Humanscale’s chief sustainability officer Jane Abernethy recently toured Australia to deliver a talk titled ‘Sustainable by Design: Materials Transparency for a Healthier Planet’, imparting a wealth of information on materials transparency initiatives.

Jane Abernethy arrived in Australia in May as a knowledgeable brand ambassador for office furniture designer and manufacturer Humanscale – an ambassador who doesn’t just talk the talk. The global company’s North-American-based chief sustainability officer (CSO) is recognised as pioneering a net-positive approach and embedding rigorous environmental standards – such as the Living Product Challenge – into corporate strategy.

Working at Humanscale for more than 11 years now, Abernethy started out as an industrial designer and then transitioned to sustainability before becoming the company’s first CSO in 2018. Beyond her work at Humanscale, Abernethy has also spoken at the United Nations, the World Ocean Summit and Greenbuild and currently serves as vice chair of sustainability at BIFMA, a not‐for-profit trade association for business and institutional furniture manufacturers.

Across five events in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, she delved into the impact of materials transparency on manufacturing, people’s wellbeing and the planet. She also emphasised the need for sustainability initiatives to aim beyond waste reduction towards regeneration. 

Below are some key takeaways from her Melbourne talk on 29 May.

Jane Abernethy presents ‘Sustainable by Design: Materials Transparency for a Healthier Planet’ in Melbourne on 29 May 2025

Transparency as a foundation

Abernethy highlighted transparency as foundational to progress in sustainable design. 

“If we don’t know what’s happening in our supply chains, we can’t make improvements,” she said. “And if we don’t know what’s in our products, we can’t improve our products.”

Designers must also have access to that information in order to make better purchasing decisions and influence the industry they’re purchasing from, according to Abernethy. 

She discussed Humanscale’s preference for certifications that demand public disclosure, such as Living Product Challenge, over those that don’t, like Cradle to Cradle.

“They’re both multi-attribute certifications that are quite robust, but only Living Product Challenge requires us to be transparent,” she explained. “So we have to share all of the material ingredients, we have to share our social impacts, all of the footprints – like climate footprints, energy footprints, water footprints – and the source of where those footprints are coming from.”

Abernethy presents in Australia. Photo: Curdin Photo

Abernethy also shared tips to help designers effectively navigate the finer details of Declare labels, which are used to identify the ‘ingredients’ in a product. 

“These are self-declarations, so you will find some that are not third-party verified,” she said.  “It could be the manufacturer takes a guess at what’s in their products and then publishes that.” 

She recommended that designers ask for third-party verified Declare labels – “because the data is just that much more robust”.

Systematic transparency efforts at Humanscale

Reflecting internally, Abernethy discussed Humanscale’s own efforts to make their declarations systematic. In 2023, 71 percent of Humanscale’s global product sales had full ingredient transparency. 

“We’re not perfect,” she said. “We still have that 29 percent left to go, but 71 is really significant. Odds are good if you bought a product, you probably can ask for a list of ingredients and have that label available immediately.”

Abernethy acknowledged that transparency is only the first step. “The ultimate goal is to not have toxins in products, and you need to know the information to achieve that goal,” she said.

Wider social impacts

Some “chemicals of concern” are still commonly used in furniture, including PFAS, Chrome VI, PVC, formaldehyde and some antimicrobials.

“One of the types of chemistries that’s used for antimicrobial interacts with humans and can actually affect our immune system, so it might be actually going in the other direction and making us more susceptible to the spread of disease,” she explained. “So these things can be a bit more complicated.”

Abernethy speaks to attendees at her Australian events in May. Photo: Curdin Photo

Eliminating toxic materials benefits not just end-users but also vulnerable people upstream and downstream. These could include factory workers, waste pickers and residents near chemical manufacturing sites, Abernethy said, referring to ‘Cancer Alley’ as one pertinent example in Louisiana, USA.

“It’s worth knowing that when you make good decisions, the implications are actually way larger than you realise and it’s affecting a lot of people who are quite vulnerable,” she said.

Reimagining sustainability

According to Abernethy, the traditional corporate model of reducing harm is insufficient: “It’s better than not doing anything, but it’s still going in the wrong direction – just less quickly,” she said. There’s a need to transition to a net positive impact, where companies leave the world better off because they exist.

Abernethy referenced the idea of ‘handprints’ as representing a philosophical shift. Coined by American professor Gregor Norris, who works in the field of life-cycle assessment, handprints measure your positive impact outside your normal business operations. 

“Handprints are like the mirror to footprints,” Abernethy said.

Designers have an important influence on the potential for regenerative impact – “You cause change by just asking for transparency,” she said. “Whenever there’s low-hanging fruit and you ask for transparency, all that low-hanging fruit gets addressed so the manufacturer can put their best foot forward and look as good as they can.”

With clarity and rapid-fire recall, Abernethy was able to answer audience questions. It’s difficult to summarise the information she imparted in under an hour. ‘Sustainable by Design: Materials Transparency for a Healthier Planet’ was a great reminder of what’s possible when designers push for healthier and sustainable design.

Lead image of Abernethy presenting in Australia by Curdin Photo.

Related: Read Australian Design Review‘s profile of Jane Abernethy from 2024.