AFFIRM™ Certified
AFFIRM™ Certified is a sustainable certification for resilient flooring products that is based on compliance with the AFFIRM™ Certified: Sustainable Assessment of Resilient Floor Covering. The standard’s criteria include environmental, health and wellness, and social impact categories. The AFFIRM™ Certified label on a resilient flooring product provides the specifier and consumer assurance that the resilient flooring product is meeting sustainability requirements and is third-party certified.
ANSI
Accredited Standard
Level 1 + 2
Certification Tiers
Key Benefits
Why AFFIRM™ Certified
01
ANSI-Accredited Consensus Standard
The AFFIRM™ Certified standard is based upon criteria developed by a consensus process accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), verifying that standards are developed through the involvement of stakeholders directly affected by the scope of the standard.
02
Consensus Process
A joint committee including public health, industry, and user members is responsible for proposing standards, voting on standards, ensuring public health and safety, addressing environmental concerns, and responding to requests for interpretations of AFFIRM™ Certified standards.
03
Public Health Council Review
A unique feature of the AFFIRM™ Certified process is the review of all standards by the Council of Public Health Consultants — composed of representatives of professional organizations, federal and state regulatory agencies, academic institutions, and nationally or internationally recognized public health and environmental leaders.
04
Two Certification Levels
Products are required to minimally meet all Level 1 requirements to be certified. Level 2 includes optional additional criteria with a minimum number of criteria being met within each of the three impact areas — environmental, health and wellness, and social. Updated Transparency Scorecards reflect continual improvement.
05
Specifier Confidence
The AFFIRM™ Certified label provides a way for designers, architects, facility managers, procurement agents and end-users to easily recognize that a resilient flooring product has completed a third-party, independent certification process demonstrating commitment to sustainability, human health, and social responsibility.
06
Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP)
Many government agencies have mandated EPP programs, including ecolabels that are part of the certifications represented in the ecomedes database. AFFIRM™ Certified products provide specifiers in the private sector, NGOs, and government agencies a way to meet Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) requirements.
The Process
How to get certified
AFFIRM certification is developed through an ANSI-accredited process administered by NSF. Visit NSF to learn how to participate and pursue certification for your products.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is resilient flooring and where is it used?
Resilient flooring refers to flooring materials that have a relatively firm surface yet characteristically have “give and take” when walked on. These include many kinds of vinyl floors – vinyl sheet flooring, vinyl composition tile, and luxury vinyl tiles and planks – as well as linoleum, rubber, cork and wall base products. They are used in many commercial applications for their durability, design flexibility and environmental attributes.
Why do we need AFFIRM™ Certified?
The AFFIRM™ Certified label provides a way for designers, architects, facility managers, procurement agents and end-users to easily recognize that a resilient flooring product has completed a third party, independent certification process demonstrating commitment to sustainability, human health, and social responsibility. Because there are both required (Level 1) and optional criteria (Level 2), manufacturers can use the standard for continual improvement.
How does AFFIRM™ Certified differ from other certifications?
Multi-attribute standards like AFFIRM are responsive to market requests for a more comprehensive approach for determining environmentally preferable products. Single attribute programs serve a purpose, but more comprehensive standards like AFFIRM include environmental, health and wellness, and social responsibility requirements — highly indicative of environmentally preferable products (EPP).
How does AFFIRM™ Certified work?
Products are required to minimally meet all Level 1 requirements to be certified. Level 2 includes optional additional criteria with a minimum number of criteria being met within each of the three impact areas. As organizations evaluate continuous improvement, additional Level 2 criteria can be met, which is reflected in updated Transparency Scorecards as part of their certification documentation.
Who worked on the AFFIRM™ Certified standard?
The AFFIRM™ Certified standard and its revisions are developed through the involvement of stakeholders directly affected by the scope of the standard. A joint committee including public health, industry, and user members is responsible for proposing standards, voting on standards, ensuring public health and safety, and addressing environmental concerns.
What products have been certified against this standard?
For current information on certified products, visit RFCI’s dedicated ecomedes® database and search for AFFIRM™ Certified under Certifications and Ecolabels. For additional product manufacturer information go to RFCI Institute and click on specific member logos under Flooring Manufacturers.
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