Doing Well by Doing Good

InterfaceFLOR has won numerous design and innovation awards for its market-leading modular floor covering products.

InterfaceFLOR is the modular flooring division of Interface Inc., based in Atlanta, USA. The company is a worldwide leader in the production of environmentally-responsible modular floor coverings and other textiles.

In Europe, InterfaceFLOR has manufacturing facilities in Craigavon Northern Ireland; Halifax, West Yorkshire and Scherpenzeel in Holland, plus sales offices in most major cities. Modular flooring for the home is available through Heuga Home Flooring.

InterfaceFLOR has won numerous design and innovation awards for its market-leading modular floor covering products. In addition, it has also become widely recognised as a pioneer in sustainable manufacturing and business practices, and has won many prestigious accolades for its environmental initiatives.

During the mid nineties, the company's founder and chairman, Ray Anderson, put the company on track to becoming the first sustainable company by 2020. Now defined as Mission Zero, the company's drive to achieve a zero environmental footprint is a central part of the organisation's ethos and culture.

InterfaceFLOR addresses sustainability on seven fronts. These involve eliminating waste and harmful emissions; maximising use of renewable energy; recycling waste materials and reusing products; developing resource efficient transportation methods; creating a culture that integrates the principles of sustainability into working lives; and creating new models for businesses.

Notable achievements include Interface’s energy efficiency and renewable energy programmes, which have resulted in a 56% reduction in CO2 emissions since 1996. Interface has also made improvements to its production processes allowing an 81% reduction in water intake per m2 of production facilities, petroleum based materials have been reduced by 29% and since 1995, cumulative avoided costs from waste reduction have totalled $299m. All its European factories work on 100% renewable electricity.

InterfaceFLOR offers climate neutral products to customers through its Cool Carpet® programme in partnership with Climate Care- whereby certified carbon offset projects, such as forestry plantation acting as a carbon sequestration store - offset gas emissions generated during the lifecycle of a carpet. ReEntry is an initiative that provides work in the UK for individuals with learning disabilities and sees old tiles returned to be repurposed, cleaned and re-used.

Sustainable values permeate the entire company and some of the initiatives currently in place include rewarding staff by energy saved rather than by output, and offsetting carbon emissions caused by air and road business travel undertaken by its employees. Extensive internal training programmes to ensure the company remains a leader in the subject of sustainability are in place at all levels of the business and across every function.

The company's aim is to move from the traditional industrial approach of 'take, make, waste' and move towards a more natural or cyclical system of material and resource flows. Encouraging other companies to follow its lead in resource friendly manufacturing policies and processes is also a central part of the environmental mission.

-ENDS-

Date issued: 11 October 2006