Certifications

This great care implies an approach to business grounded in the responsibility and sensitivity we have always shown in our social and  human relationships, the drivers of our constant improvement. The following are our achievements to date:

Product Circularity Certification

 Years of responsible policies and constant hard work to minimise wastehave enabled Ernestomeda to achieve impressive results over time, such as the important milestone of the development of a truly circular production system. Ernestomeda is one of Italy’s first fitted kitchen manufacturers to obtain this certification, issued by notified body Cosmob, which has published its own operating regulations“Cosmob Qualitas Praemium – Valutazione della Circolarità del prodotto”, an invaluable auditing tool in accordance with the  UNI EN ISO 14021 standard.

To be defined as truly  efficient, a production process must be able to optimise the product’s functions , guarantee its  circularity and reduce its environmental impact , by ensuring that the resources used in the process will subsequently be made available for reuse.

Product circularity is assessed through the measurement (balance of matter) of the resources used for the manufacture of an eco-sustainable product. In Ernestomeda’s case, this involved testing of all its furnishings, in the various structure and finish variants, and specifically of units with veneered, laminate, lacquered and glass doors, and the different components, on the basis of a series of indicators that provide an overview of the type of input materials and the destination of the output materials.

The circularity measurement performed and certified by Cosmob on Ernestomeda products yielded excellent results, with up to 99% reuse.

Made in Italy Certification

Ernestomeda  is the first Italian kitchen producer to obtain  Italian furniture origin certification issued by COSMOB, the only notified body authorised to issue this quality certification.

The certification is based on the Italian  UNI 11674standard, introduced in 2017, which now sets the regulatory framework for the  declaration of Italian origin of finished furniture.

The standard requires compliance with the following:
Process requirements: le  the significant phases (the manufacturing processes of the unfinished component materials and the finished product, final assembly and packaging) must take place in Italy.
Product requirements: finished products must comply with minimum safety, resistance and durability requirements in accordance with the relevant technical standards, to which UNI 11674 refers (the national UNI 11663 standard setting the resistance and durability requirements for domestic storage furniture and the European EN 14749 standard, which defines the safety requirements and testing methods for storage furniture and worktops for domestic use).

Quality Certification

Ernestomeda has had a un QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM  in accordance with the  UNI EN ISO 9001 standard  since 1999.The System has the aim of ensuring the best possible management of the main corporate processes, from design to raw material procurement, from tests and inspections on incoming and outgoing materials to monitoring of production processes, from order management to attention to the consumer’s requirements, with the end purpose of guaranteeing the full satisfaction of the company’s customers at all times.

All the Management Systems adopted by Ernestomeda (for Quality, Environment and Occupational Health and Safety certification) have been certified by the  SGS independent international body, world leader in services for the inspection, auditing and analysis of industrial goods, services and systems.

Environment Certification

A responsible, aware attitude to the environment has always been important to Ernestomeda. One fundamental milestone from this point of view came in 2004, when we established our ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM in accordance with the UNI EN ISO 14001 standard. Through the Environmental Management System, particular attention is paid to energy and natural resource consumption, noise pollution, atmospheric emissions and waste management. Strict compliance with the regulations applicable to the company’s context is part of our attention to our planet, which drives us to set ourselves continual targets for improvement, in the attempt to constantly reduce the impact on the environment

Occupational Health and Safety Management System

It was as long ago as 2008 that Ernestomeda, which prioritises the health and safety of its workers, received the highly respected certification of its Occupational Health and Safety Management System under the OHSAS 18001 standard, later superseded by ISO 45001.

The UNI ISO 45001 standard, issued by the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) in 2018, is implemented in Italy by the national standards authority, UNI. It is internationally recognised as the official benchmark with regard to health and safety at work.  It defines the procedures for specifying the responsibilities, procedures, processes and resources, within the company's organisation, for implementation of its prevention policy, in accordance with current health and safety legislation, in order to increase its efficiency and its integration in the company’s operations overall.

Formaldehyde Certification

Home furnishings may directly affect the healthiness or otherwise of the air we breathe in our homes every day, so Ernestomeda only builds kitchens with the highest reliability and quality standards, keeping down the levels of substances which may contaminate our indoor air. The emissions label provides certification and information relating to the level of VOC  Volatile Organic Compounds  which may occur in the air, especially in confined spaces. Like foods or medicines, the indoor emissions caused by furnishings may also affect people's health, especially in specific cases such as that of Formaldehyde, declared carcinogenic in man.

Ernestomeda is LEED Compliant

The most recent stage in our journey to sustainability is the award of ""LEED Compliant"" status through ""Indoor Hi-Quality” certification. What do we mean when we say that Ernestomeda kitchens are LEED Compliant? We mean that the materials used for their manufacture have low emissions of volatile compounds - first and foremost formaldehyde - and thus comply with the LEED prerequisite for indoor pollution (Commercial Interior - IEQ Credit 4.5 “Low emitting materials - Furniture and seating”. “Indoor Hi-Quality” certifies that Ernestomeda kitchens conform to the indoor pollution standards required by international LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Ernestomeda is one of the first companies in Italy to comply with this international standard, as verified by  Cosmob, an accredited laboratory specifically for the wood-furniture industry. Cosmob, is one of the few organisations in Europe and the only one in Italy to perform accredited tests for the measurement of the VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions of the materials used in the furniture and fitted kitchen manufacturing process.

Ernestomeda kitchens guarantee the lowest impact on air quality since they are certified by the Testing Laboratory of the COSMOB International Technology Centre, which adopts the CQP Indoor Hi-Quality certification procedure for testing to verify compliance with the ANSI/BIFMA M7.1-2011 regulation standards. The emissions label certifies that Ernestomeda kitchens are in the best class: A++.

Quality test

Ernestomeda works continually to deliver a product that not only offers outstanding design but is also tough, safe and of impeccable quality. To achieve this, we perform tests on materials, both in our own in-house laboratory and at the best laboratories in the sector, during both the design phase and subsequent quality control. These tests are conducted taking the national and/or international standards as benchmarks or (especially where there are gaps in the standards) on the basis of in-house technical specifications.