human Footprint: A Building like a Tree – A City like a Forest” hosted by EPEA.

For the first time, EPEA and its CEO Prof. Michael Braungart will present the concept of Cradle to Cradle™ at La Biennale di Venezia, International Architecture Exhibition. As this year’s motto “Reporting from the Front” matches perfectly with the work of EPEA, Prof. Michael Braungart has been invited by the director Alejandro Aravena, a multiple award-winning Chilean architect, to present the Cradle to Cradle™ design concept in the exhibition rooms in the Central Pavilion (Giardini). Between the 28th of May and November 27th 2016 the renowned exhibition in the heart of Venice features 150 international and Italian  architects in the Giardini & Arsenale pavilion and the city centre. The Biennale di Venezia attracts between 300,000 and 500,000 visitors.

Steelcase, the global leader in the office furniture industry, is showing its latest Cradle to Cradle Certified™ product, the innovative Gesture chair at EPEA’s installation. The chair was designed in response to research about changing postures in the workplace. A global study revealed how new technologies have led to nine new postures – not supported by traditional office chairs – which frequently cause pain and long-term injuries, disrupting concentration and creativity.

Introduced in 2005 by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), the Cradle to Cradle™ Products program is an industry benchmark that Steelcase actively pursues to help designers and customers specify and purchase products to meet their sustainability goals. As one of the early adopters of the Cradle to Cradle Certification™, Steelcase utilizes this framework to provide third-party sustainability certification and transparency for customers, as well as inform strategy and deliver on the company values. Products earning this certification are recognized in the LEED® green building program which recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices.

 

Learn more about EPEA’s presence at La Biennale di Venezia.

Learn more about Steelcase’s commitment to sustainability.

About Steelcase

For over 100 years, Steelcase has helped create great experiences for the world’s leading organizations, across industries. We demonstrate this through our family of brands – including Steelcase® and Coalesse®. Together, they offer a comprehensive portfolio of architecture, furniture and technology products and services designed to unlock human promise and support social, economic and environmental sustainability. We are globally accessible through a network of channels, including over 800 dealer locations. Steelcase is a global, industry-leading and publicly traded company with fiscal 2016 revenue of $3.1 billion.

About EPEA

EPEA (Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency) Internationale Umweltforschung GmbH was found­ed in 1987 by Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart. As an internation­ally active scientific research and consultancy institute EPEA works with companies as well as stakeholders from industry, science and government to implement Cradle to Cradle® materials management throughout the supply chain. EPEA combines chemistry, biology and environmental science with product optimization and product development and is leading in the implementation of the Circular Economy powered by Cradle to Cradle.

Cradle to Cradle Certified™ is a certification mark licensed by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.

LEED® is a trademark owned by the U.S. Green Building Council.