AHFA to offer Carbon Calculator tool

Will help companies measure their environmental impact

Heath E Combs -- Furniture Today, August 13, 2010

HIGH POINT — The American Home Furnishings Alliance has developed a Web-based Carbon Calculator tool with sustainability resource planning firm Verisae to help companies measure their carbon footprints and compare them to industry averages.

Beginning Sept. 1, the tool will be available for free through a link on AHFA's www.sustainablebydesign.us website.

The calculator is designed to help companies assess overall environmental impact, calculate carbon footprint, set goals, measure progress and compare results against industry averages.

"The AHFA Carbon Calculator is a great starting point for companies that aren't necessarily ready to take action," said AHFA Vice President Bill Perdue. "It can give them a basic understanding of their environmental impact and provide some ‘what-if' scenarios to highlight the possible bottom-line cost savings associated with various energy reduction options."

Verisae's calculator has been used in other industries to give manufacturers and retailers a basic understanding of their carbon impact. The firm worked with Perdue to customize its use to furniture manufacturers.

The tool also allows companies to establish a baseline and find potential energy efficiency and emissions reductions that can save money.

Companies do not need to be participants in AHFA's Sustainable by Design program to use the calculator.

Verisae will offer a webinar at 10 a.m. EST on Aug. 31 to help companies understand how to use the calculator. Companies can register for the webinar from the AHFA EVENTS page at www.ahfa.us.

Verisae has a variety of offerings to help companies improve operations and ensure regulatory compliance and environmental impacts, and is offering AHFA member companies a 10% discount on environmental management solutions and consulting.

In addition, AHFA members that enter their data in the Carbon Calculator by Oct. 1 will receive customized data analysis from Verisae that ranks their company against their AHFA peers.

Companies that are not members of AHFA can access the calculator any time prior to Oct. 1 by e-mailing bgrubb@ahfa.us and requesting a temporary user name and password.