Know what you’re living on. Know what you’re breathing.
A beautiful timber floor should change how a room feels, not change the air you breathe in it.
At The Flooring Lab, we talk a lot about where timber comes from, how colour is created, and what makes authentic European Oak unmistakable. Indoor air quality sits in that same conversation. Because once a floor is down, it isn’t a sample on a stand anymore. It’s the surface your family, clients, or customers walk on every day.
Here’s a clear look at the emissions and VOC credentials behind our engineered hardwood, and why they matter.
Why emissions matter underfoot
Flooring covers a lot of square metres. When adhesives, resins, colouring systems, or coatings release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into a space, that can affect indoor air quality long after install day. Formaldehyde is one of the best-known concerns. It’s a respiratory irritant, and for many people — especially children and those with asthma or sensitivities, lower-emitting materials simply feel like the responsible choice.
So we don’t treat “low VOC” as a footnote. We treat it as part of the promise: beautiful flooring should transform your space, not the air you breathe.
The standard we hold ourselves to
Our engineered hardwood is manufactured to meet rigorous indoor air quality standards used across Europe, the USA, and beyond. In plain terms, that means:
• No composite wood in the construction we specify for these floors • No added formaldehyde (NAF) pathways recognised under SCS guidelines • FloorScore® certification — one of the most recognised indoor air quality marks for hard-surface flooring, aligned with strict US VOC testing approaches (including CARB / EPA-linked methods) • French Émissions dans l’air intérieur A+ — the top (lowest-emission) class under France’s indoor air labelling scheme • Independent laboratory testing for a full range of VOCs (including Eurofins-backed pathways used by the manufacturer)
Put simply: low emission, certified, and built for healthier indoor living.
The numbers, without the fog
Marketing claims are easy. Measured performance is better. Published product documentation for these floors includes:
• Total VOCs (TVOC) - ≤ 0.5 mg/m³ under CDPH/EHLB Standard Method v1.2-2017 (California Section 01350) • Formaldehyde - EN 717-1 F☆☆☆☆ / SE0 ≤ 0.034 mg/m³ • French VOC label - A+ • US indoor air pathway - Conforms to California Section 01350 / CDPH method • Test methods referenced - EN 16516, ISO 16000 (parts 3, 6, 9, 11), ASTM D5116
Adhesive systems used in manufacture are also documented against EN 717-1 at the Japan F☆☆☆☆ / E0 class, with formaldehyde emission described as no added formaldehyde under ASTM D5116. That’s the kind of detail architects, designers, and informed homeowners actually want when they ask: is this safe to live on?
What the certificates mean in real life
FloorScore® Focuses on indoor air quality for hard surface flooring, the kind of credential that shows up in commercial and residential specifications when IAQ is non-negotiable.
No Added Formaldehyde (NAF) Confirms the product pathway avoids added urea- or phenol-formaldehyde compounds in line with SCS No Added Formaldehyde guidelines.
French A+ The strongest class on France’s emissions-into-indoor-air scale. Easy to communicate. Hard to earn.
CARB Phase 2 / EPA VOC testing alignment. US frameworks among the strictest in the world for formaldehyde and VOC performance. Meeting or exceeding these benchmarks is part of the manufacturer’s published compliance story. Together, these aren’t logos for a brochure. They’re a connected story: traceable craftsmanship, cleaner chemistry, and greater confidence indoors.
Built for projects that care about air quality
These credentials also support broader green-building conversations:
• Contribution toward LEED® Low Emitting Materials pathways • Alignment with BREEAM VOC emission criteria (including exemplary-level pathways on qualifying products) • Third-party Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for lifecycle transparency • Recognition alongside schemes such as Blue Angel and, on qualifying products, AgBB (Germany)
If you’re specifying for a home, a hospitality space, or a commercial interior where indoor environmental quality is part of the brief, this is the evidence pack you want behind the sample. (As with any certified range: match the certificate to the exact collection and construction for tender or compliance paperwork.)
From source to floor, including the air above it
We already ask people to know where their timber came from.
We ask them to know it’s authentic.
We ask them to understand how colour is created.
Indoor air belongs in that same sentence.
Traceable origin. Authentic character. Colour developed with care. Greater confidence in the air you breathe. That’s not a trend. That’s what responsible flooring looks like in 2026.
Talk to us
Want the certificates, EPDs, or a collection-matched emissions pack for a project? The Flooring Lab
