MUSCATINE, Iowa – Corporate social responsibility (CSR) from one of the world’s leading office furniture manufacturers headquartered here goes full circle with the development of a new Stanley Center for Peace and Security facility. HNI Corp., its commercial furniture brands Allsteel and Gunlocke, its supply chain, product engineers, and its operations and manufacturing team members […]
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MUSCATINE, Iowa – Corporate social responsibility (CSR) from one of the world’s leading office furniture manufacturers headquartered here goes full circle with the development of a new Stanley Center for Peace and Security facility.
HNI Corp., its commercial furniture brands Allsteel and Gunlocke, its supply chain, product engineers, and its operations and manufacturing team members have all embraced the goals to create Red-List free, healthier products for customers such as the Stanley Center.
Specifically, the HNI team is committed to earning the Declare Label designation advocated by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) in Seattle, Washington. Declare is a transparency platform and product database that is used by architects, builders, and building owners to find healthy products – from building materials to furniture – for ILFI Living Building Challenge projects.
The Stanley Center for Peace and Security in Muscatine will be one of the most environmentally friendly and ecologically sustainable buildings in the world. HNI engineers and team members designed biophilia architectural walls, furniture, and planters into the space at the peace center now under construction in the former Muscatine library. The idea of biophilia suggests the human tendency to interact closely with nature and other forms of life.
HNI will create equitable workspaces for all employees to connect with light, air, and nature while going about their day-to-day business.
“I’ve never worked with a client as sincere and real as the Stanley Center,” said Lisa Brunie-McDermott, HNI’s safety and sustainability director. “We met with all 26 employees to understand their goals for sustainability, functionality, and the Living Building Challenge. Everyone is involved and has a stake and voice in the process. We have complete engagement and complete transparency.”
Ms. Brunie-McDermott told the QCBJ the Stanley Center project aligns well with HNI’s own CSR goals for 100% transparency by 2025.
Although HNI’s Full Circle approach to Sustaining Environments is built into its daily operations, earning Declare Label status will help company brands be even more ready in the marketplace. Ms. Brunie-McDermott said the Living Building Challenge process to be in the Declare database has validated for HNI team members that the hard work being done to sustain the environment is well worth it.
To learn more about HNI’s Corporate Social Responsibility efforts, visit hnicorp.com/social-responsibility.
What is The Stanley Center Peace and Security?
The Stanley Center for Peace and Security was founded in 1956 by C. Maxwell “Max” and Elizabeth M. “Betty” Stanley with a vision of promoting “a secure peace with freedom and justice.”
Mr. Stanley was a professional engineer and businessman who earlier founded two global companies, HNI Corporation and Stanley Consultants, based in Muscatine, Iowa. Mrs. Stanley was a devoted philanthropist and avid supporter of the arts, education, and the environment.
Initially established as a foundation for charitable giving, the organization quickly became mission-focused on research and education in international relations. In 1960, the Stanley Center organized the first Strategy for Peace Conference in Arden House, New York. The 61st Strategy for Peace Conference was held in April 2021.
According to the organization’s website, the Stanley Center for Peace and Security works toward its mission to catalyze just and sustainable solutions to critical issues of peace and security by driving policy progress, advancing effective global governance, and advocating for collective action. The Stanley Center’s work focuses on policy in three significant global issues: mitigating climate change, avoiding the use of nuclear weapons, and preventing mass violence and atrocities.
Toward those goals, the Stanley Center program activities include: hosting events and collaboration with global stakeholders for the exchange of ideas, innovation, and driving collective action; supporting journalists, editors, and other media producers who pursue rigorous and independent reporting on global peace and security issues; building for a green community; and fostering a strong local community with its Global Education program.
Its Global Education program features the Catherine Miller Explorer Awards which gives local teachers an opportunity to travel and study abroad for the summer. Selected teachers often blog as they tour so their students can learn with them along the way. Also, an Annual International Day Human Rights Conference is held in partnership with the University of Iowa to educate middle school students on topics related to both local and global human rights issues.
Currently building for a green community is taking center stage for the Stanley Center as it works toward completion of its new Living Building headquarters. The building itself will help serve the organization’s educational goals and purposes.
“We do a lot of local programming aimed at kids. One of the things we want them to do is to think differently about the world,” said Keith Porter, the president and CEO of Stanley Center for Peace and Security. “This building will be a really important resource for us in continuing that global education work in our local community.”
