Stillwater, MN – Architecture & Design
AJ Paron-Wildes, A+D manager at Allsteel, has a unique signature in the way she does things–she rallies the forces with her bubbly infectious personality. Intimately knowledgable about the mechanisms of the company’s sustainability practices, AJ helps us see the positive results of a commitment to the planet that translates into success.
When she began studying for the LEED certification exam, she struggled to absorb the information on her own and formed an informal study group, with formal sessions and a guide. This led to an organic initiative from Allsteel A+D representatives to help their clients and colleagues through the rigors of the test by drawing from their own experiences and study tips. Knowing green building credentials are increasingly important for design professionals to add to their signature, she spearheaded what became an important part of Allsteel’s corporate footprint within the LEED space guiding clients towards sustainable solutions.
When AJ isn’t leading LEED initiatives, she is an advocate for making interior environments places of healing. With a focus on designing for autistic children. The amazing spark AJ embuse ripples through her work, as much as her presentations sharing the good work Allsteel is doing.
Enjoy this in-depth interview with AJ Paron-Wildes to understand what Allsteel is doing to bring every part of their manufacturing process to zero waste.
What does Allsteel create?
Allsteel is a commercial furniture manufacturer for the contract design building market. They are located in Muscatine, Iowa and committed to creating quality, relevant products with a smart use of resources in manufacturing.
What is the impact of your work?
Office furniture is one of the biggest assets a company makes a financial commitment to. It’s very important the products are able to adapt, morph and address new challenges and changes in the work environment. The concept of refresh and time-less design have a huge impact on the bottom line for companies, no matter what phase they are in.
What needs in the architectural and design space are you trying to address at this present time?
The biggest drivers in business right now are mobility of workers inside and outside of the organization, efficient use of real-estate, encouraging collaboration and innovation among employees, and creating healthy environments that are more sensitive to the use of our resources.
How the products Allsteel creates and the business behind it be considered Noble Profit?
Example of waste fabric which becomes shoddy, a kind of fabric used in industrial manufacturing such as the trunks of cars and in noise reduction, such as the example provided on Noble Profit by John Vierra of Ford.
Our commitment to the environment and the community is to first understand the impact of our choices. In in-depth life-cycle analysis of our products we have learned that extraction is the biggest impact the product ever has in its lifetime. So using more recycled content is extremely important. Chemical of concern are an increasing issue for humans and the more knowledge we have on strategies to reduce them are just as important. Looking at the development of our new products, understanding these issues relate directly into the design of the product. One of our new chairs is a simple kit of parts of aluminum, metals, and mesh. It has no seat pad or foam needed which tends to have a host of chemicals of concern integrated in order for the product to perform over a lifetime. So design by reduction is finding some answers to the problems we are trying to avoid.
For a manufacturer, it’s not only about manufacturing products in a more responsible format, it’s also understanding the social responsibility in using suppliers and where you get raw materials, and the human ecosystem and health. Our company is continually giving back to the community in many different ways. In fact, it is encouraged for each employee to find ways to impact their local communities and charities.
In our sustainability policy, we understand our business with-in the three P’s: People, Planet and Profit. If you do not have a balance of the three you are not doing the right thing.
How Allsteel’s methodology and practices create Noble Profit for others?
Over 40 laptops are powered by the sun at Allsteel using these sunflower solar panels
Leading by example is one way a business can help bring more Noble Profit for others. Our company uses a process called RCI (Rapid Continuous Improvement) which analyzes reduction of waste in a company. The RCI process is in great alignment with our sustainability efforts. In fact, we teach other companies in different industries this process and how it can fuel sustainable actions into a company and make them more successful.
What path did you take to get where you are?
Our company was founded on the basic principle of filling a human need. We do not create products around what the next trend is we see coming down the pipeline, we create because we see a gap and it is our purpose to fill the gap well. We are constantly looking how to do things better, challenging ourselves and our industry. This is the most exciting part because there is always a new frontier to try and reach.
What strategies have been the most successful for you in promoting your business and expanding your outreach?
Our dealers help us promote our brand and services immensely. We do spend a good amount of energy on marketing the Allsteel brand. From magazine articles, to sponsoring industry events, and creating white papers to share with potential clients.
How do you track and measure your progress?
We track and measure daily almost every aspect of our business. Our sustainability efforts are certified through a process called Bifma level which brings in a third party certifier to check and track our progress. They look at how we manufacture products, our suppliers and our community outreach. Because of this process is sequential, we have new goals established for us that we need to meet every 3 years.
– What partnerships with other organizations do you have, if any, that increase the effectiveness of your strategies? We partner with industry organizations such as IIDA and IFMA. We are also a part of a larger corporation called HNI and we do leverage our business partners within the organization and share costs and strategies.
How does creativity play a role in the adoption of more sustainable business practices?
Mutable architectural wall provides a removable asset versus a one-time solution such as gypsum. These modular walls can be changed, moved, and are reusable creating a resource versus waste at the end of use. They are versatile, flexible, maximize light, transparency, and are now being used in many LEED projects.
Creativity and Innovation are the key to solving some of our biggest challenges when trying to produce more sustainable attributes in your products and services. There are challenges we run into everyday with our clients wanting to achieve goal that we have to think out of the box of how we could do something differently. Without that process, we would not have been able to make the strides that we have accomplished.
What mistakes has your company made along the way and what advice would you give others as a business in this space?
Sometimes it’s hard to know what your clients will deem important. What certifications or 3-party processes will be important to them? We have spent a lot of money on some certification systems that did not matter in the end run. We now look at what is the long-term right thing to do in regards of what’s most important. I mentioned before we have found from a great deal of analysis that our biggest impact on the environment is from extraction which brings new importance to us in using more recycled content. There are some environmental certifications that believe it or not are not conducive to using recycled content, they have other factors they bring more importance to. We have dropped some of these certifications for this reason because we feel that in the long run, we want to do the best job in lowering our carbon footprint for the environment. There are some hard decisions companies will need to make, but if you analyze what is the RIGHT thing to do verses worrying about the endorsements you will lost, we have found that people usually end up on your team because you are doing the right thing.
What professionally compels you to do this?
Personally I have a child that is extremely chemically sensitive, has a deficient immune system, and who’s health has been greatly affected by the built environment. I have made a commitment to myself as an interior designer that I will focus on creating environments for humans that are healthier and not contribute to the toxic burden affecting our populations. Allsteel has been a great company to work for and has let me use my expertise in educating others and helping design more sustainable products.
This new chair for Allsteel represents a tremendous design solution. The biggest problems with chairs is seating. To provide comfort, many manufacturers use padding that is riddled with chemicals or the alternative soy base solutions deteriorate over time. Seat foam and padding is a great a challenge chemically. If you look at reduction design, the clarity chair has little parts, easy to disassemble and recycle with no seat foam–so it’s easy to break down and recycle the steel and aluminum. The seat itself is mesh created from compounds that are also thoughtfully sourced providing no cushion; yet it is a super comfortable chair, which surprises people, eliminating the chemicals that cause issue.
Allsteel uses DFE process – Design For the Environment – integrated for the environment. AJ is working on a Living Building Challenge project which is LEED on steroids. And this chair answers this challenge brilliantly. For example, Google has a red list of chemicals which challenge designers. Paints and colorings cause toxicity, this chair eliminates the need for these chemicals and it is a comfortable chair.
What do you hope to achieve personally through this?
I get a huge satisfaction when working on a project and at the end, understanding the products we put in the college, the clinic, the office, the school were safe, durable and will last a lifetime. Healthy environments for all people is the goal at the end, and knowing I helped to make that happen brings me joy.
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Learn more about AllSteel – www.AllSteelOffice.com
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