Mississippi to Promote EFEC

January 16, 2011  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Green on January 17, 2011

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, American Home Furnishings Alliance and Franklin Furniture Institute will promote the EFEC environmental management system as a fast track to entering the state's enHance Stewardship program.

The enHance program is a voluntary initiative to recognize environmental leaders in Mississippi. Participating organizations make a commitment to address and achieve ongoing environmental improvements. To enter the program, companies must have a formal environmental policy, an active or completed project that enhances the environment, a defined management process to review environmental issues and a demonstrated commitment to environmental compliance.

EFEC, "Enhancing Furniture's Environmental Culture," is a furniture industry-specific environmental management program developed by AHFA to help manufacturers better manage their resources and raw materials, reduce energy and water consumption, reduce waste and increase recycling efficiencies.

"MDEQ officials evaluated AHFA's EFEC program and determined that it mirrors the objectives in their enHance program," said AHFA Vice President Bill Perdue. "As a result, they have agreed to work with EFEC-registered companies to facilitate their application into the enHance program."

Flexsteel Industries' Starkville, Miss., plant is the first EFEC-registered manufacturing facility to complete the application for membership in the Mississippi enHance program. 

Mississippi furniture companies that achieve membership in the enHance program also would have a streamlined process for completing EFEC.

"The involvement and support of the Franklin Furniture Institute is really the conduit for this cooperative agreement," Perdue said.

Last spring FFI partnered with AHFA to help interested Mississippi furniture manufacturers complete the EFEC program. Bill Martin, director of FFI, and two other Institute staffers have been certified to provide EFEC training and perform EFEC audits.

More information on EFEC is available from Bill Perdue. More information on the Mississippi enHance program is at available online, or via e-mail.