Environmental aspects of the furniture sector
Several directives related to the environment directly affect the European furniture industry, such as those relating to industrial emissions or to waste management.
One piece of legislation relevant for the furniture sector is the IPPC Directive on " Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control". This Directive aims to minimise pollution from various industrial sources throughout the European Union.
Operators of industrial installations covered by Annex I of the Directive are required to obtain an authorisation (environmental permit) from the authorities in EU countries. "Installations for the surface treatment of substances, objects or products using organic solvents, in particular for dressing, printing, coating, degreasing, waterproofing, sizing, painting, cleaning or impregnating, with a consumption capacity of more than 150 kg per hour or more than 200 tones per year" are in Annex I of IPPC Directive.
Coating materials are commonly used in the furniture industry to provide materials resistance to chemical, mechanical and climatic impacts and also to stain. Furthermore, wood used for furniture (e.g. garden furniture) is often preserved with organic solvent based preservatives to protect it against fungus, insects and weathering. In this context, furniture manufactures which coat, paint, waterproof, etc. furniture, notably wood furniture may need to obtain an environmental permit.
According to the IPPC Directive, permit conditions must be based on Best Available Techniques (BAT). The Reference Document on Best Available Techniques (BREF) on Surface Treatment using Organic Solvents, adopted in August 2007, has a chapter on "coating of furniture and wood materials" and a chapter on "wood preservation". This document provides a list of the applied processes and techniques used in the coating of furniture and wood materials as well as techniques used for wood preservation. It lists the current consumption (e.g. materials, energy) and emission levels (e.g. VOCs) and most importantly the best available techniques to minimise raw material consumption, to reduce air emissions (e.g. different types of filters), to treat waste waters or to manage waste (e.g. recovery of used solvents).
Another relevant Directive for the furniture sector is the VOC Solvents Emissions Directive on the limitation of emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) due to the use of organic solvents in certain activities and installations. Activities such as adhesive coating, coating of metallic, plastic and wood surfaces, surface cleaning, wood impregnation, manufacture of coatings preparations, varnishes, inks and adhesives, wood and plastic lamination are covered by the VOC Directive.
Some of the plants covered by the VOC Solvents Directive are also covered by the IPPC Directive. In these cases, the VOC Solvents Directive only sets minimum obligations which are not necessarily sufficient to comply with the IPPC Directive. Such compliance may involve more stringent emission limit values, emission limit values for other substances and other media, and other appropriate conditions. Details of emissions from installations falling under both VOC Solvents Directive and IPPC Directive can be accessed via the European Pollutant Emission Register (EPER).
As in many other industrial processes, furniture production generates waste (e.g. waste from wood processing and the production of panels and furniture, wood preservation wastes and wastes from the use of paints and varnishes). In this context, furniture producers have to comply with Directive 2008/98/EC on Waste. This Directive lays down measures to protect the environment and human health by preventing or reducing the adverse impacts of the generation and management of waste and by reducing overall impacts of resource use and improving the efficiency of such use.
Moreover, the furniture industry is a downstream user of chemicals and as such has obligations under REACH.
As regards voluntary approaches, a growing number of furniture manufactures are implementing environmental management schemes (e.g. EMAS) in order to monitor and continuously improve their environmental performance. In addition, an EU Eco-label for wooden furniture is under discussion.
