Sustainability built into every piece

At EFI Furniture, sustainability is not a marketing add-on - it is a direct result of how we choose to operate. As an Australian manufacturer that designs and builds the majority of its products in-house at our Coolaroo facility in Victoria, we have genuine visibility and control over our materials, our processes and our waste. That control is what allows us to make responsible decisions on every order, and to back them up.

We supply furniture to schools, universities, government departments, healthcare providers and corporate workplaces - clients who increasingly need to meet their own sustainability, procurement and indoor-environment obligations. The commitments below are how we help them do that.

Responsibly sourced timber and board

Timber and engineered board make up a large share of the furniture we build, so this is where responsible sourcing matters most. Wherever possible we specify FSC-certified timber and board products, meaning the fibre can be traced back to responsibly managed forests. We favour suppliers who can document the chain of custody for the materials they provide to us.

Low-emission materials for healthier rooms

The furniture we make spends its life in classrooms, offices and care settings, where indoor air quality directly affects the people using the space. We prioritise low-emission boards and finishes - including E0/E1 rated board and GECA and GREENGUARD-rated materials where specified - to minimise formaldehyde and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. The result is a healthier environment for students, staff and patients.

Designed and built to last

The single most sustainable thing we can do is build furniture that does not need replacing. Our products are engineered for years of intensive daily use and independently tested to commercial standards, so they stay in service longer. Components such as gas lifts, castors, mechanisms and tops can often be replaced or refurbished rather than scrapping the whole item - extending useful life and reducing both whole-of-life cost and waste.

Local manufacturing, a lighter footprint

Building in Australia, close to the customers we serve, has a real environmental benefit. It dramatically shortens supply chains and removes the long-haul shipping emissions associated with imported furniture, while keeping skilled manufacturing jobs and investment in the local economy.

Reducing waste in production

We work to minimise waste across our operation - optimising material yield in cutting and fabrication, reusing offcuts where practical, and recycling steel, board and packaging waste streams from our factory rather than sending them to landfill.

Supporting your sustainability goals

Many of our clients are pursuing Green Star ratings, sustainable procurement targets or healthy-building outcomes. We are happy to work with specifiers and facilities teams to select materials and finishes that support those goals, and to provide the documentation needed to substantiate them on a given project.

An ongoing commitment

Sustainability is a process, not a finish line. We continue to review our materials, suppliers and processes to find better options as they become available. If you have specific environmental requirements for a project, we would welcome the conversation.