NSF Publishes New Sustainability Standard for Professional Services
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Manufacturers, regulators and consumers look to NSF International (formerly National Sanitation Foundation) for the development of public health standards and certification programs that help protect the world’s food, water, consumer products and environment. As an independent, accredited organization, NSF’s standards group facilitates the development of standards. NSF Sustainability, through the National Center for Sustainability Standards, has developed industry-leading standards and protocols for services and service providers, carpet, resilient flooring, textiles, roofing and many more categories.
On April 25, 2019, NSF published the first American National Standard for sustainability in the professional services industry, NSF/ANSI 391.1: General Sustainability Assessment Criteria for Professional Services. This standard establishes criteria for evaluating the environmental, social and economic impacts of professional services providers, including organizations classified as professional service providers by the U.S. Federal Professional Services Schedule (PSS) or NAICS Sector 54. Service providers can use NSF/ANSI 391.1 to differentiate themselves from competitors by documenting sustainable business practices, meet state and federal procurement guidelines for sustainable services, and guide their business practices and sustainability programs.
“Unlike many standards, NSF 391.1 does not simply assess a single attribute of service delivery – like greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – but instead takes a more holistic view of a professional services company’s business practices.” (www.nsf.org)
If you would like to learn more about the new NSF sustainability standard for the professional services industry, our sustainability consultants can help you compare the new standard to the GRI, CDP, and SASB sustainability reporting frameworks to see if it’s the best fit for your company’s sustainability program needs. For more information about our sustainability and ESG consulting services, please call us today at (800) 508-8034 or contact us here.
Contact:
Becky Twohey, Ph.D.
Vice President, ESG Strategy, Planning and Reporting
KERAMIDA Inc.
Contact Becky at btwohey@keramida.com
