La-Z-Boy

At La-Z-Boy, we are committed to integrating environmentally sound and sustainable business practices into our daily business decisions. We're working diligently to reduce and manage our environmental footprint while we learn, grow and build upon our experiences as we continue our journey forward.

Manufacturing

Our manufacturing environmental policy calls for a reduction of waste, increased recycling, increased energy efficiency, and reduced water usage. Most of the factory scrap is baled up and reused or recycled.

Stores

Over 120 corporately owned La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries® stores are minimizing their carbon footprint by reducing energy usage and utilizing greener construction materials, eco-friendly light bulbs, paint and flooring. The Severn, Maryland store has gone a step further by establishing a power-purchase agreement for a rooftop solar energy system that generates 75% of its energy needs.

Environmental Commitment  

EFEC is a voluntary environmental management system that helps AHFA members develop and maintain strong, proactive environmental programs. It provides a systematic approach for reviewing and improving a company's operations for better environmental performance and improved profitability. Becoming EFEC registered requires a company to analyze the environmental impact of its operations, raw materials and finished products. As a result of that process, companies will experience measurable benefits, including:

• Improved regulatory compliance and better relationships with regulatory agencies
• Better management of resources and raw materials
• Reduced energy and water consumption
• Reduced waste disposal and associated costs
• Improved overall operational performance and efficiency

Our culture has always included being a socially responsible corporate citizen and a commitment to giving back to the communities in which we operate. So our decision to become EFEC registered was the right thing to do. We want to leave the environment a better place for future generations and the EFEC program is one way of doing that.  

There are eleven elements to the EFEC program with an emphasis on establishing measurable goals for the purpose of reducing our environmental footprint. Employees at our registered plants initially went through EFEC training programs and characterized their own facility-specific environmental footprint. As part of this process, we developed plans for energy, water and waste reductions. After each facility fully implemented the eleven elements, they had to pass an in-depth audit before being registered.  

La-Z-Boy Incorporated currently has a total of eleven locations that are EFEC registered including the La-Z-Boy Residential manufacturing plants and La-Z-Boy Casegoods (Kincaid, American Drew and Hammary). In addition, both our La-Z-Boy Monroe, Michigan Office and the La-Z-Boy Cut and Sew Center in Saltillo, Mexico are EFEC registered. In fact, the CSC facility is the first international facility to be EFEC registered. The LZB Residential Manufacturing operations have reduced energy consumption by 22 percent, eliminated more than 7.2 million pounds of waste going to the landfill per year, and now reuse, recycle or reutilize 91 percent of the waste generated from manufacturing operations as a result of implementing these programs over the last six years (2007 – 2013).  

As an extension of their EFEC Program, the AHFA developed the Sustainable By Design (SBD) Program to help its members demonstrate the industry's commitment to integrating socio-economic policies and environmental practices into manufacturing operations to promote a culture committed to the conservation and stewardship of resources and to the creation of a sustainable environment that balances economic, environmental and social performance factors.  

To attain SBD registration, a company is required to look beyond their operations and conduct a rigorous evaluation of its corporate environmental footprint, as well as its global climate impact. For each key area on a lengthy checklist, the company establishes numerical goals and a system for evaluating annual achievement and establishing new goals. The key areas include:

• Environmental Management Systems (i.e., the EFEC program)
• Supply chain management, including assisting suppliers worldwide in the development and implementation of sustainability programs
• Social performance, including human rights, labor aspects, aspects of products and services and impacts on the community
• Energy conservation, water conservation, recycling and solid/hazardous waste minimization
• Use of low VOC/low HAP coatings, renewable fuels, certified lumber, low-emitting UF resins, minimal composite wood formaldehyde levels, no pbde's in foams and fabrics and eliminating lead in leathers
• Greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint.

Documentation of the above systems and measures is audited by the SBD Board of Examiners. Once registered, companies are able to include the Sustainable by Design AHFA registered logo in its marketing materials. The company can also be promoted on the AHFA's consumer website in a new section designed to educate consumers about environmentally-friendly companies and products in the home furnishings industry. LZB Residential USA Manufacturing, Kincaid and American Drew are now Sustainable by Design (SBD) registered. In addition, Kincaid now has a product line that is AHFA Eco3Home registered. Eco3Home is a furniture labeling program designed to help manufacturers communicate a product's safety, health and environmental features to consumers.  

We are working diligently to reduce and manage our environmental footprint. We continue to learn, grow and build upon our experiences as we continue our journey forward. We are certainly not at the end of the journey, but our full intent is to be "greener" tomorrow than we are today.

At La-Z-Boy, we are all about comfort. From our furniture and the service we provide to our customers, to a comfortable environment to work, play, achieve and succeed. That is why we are dedicated to hiring outstanding individuals in our corporate jobs and empowering them to unlock their talent and creativity with a career they feel passionate about.