State of Sustainability 2022: Next stage greening demands more of flooring manufacturers - October 2022

By Jessica Chevalier

As an industry, flooring, already a couple decades into its sustainability journey, has realized many of its early and more easily achieved goals: it has reincorporated its waste material back into manufacturing processes, assessed and reduced water and energy usage, created initiatives around equity in hiring, and cut its waste output. It’s off to a great start. And now it is facing the larger tasks, the complicated calculations and tough decisions: tackling carbon, taking a hard look at its suppliers and their practices, reformulating products to healthier formulations-even if they are selling well-and building products to cradle-to-cradle standards.

This year’s interviews reveal something of a tipping point with regard to how these industry players view their responsibilities toward the climate crisis-moving from an expedient approach of “doing the right thing” to a more finely honed mandate. And that starts with data.

“Understanding our products’ environmental impact is crucial to know where the opportunities lie to improve,” says Shaw’s vice president of global sustainability, Kellie Ballew. “We’re constantly assessing material health, water usage and impact, and the use of natural resources as well as greenhouse gas emissions.”

The ongoing collection and analysis of data is crucial to the constant improvement needed to put a dent in the climate crisis. One of the more in-depth calculations that producers are making today relates to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, organized under three “scopes.” Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from the activities of an organization or under its control. Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from electricity purchased and used by the organization. Scope 3 emissions are indirect emissions from activities of the organization, from sources that it does not own or control, such as related to business travel, material and chemical procurement, waste, water and even office supplies.

In fact, digging into these scopes reveals not only the comprehensive nature of a thorough analysis but also the interrelatedness of climate issues. “The most important

[sustainability] trend, in my mind, is the convergence of trends that’s happening,” says Shane Totten, director of sustainability for Mannington. “For example, the more we understand about energy efficiency or waste diversion, the more nodes of connection we recognize: energy and water are interrelated; environmental justice is tied to how energy and water are produced and managed; social justice depends on equitable access to energy and clean water; and so on. We’re all learning to tie [single trends to others] and, ultimately, to the bigger picture: life on Earth.”

Acknowledging the interrelatedness of the various arms of sustainability necessitates a multi-pronged and collaborative approach. We must “move away from a single attribute focus-like recycled content or embodied carbon-toward a more holistic, collaborative approach to our long-term goals,” notes Bentley’s global director of sustainability, Holly Holton. In these efforts, collaboration is key. “We must work together with our industry peers in order to really move the needle toward a more sustainable future,” she adds.

RFCI UPDATE
The Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) recognizes that one component of sustainability is creating healthy products that offer a long useful life, so innovation around durability plays a role in green pursuits of that category. That being said, the organization is actively studying embodied carbon in resilient flooring products, working to share its green attributes in material databases, and addressing circularity within standards.

In these efforts, the organization frequently looks to trends and product standards in Europe, which is often ahead of the U.S. in this regard, asking members-many of whom have plants both here and abroad-to do the same.

The circularity of the product category remains a topic for research. Jane Rohde, RFCI technical consultant, reports that RFCI members “are doing very well incorporating pre-consumer materials into their products using clean waste streams,” and notes that incorporating scrap back into new products is just good business.

“With regard to circularity and disposal, we’re trying to figure things out,” says Rohde. The group participated in a pilot project with the asphalt industry to repurpose product at the end of its useful life as flooring, “but we couldn’t find the compatibility with formulations to make it work,” she explains. Rohde reports that certain companies have begun establishing a recycling structure. Bill Blackstock oversees RFCI’s recycling committee. And the Vinyl Sustainability Council focuses its efforts in three impact categories: landfill diversion, health and safety, and emissions. The organization’s Vantage Vinyl program is a voluntary initiative to advance the U.S. vinyl industry’s contribution to sustainable development. The organization, along with the Vinyl Institute, has started a database of vinyl recyclers.

While most RFCI members have ceased using ortho-phthalates and heavy metals in their products, testing standards for both of these are included in the RFCI’s Assure (for rigid LVT) and Affirm (for flexible resilient flooring) certifications.

Updates to the NSF/ANSI 332 Sustainability Assessment for Resilient Floor Coverings standard, which is used to evaluate and certify sustainability of resilient flooring products across their entire product lifecycle, were published at the end of September. The document addresses environmental and social impacts. Part of the benefit of removing ortho-phthalates and heavy metals is that when today’s products come around for recycling, recyclers won’t have to worry about legacy chemicals in the flooring.

In addition, RFCI spearheaded an initiative for its manufacturing members to list their products on Ecomedes, a database for sustainable building products used by building owners, designers and builders. Washington’s Inflation Reduction Act funnels a good deal of funding toward the Environmental Protection Agency and the General Services Administration, and procurement for these flows through Ecomedes.

A COMMON GOOD
As the climate crisis has become more evident, many businesses and individuals have committed to giving their dollars to companies that share their environmental values.

“We are seeing a strong interest in decarbonization,” says Interface’s Liz Minné, global sustainability director. “Many customers have started to declare their own goals, and we are able to partner with organizations to help them realize some of those reductions based on using our products. We are seeing increased demand for carbon neutral or negative products because there is such a push for decarbonization in the building sector.”

This market-driven demand may ultimately be what prods more sluggish players into digging deeper into sustainable pursuits. HTMX’s Rochelle Routman, chief sustainability and impact officer, says, “The most important trend in sustainability is consumer sentiment and the desire to do business with companies whose vision and values align with their own. This includes both environmental and social concerns. Climate change is affecting almost everyone everywhere, and people are taking notice.”

Routman explains that, according to a Yale study published in February 2022, “72% of Americans believe that climate change is occurring. This number increases every year-especially with the intensification of wildfires, floods, extreme heat and severe storms. Consumers expect companies to take action and provide carbon neutral or climate positive products to the marketplace, and to demonstrate that they are reducing the impact of their operations on the climate.”

The social or human side of sustainability is crucial as well. “Consumers are increasingly concerned about how brands treat their employees and those in and even beyond their immediate supply chain,” notes Routman. “Consumers want to know that the brands they purchase from actively demonstrate a commitment to human rights and social justice through intentional action. A McKinsey & Co. survey in 2021 revealed that 66% of consumers base their shopping decisions on their social values.”

HEALTH & WELLNESS
The pandemic put a greater focus on what has been, to some extent, the less often considered side of sustainability: a product’s impact on human health. Locked in our homes amid the pandemic, we began looking around us and considering the materials we interface with throughout our days.

“Sustainability isn’t just about your environmental footprint but about the health properties of products, the traceability in the product stream, being toxin free,” says Denis Darragh, general manager, North America and Asia, Forbo Flooring Systems.

The fact is, from lead-based paint to formaldehyde-laden laminate to toxic drywall imported from China, history has demonstrated the very real health risks associated with producers that put profit before people.

PRODUCER UPDATES
INTERFACE
Georgia-headquartered carpet tile and rubber flooring manufacturer with LVT programs
• Achieved third-party validation of 2030 greenhouse gas reduction goals.
• Set science-based targets in alignment with Paris Agreement goals: to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions 50% on an absolute basis by 2030 from a 2019 base year, and reduce Scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services 50% on an absolute basis.
• Set a 30% reduction target for employee commuting and business travel by 2030 from a base year of 2019.
• Carbon footprint of carpet tile reduced by 76% from 1996.
• Carbon footprint of rubber reduced by 21% from baseline year.
• Carbon footprint of LVT and other resilient down 24% from 2018.
• 99% of products globally now have product-specific EPDs.
• CQuest backings now certified to contain at least 42% USDA-certified bio-based content.
• Carbon neutral floors program, previously verified, now certified to an international carbon neutral standard through 2060.

SHAW INDUSTRIES
Georgia-headquartered manufacturer of hard and soft surface flooring
• Nearly 90% of the products the company manufactures are Cradle to Cradle Certified; set 2030 goal to optimize 100% of products to Cradle to Cradle design principles.
• In 2021, introduced first Cradle to Cradle Certified Gold product: the Reverse collection from Patcraft.
• EcoWorx was first product in the world to be Cradle to Cradle Certified at the Silver level under the new, more rigorous Version 4 of the standard, also in 2021.
• Supplier diversity spend increased to more than 42% of allowable spend in 2021, up from about 34% in 2020.
• Since its introduction in 1999, reduced carbon footprint of EcoWorx carpet tile by 40%. Last year, to achieve an even lower embodied carbon footprint, Patcraft and Shaw Contract launched EcoSolution Q100 with 100% post-industrial recycled content. A 19-ounce EcoWorx carpet tile with EcoSolution Q yarn has a global warming potential of 10.7 kg CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent), whereas a 19-ounce EcoWorx carpet tile with EcoSolution Q100 has a global warming potential of 4.7 kg CO2e.
• Completed a lifecycle analysis and obtained an EPD for Shaw Plant RP LVT, which has a global warming potential of 9.59 kg CO2e, compared to the industry-wide LVT EPD at 11.9 kg CO2e.
• Set to formally release ReWorx to the market later this year. Introduced at NeoCon 2021, it is made from 100% PET, comprised of both virgin PET and 30% post-consumer PET bottles, and can be recycled and made into the next generation of ReWorx flooring at the end of its useful life.
• Set additional goals of creating Net Zero enterprise operations; reducing energy intensity by 40% (from a 2010 baseline); reducing water intensity by 50% (from a 2010 baseline); achieving a landfill intensity of zero (from a 2010 baseline); and having talent pipeline reflect available talent in its communities.

MOHAWK INDUSTRIES
Georgia-headquartered manufacturer of hard and soft surface flooring
• Improved manufacturing efficiencies, resulting in lower energy usage, lower water usage and less waste generation.
• Improved logistical efficiency to reduce GHG emissions and invested in operations for future improvements.
• Within the next decade, will implement a new decarbonization strategy guided by measurable science-based targets. At the heart of this effort is Mohawk’s Planet Council, a cross-functional group of key stakeholders who align business direction and decision-making with sustainability goals. The council prioritizes establishing science-based targets for GHG emissions reduction. While the company tracks and reports its energy and Scope 1 and 2 emissions, it must expand that reporting to include Scope 3 emissions.

HMTX
Connecticut-headquartered resilient flooring producer through manufacturing partnerships
• Completed construction of its new headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut, the first building certified through the Living Building Challenge in Connecticut.
• Expects to begin production at first U.S.-based manufacturing plant in late 2022; the $25 million investment will produce WPC with Isocore technology.
• Completed first materiality assessment and will issue report this fall, providing map of stakeholder priorities led by product safety and transparency.
• Will complete first ESG (environmental, social and governance) report by the end of 2022.
• Expanding EPD portfolio: EPDs currently available for Teknoflor Naturescapes and Aspecta products sold in the U.S.; adding all other Teknoflor and most popular Metroflor commercial products by end of the year.
• Achieved JUST under 2.0 version of the social equity standard for U.S. employees and operations in 2020 and has made improvements in nine of 22 metrics since.
• Debuted SRP rigid core flooring at NeoCon 2022, featuring a cross-linked polyurethane top layer, thermoplastic polyurethane core layer and a cross-linked polyurethane foam back layer. Ultimately, the product will be transformed to an engineered thermoplastic polyurethane, which will be the foundation of a single polymer construction, giving HMTX the ability to recycle each plank into new planks and making it a circular product. SRP uses approximately two standard 16.8 oz clear PET bottles per square foot and is expected to be market-ready in 2023 or 2024.
• Working toward science-based climate goal of 50% reduction in GHG by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2035. Comprehensive energy audit of its facilities revealed that HMTX can reduce its carbon footprint by up to 50%; balance of carbon footprint that cannot be reduced will be offset through the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) program.

NOVALIS
China-headquartered manufacturer of flex and rigid LVT with rigid LVT production in U.S.
• Collaborating with the flooring and recycling industries to research the creation of a recycling infrastructure for vinyl flooring products with the goal of reducing raw material extraction and landfill waste.
• Conducting a materiality assessment and updating annual sustainability reporting framework to comply with GRI and SASB standards, anticipating that next year’s sustainability report will contain a clearer picture of its ESG position and goals.
• Converted U.S. plant forklift fleet to rechargeable batteries.
• Will implement Digital Product Passport program by the end of 2023, which will provide product-specific information, especially with regards to sustainability, in an easy-view format. Passport will be accessed through a QR code on the back of each product.

AHF PRODUCTS
Pennsylvania-headquartered manufacturer of hardwood, LVT, resilient sheet and VCT
• Expanded focus on U.S. production with recent acquisition of Armstrong assets, which added three U.S. manufacturing facilities for a total of ten.
• At its Lancaster, Pennsylvania LVT plant, reduced the carbon footprint of Armstrong Flooring-branded LVT products by 31% via domestic sourcing of raw materials and inclusion of components with 29% recycled content.
• Over 1,000 tons of sawdust sold weekly to be reused in a variety of products, including heating pellets, charcoal, animal bedding and composite decking.

FORBO
Switzerland-headquartered manufacturer of hard and soft surface flooring
• Taking its green story-built on the pillars of circularity, renewability and transparency-to the market under the banner Going Around, Moving Forward.
• Considers lifecycle analyses and circularity in primary research and design efforts, seeking to improve the cycles of recyclability to reduce downcycling.
• Provides EPDs and HPDs on all products.
• Introducing new product called Marmoleum Second Life that refurbishes the finish of installed product to extend its useful life, renewing the surface to factory-new and enabling the product to serve at top quality for up to 30 years.
• Working to improve the formulation of Marmoleum for composting.

MANNINGTON
New Jersey-headquartered manufacturer of hard and soft surface flooring
• Shane Totten joined Mannington in January 2022 in a newly created role focused solely on sustainability/ESG.
• In April, launched GHG reduction efforts, offsetting new and refreshed products at 105% of their embodied carbon (cradle to gate) and offsetting the carbon footprint of its biennial national sales meeting. As of the end of Q2 2022, offset 12,157 metric tons of CO2e (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other gases) GHG emissions. Ultimately hopes to partner with conservancy organizations to create a more regular and meaningful offset strategy that can benefit the regions in which it operates facilities.
• Standardizing resource metrics-raw materials, electricity, gas, water and waste-across its entire real estate portfolio, including among acquisitions, allowing it to measure the impact of future improvements against its historical performance.
• Working to expand library of health and environmental product declaration; using its chemical management efforts to optimize existing products; assessing internal human resource policies and procedures for system biases that may prevent associates from pursuing or reaching their potential; establishing carbon neutrality goals and timelines; and collaborating with supply chain partners to advance Mannington’s environmental and social responsibility goals upstream and downstream of its operations.

GERFLOR
France-headquartered manufacturer of resilient and sports flooring
• Established global objectives related to carbon reduction, material reclamation improvements and increases in the use of bio-sourced and recycled content; steadily making improvements in each of these areas, including increasing the percentage of recycled content in all products (30% by 2025) and adding bio-sourced content (10% by 2025).
• Established goals around increasing the reclamation and recycling of post-consumer materials and increasing the development of adhesive-free solutions.

TARKETT
France-headquartered manufacturer of hard and soft surface flooring with U.S. production
• Working on Climate Roadmap for 2030, which includes a commitment to reducing GHG emissions by 30% across its entire value chain in alignment with the Paris Climate Agreement objective.
• Tarkett North America completed detailed lifecycle analyses on its entire product line.
• Implemented new carbon strategy that will make real changes in how the company makes its floors, reducing the carbon impact rather than offsetting it.
• Over the last decade, reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 38% (Scope 1 and 2) through a combination of renewable electricity, closed-loop water systems and the responsible sourcing of raw materials.
• Achieved a B score by CDP, a not-for-profit global disclosure system, representing the second-highest level of maturity a company can reach.

CROSSVILLE
Tennessee-headquartered manufacturer of porcelain tile
• Utilized the Tile Council of North America Material Ingredient Guide project to optimize porcelain tile Health Product Declaration (HPD).
• Achieved Living Building Challenge Petal Certification for three product lines.
• Now provides EPD optimization documents for manufactured tile and porcelain panels and slabs.

KARNDEAN DESIGNFLOORING
U.K.-headquartered producer of LVT through manufacturing partnerships
• Continues to study end-of-life recycling research around the world to identify best practices in recycling. Karndean USA sends more than 200,000 pounds of pre-consumer cutting waste to recycling facilities each year; this material is recycled into parking cones, garden hoses, rubber sheeting, roofing material and some interior car parts.
• Developing comprehensive and holistic sustainability strategy that will cover all phases of product lifecycle and all operations.
• Announcing new ESG initiatives throughout 2023.

ENGINEERED FLOORS/J+J FLOORING
Georgia-headquartered carpet mill with LVT programs, currently working toward in-house U.S. based LVT production
• Continued to lower energy usage, resulting in lower GHG emissions.
• Transitioned Kinetex product platform to a carbon-neutral footprint.

AQUAFIL
Italy-headquartered fiber firm with recycling operations in the U.S. and Slovenia
• In 2021, 37% of the company’s global revenue was generated by Econyl (100% recycled) products; targeting 60% by 2025.
• Initiative to generate more raw material for Econyl through four carpet collection centers on West Coast (two of which are new); established two new partnerships to create a structured supply chain for fishing nets-with Nofir (Norway), a processor and vendor for fishing nets coming from Europe, and Salmon de Chile (Chile) to source additional nets from fish farming operations.
• Successfully completed demonstration-scale production runs for plant-based nylon 6 through joint venture with Geno, made possible through bioengineered bugs capable of turning mostly sugar-based biomasses into chemical compounds transformable into caprolactam.
• Reduced global warming emissions by 64% over five years; working toward utilizing 100% renewable sources for electricity; seeking to reduce water consumption by 25% in the next five years.
• Transitioned Woodland, California recycling lines to Phoenix, Arizona and Slovenia due to shortage of supply of waste stream carpet and Phoenix’s closer proximity to collection sites; maintains technical and logistics support at the Northern California site.

ARROPOL
Georgia-based recycler of post-consumer and post-industrial PET carpet fiber
• Crafting unique filtering system to enable use of post-consumer PET contaminated with polypropylene, aiming for completion by the year’s end.
• Developing new programs for the use of its polyol in automotive applications.
• Pursuing concrete applications with a urethane polymer that may allow for use of more contaminated material.

FLORIM USA
Italy-headquartered manufacturer of ceramic tile with U.S. production
• Developed and manufactured two carbon neutral porcelain lines.
• Relamped its 1.2-million-square-foot facility with LED fixtures for a 3% reduction in total electrical consumption from the factory.
• Constructing a solar cell array for installation on the warehouse, which, at completion, will be an estimated six-megawatt array producing approximately 10% of the factory’s electrical requirement.
• Implemented static fans as an enhancement to the pollution control strategy at the kiln exhausts, featuring dry sorbent injection technology that results in a 30% decrease in chemical consumption and significant increases in pollutant removal efficiency.
• As much as 45% of a Florim USA tile is composed of post-industrial recycled material and 3% post-consumer waste.
• Sends nearly no production waste to the landfill and is working toward internal recycling of the last bits of hard-to-recycle production scrap.
• In the first eight months of 2022, reused and recycled over 3,000 polypropylene supersacks, which are repurposed by the company’s post-consumer glass recycler to ship Florim glass and sold into the recycling market after this second use.
• Seeking to achieve carbon neutrality for Milestone brand by 2030.

UNIVERSAL TEXTILE TECHNOLOGIES
Georgia-based carpet backing manufacturer
• Increased usage of recycled polymer in polyurethane products by 20% year-over-year.
• Seeking to increase use of recycled materials in development, such as its use of soybean-based materials.

KÄHRS
Sweden-based manufacturer of hardwood, LVT and PVC-free resilient
• Working toward Planet Positive Journey to reach net zero (carbon neutrality) by 2040 throughout its value chain.
• Soon launching a PVC-free luxury tile product called Aware, made of bio-based material and carrying a commercial rating.
• Kährs Upofloor Zero homogenous sheet flooring products now produced solely with renewable energy and up to 50% recycled content
• New Zero & Green collection includes 40% bio-based polymer content.
• Added the Declare Label certification for Zero Sheet collection and new bio-based Zero & Green collection.
• In November 2021, Kährs Group issued a five-year, sustainability-linked bond to the European market, which was oversubscribed. The bond framework has received an A rating from The Governance Group. The bond is linked to three defined sustainability goals:

1. Reduce climate emissions from Scope 1 and Scope 2 by 40% by 2025. Scope 1 emissions include fuel used at Kährs’ production sites and warehouses as well as the use of own produced energy. Scope 2 emissions include purchased electricity and heat used at Kährs’ controlled production sites and warehouses.

2. Define science-based CO2 emission reduction targets and achieve validation by the third-party Science Based Target Initiative by 2023.

3. Increase percentage of sustainably sourced wood from 81% to 87% by 2025.
• Global sustainability officer Therése Gerdman appointed in September 2021.
• At its Nybro, Sweden factory, wood waste is pelletized, sold and used for energy.
• Replanting strategy has aided in the revitalization of Nordic forests, which have grown by 60% over the past 100 years.
• Five years ago, committed to the goal of having all internal transportation fueled by renewable electricity, biofuel or biogas and now has a fossil fuel-free fleet at its Nybro and Blomstermåla factories.

WELLMADE PERFORMANCE FLOORING
Oregon-headquartered manufacturer with LVT manufacturing in Georgia
• Utilized the latest water and energy savings technology in its new Cartersville, Georgia plant.
• Implemented the recycling of all waste byproducts back into the production process of HDPC/SPC vinyl plank and vinyl tile products, which also eliminates the need to truck waste materials to local landfill facilities.
• Developing PVC-free MgO collection of flooring products.

UNIVERSAL FIBERS
Virginia-headquartered manufacturer of carpet fiber
• Partnering with Carbonfund.org to neutralize the carbon impact for Thrive Matter nylon fiber with validated and verified offsets, using lifecycle assessment data of the product to determine the GHG emissions of its entire lifecycle, enabling Thrive Matter’s 1.45 kg embodied carbon emission per kilogram of nylon fiber yarn production and certified at negative carbon level.
• Earned global GreenCircle certification for Thrive Matter, which is produced from 100% recycled resin for a total recycled content of 90%.
• Formed new partnership with Carpet Recycling UK.

BENTLEY
California-headquartered carpet mill with LVT programs
• Pivoted toward utilizing proprietary fiber, Bentley Premium; both its type 6 and type 6,6 nylon offerings contain higher amounts of recycled content.
• Achieved carbon neutral manufacturing, operating on 100% renewable energy.
• Working toward goal of being carbon negative by 2030.
• In five years, electricity use per square yard manufactured reduced by 37%, natural gas use per square yard manufactured reduced by 38%, and water use per square yard manufactured reduced by 38%.
• Building on PVC-free company profile with increased recycled content, back to front.
• Holly Holton named global director of sustainability; Emily Chu named sustainability and environmental manager.

ASCEND PERFORMANCE MATERIALS
Texas-headquartered fiber producer with production in the U.S., China & Europe
• On track to hit goal of reducing Scope 1 GHG emissions by 2030 early.
• Achieved carbon neutrality (Scope 1 and 2) in compounding operations through reductions and offsets; converted 30% of electricity supply at Chocolate Bayou acrylonitrile plant to renewables.
• Began mass-balance certification process for using bio-based feedstock for hexamethylene diamine production, which will make its nylon 6,6 40% bio-based.
• Formulating engineered materials made from recycled carpet fibers, redirecting millions of pounds of carpet from the landfill for new high-performance applications; offering carbon neutral nylon 6,6 through both emissions reductions and offsets.
• Investing in career training and support, diversity and inclusion efforts, and a rigorous safety program that has halved its recordable injuries across its operations.

MANUFACTURERS WEIGH IN ON KEY SUSTAINABILITY TRENDS
Graham Capobianco, North America sustainability manager, Novalis: “Right now, sustainability has shifted from product safety and transparency to larger, more important and holistic initiatives, such as the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to a circular economy and making building construction more efficient. Aside from the ever-increasing climate crisis that we face, E.U. and U.S. regulations regarding these initiatives are expected to go into effect over the next few years, making these initiatives compulsory rather than voluntary.”

Jeff Krejsa, managing director, Gerflor: “The rightful concern about carbon emission and carbon reduction is key. In our discussions with the specifying community, there seems to be confusion on how this is measured and verified, especially when they are attempting to meet specific objectives on a project. We hope common language and measurements will be standardized, so the specifying and end-use community can make objective, informed decisions.”

Jenne Ross, director of marketing, Karndean: “Given the extreme weather events occurring more frequently around the world, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is more important than ever.”

Don Haynes, sustainability manager, Florim USA: “Process decarbonization is a daily discussion. In parallel, we also have a strong belief in the health-related aspects of tile. As we exit the recent pandemic, people’s awareness of air quality and overall healthy standards within their home and workspace has increased. Things like cleanability, emissions and chemical content have taken on a new prominence. Sustainability becomes about not only the environment, but also the internal space it occupies.”

Jennifer Zimmerman, chief operations officer, AHF Products: “Because of the collective journey we’ve taken these past couple of years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us have been spending more time at home, and issues like where a product’s made, what it’s made of and its lifecycle have heightened our awareness of using products that not only look natural but are natural.”

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