Ethan Allen's Paul Kaminski receives AHFA environmental award

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, March 11, 2013

Paul Kaminski of Ethan Allen Global, left, receives the American Home Furnishings Alliance’s 2012 Environmental Leadership Award from AHFA’s Bill Perdue.

HIGH POINT — Ethan Allen's Paul Kaminski received the American Home Furnishings Alliance's 2012 Environmental Leadership Award at the AHFA's annual Sustainability Summit last month.

Kaminski, who is corporate director of environment, health and safety for Ethan Allen Global, was chosen his commitment to supporting and furthering the AHFA's environmental initiatives.

Bill Perdue, AHFA vice president of regulatory affairs, thanked Kaminski for his dedication to the AHFA and the industry, a press release said.

"This award simply validates the work you do on a daily basis to help make Ethan Allen a leader in the sustainability field," Perdue said.

Ethan Allen also received the AHFA's corporate Environmental Excellence Award, given to a member company demonstrating exemplary environmental management and ongoing stewardship.

Ethan Allen has five domestic manufacturing facilities registered in the AHFA's Enhancing Furniture's Environmental Culture, or EFEC, environmental management program. Another two international locations are preparing for EFEC audits.

All seven facilities are headed toward completion of AHFA's Sustainable by Design program, Kaminski said. The SBD program is the second tier of the AHFA's environmental stewardship program and extends practices through a company's entire supply chain.

Ethan Allen is also working to tailor the EFEC to its 150 retail design centers nationwide. Perdue lauded the company for helping pioneer an upcoming EFEC Guidance Manual for stores.

"We are working to modify the audit protocol to account for the large number of geographically diverse locations, and, lastly, we'll be tackling the challenge of communicating the meaning of EFEC to consumers," Perdue said in the release.