Chicago, IL, June 16--At NeoCon 2004, Antron, a leading carpet fiber brand in the INVISTA family of brands, demonstrated its Environmental Impact Calculator, an online tool to quantify the benefits of specifying carpet constructed of Antron nylon, an Environmentally Preferable Product.
The tool will help carpet specifiers, including architects, designers and facility managers, define their success in selecting materials that have a reduced effect on the environment and set a benchmark for industry standards. The firm also demonstrated the Antron® Carpet Reclamation Calculator, which quantifies the environmental benefits of the INVISTA Carpet Reclamation Program.
“The Environmental Impact Calculator and Carpet Reclamation Calculator demonstrate the environmental savings of using Antron® carpet fibers in new installations and recycling the used carpet taken up during remodeling,” said Mark Ryan, Antron® carpet environmental initiatives manager. “Users simply plug in the square yards of new Antron® carpet or carpet to be reclaimed, and the tool calculates the environmental benefits in recognizable terms such as the number of trees it would take to absorb the global warming emissions averted. When people are able to visualize the environmental benefits, it’s easier to promote the use of environmentally friendly products such as Antron® carpet fiber.”
The Environmental Impact Calculator is based on Antron® carpet fiber’s proprietary Total Environmental Index (TEI), which measures a broader range of factors than traditional industrial measurements of wastes and emissions. The tool takes into account:
·Global waste and emissions, including global warming, land and other air emissions and water use
·Use of depleteable raw materials and energy
·Injuries, illness and manufacturing and transportation incidences that affect employees and contractors
·The safety and health of individuals installing, maintaining and using the product
·Value recovery, such as reclamation and recycling
The TEI Index of Antron® carpet fiber was calculated by comparing current data against several external and internal life cycle studies conducted since 1990. Based on this assessment, the TEI of Antron carpet fiber is 30 percent less than levels usually found in the industry. As a result of these efforts, Antron carpet fiber became the first and only commercial carpet fiber certified and recently re-certified as an Environmentally Preferable Product by Scientific Certification Systems, an independent third-party.
The Antron Carpet Reclamation Calculator works similarly to show users the environmental benefit of reclaiming and recycling their used carpet back into feedstock for resins used in automobiles and other engineered nylon products. The calculator measures cubic yards of landfill saved, the number of BTUs of energy saved and gallons of water saved by recycling carpet.
The Antron Carpet Reclamation Calculator promotes carpet reclamation as a viable alternative to placement in a landfill. By measuring the environmental effectiveness of recycling used carpet, end-users can easily understand how recycling fits into an overall plan for life-cycle sustainability of products for commercial interiors.
