Our philosophy

"Our environmental practice is nurtured by the concepts which have always guided us: creativity, innovation, and quality. Far more than a strategy, we favour a philosophy imprinted with respect for human beings and their environment, whether it be in the training of our staff, our choice of suppliers, or the management of our waste." It is no accident, then, that Pierre Roset, PDG of the Roset Group, intervenes at the highest level of the European Commission in Brussels in his capacity as representative of the UNIFA (Union Nationale des Industriels Fabricants pour l'Ameublement): a number of interesting results have been obtained, such as the classification of panels of particleboard according to their toxicity. Progress is yet to be made, however, in respect of overhauling the regulations governing the fire retardancy of upholstered seating, regulations which are of such vital importance to those establishments destined to welcome the public, but which are not always compatible with a policy of sustainable development.

Eco Design 

What is the nature of Ligne Roset Contracts' commitment to eco design and sustainable development?

Eco design aims to introduce environmental criteria into product design at the very beginning, on the same level as technical and economic criteria. This entails:

• Identifying the environmental issues associated with the product for the duration of its life cycle. If certain of our products contain solid wood, we have absolutely no part in the destruction of the South American (most notably Amazonian), African or Southern Asian forests. Conscious of the urgent need to protect this natural heritage, we use exclusively wood of PEFC-certified origin, that is, European tree species from ecologically managed forests: oak, walnut, ash, beech.
• Limiting the maximum impact of the product on the environment at the production stage.
• Designing the product in such a way that the materials of which it is composed may be recycled to the maximum. The components of the products we design are increasingly separable. This is achieved through the choice of materials used, a great deal of research into products (e.g. easily removable glues), and maximum product improvement in terms of encouraging economy of materials and energy, also facilitating ease of transportation and handling. This is why, for example, the thick panels used to construct our cabinet furniture are alveolar, with cardboard honeycombing.

When working on a hotel project, the environmental approach demands a partnership between project manager, architect and manufacturer, collaborating from the very beginning of the product design process.

The Bilan carbone © ('Carbon Balance')

A complex yet instructive assessment

Not yet obligatory – but it probably will be in two or three years' time – the bilan carbone © ('Carbon Balance'), a method patented by the Ademe (Agence De l'Environnement et la Maîtrise de l'Energie) enables the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the activity of a business or administration to be evaluated. Very concisely, the method studies the following CO2-emitting modes of activity:

• The production of energy
• Processes
• Freight transport
• Transportation of personnel
• Incoming materials and services
• Packaging
• Direct (industrial) waste
• Depreciation
• Product usage

The total emission of the Roset Group (except the stores) is 12,928 t eq C (one multiplies the tonnes of carbon (t eq C) by 3.67 to obtain the equivalent in tonnes of Co2). Improvement plans have of course been put in place and are subject to regular evaluation.

Discover more about Ligne Roset and the environment.