In practice

INSIDE/INSIDE is made for everyone who is involved in making interiors more sustainable. Developers, (interior) architects, facility management, HR-professionals and managers all play a crucial role as they are responsible for creating a sustainable environment for users.

To allow for reliable and sustainable choices to be made on a product and project basis, the information on interior products and materials offered by INSIDE/INSIDE is free and publicly available. See an overview of users who have already started using INSIDE/INSIDE.

When choosing a product or material there are always aesthetic, functional and financial choices to consider. INSIDE/INSIDE allows sustainable aspects to be taken into your decision-making process. You can assess products and materials on an environmental impact basis, on circularity, or both.

Application on different levels:

• Product: compare environmental impact or circularity index of different products directly (such as two office chairs).
• Project: create a project, select amounts and required area and examine which products or materials have the best environmental impact. Try different options to achieve the same functionality and aesthetics with less environmental impact.
• Procurement/tender: apply the INSIDE/INSIDE method to request the most sustainable solutions from potential suppliers. In addition to the products and materials in the INSIDE/INSIDE database you can also apply the INSIDE/INSIDE method to products that are not yet included. Read more about procurement with INSIDE/INSIDE.

Every product and material has an EPD from which the environmental costs and circularity index is calculated. This information is delivered by an external independent party.

Environmental costs
Each product has a total score made from adding phase A-C (production, transport, and waste processing) and subtracting phase D (re-use and recycling potential). This offers insights into the impact a product has on the environment – both from use and potential impact at the end of its life. At the bottom of each product page, you can learn more about the underlying data per indicator and phase by clicking on “View Environmental product Declaration (EPD)”. For example, you can see how much CO2 is produced for each life phase of a product.

Circularity index (0-100%)
This number is an indication of a product’s raw material usage. The more a product is made of recycled or re-used source materials and the less waste is produced at the end of life, the higher the circularity index.

Return system
A product or material shows “Return system” if its environmental scores are based on a recycling system, lease construction or of the return agreements made with the producer. Products with this label generally score better as the product returns to the producer at the end of its life where it will be efficiently recycled or re-used.