All carpet tiles and luxury vinyl tiles at Interface are now included in new Carbon Neutral Floors™ programme…
Modular flooring company Interface is the first global flooring manufacturer to declare that all of its products– including all carpet tile and luxury vinyl tile (LVT) – are carbon neutral across the entire product lifecycle. The company is now offering its Carbon Neutral Floors™ programme as standard to every customer at no extra cost to help them meet their own sustainability goals, while also allowing them to reduce the emissions impact of their projects or spaces. Interface estimates it will offset 400,000 metric tons of carbon emissions in 2018 as part of the programme, equivalent to the carbon absorbed annually by nearly half a million acres of forest.
Interface is committed to reducing carbon emissions from building materials and products, known as ‘embodied carbon,’ which contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment. The Company also intends to initiate a new conversation in the industry and create opportunities for customers to directly address global warming with a flooring specification decision.
In keeping with its more than 20-year commitment to sustainability, Interface has taken a holistic approach to carbon neutrality, looking beyond carbon emissions from manufacturing to considering and calculating emissions across the entire product lifecycle. This begins with raw materials and continues through manufacturing, transportation, maintenance and ultimately end-of-life product takeback and recycling through ReEntry®, and other disposal methods. Because Interface has already reduced the carbon footprint of its products to the lowest levels in the industry based on publicly available data, it is economically viable – and more importantly, environmentally responsible – to achieve carbon neutrality through the supply chain of the products and the purchase of carbon offsets.
“Interface has spent the last 24 years focusing on eliminating our own environmental impact. As we embark on our new Climate Take Back™ mission, we now have a more ambitious goal to reverse global warming. We cannot do this alone, and our customers have come forward asking how they can participate,” said Erin Meezan, Interface’s Chief Sustainability Officer.
“Architects and designers, flooring contractors and end users are beginning to see that their decisions – the products they specify and buy – have a direct impact on our climate. By specifying Interface products, they can do their part to address embodied carbon. And, we need to work together to elevate embodied carbon as an opportunity and to shine a light on those that are taking the lead. Now with every purchase, our customers are joining us in this important endeavour,” Meezan concluded.
Through the Carbon Neutral Floors programme, Interface will also offer to provide information to each customer to help them understand the carbon impact of their purchase. For each flooring purchase, the company can calculate the estimated carbon reductions and present that documentation to the customer at the project or total global purchase level. For example, for every 1,000 square meters of Interface flooring sold, the company will offset carbon emissions equivalent to a car travelling 25,000 miles, or one trip around the Earth. Interface will also offer to provide tools to promote their leadership with key stakeholder groups, including their employees.
