SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS Product and Company sustainability in action

Nadine Gudz Director, Sustainability Strategy nadine.gudz@interface.com

- Who is Interface?

- Life Cycle thinking, assessment, stewarship in

action

- Radical transparency: Exploring the

possibilities

- Inspiring systems change: product, company,

supply chains…

OUTLINE

E:/RAC interview_CNN_5-19-2011.mp4

Take Make Waste

Only 6% of material flow ends up in products

No

Waste

THE SUSTAINABILITY

REVOLUTION

THE INDUSTRIAL

REVOLUTION

SEVEN FRONTS OF MOUNT SUSTAINABILITY

1. Eliminate Waste

2. Benign Emissions

3. Renewable Energy

4. Closing the Loop

5. Resource-Efficient Transportation

6. Sensitivity Hookup

7. Redesign Commerce

$440 MILLION IN AVOIDED WASTE COSTS, GLOBALLY

ENERGY USE per unit of production since 1996

2011 ECOMETRICS HIGHLIGHTS 47%

RENEWABLE ENERGY of total energy use 31%

NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY USE per unit of production since 1996 64%

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS from Baseline 34%

RECYCLED MATERIALS of total raw materials use 44%

WATER USE per unit of production since 1996 84%

WASTE TO LANDFILL per unit of production since 1996 88%

INSPIRED BY NATURAL SYSTEMS

We created i2 using

biomimicry – a method that

seeks sustainable solutions

by using nature as a model.

Like leaves on a forest floor,

i2 tiles vary from one to the

other – yet they come

together to form beautiful

designs.

Original i2, non directional product – Entropy.

Total Recycled Content is 62-74%.

Mergeable dye lots

- Less attic stock required

Tiles blend regardless of when they're

purchased or installed

Longer life on the floor

i2 non-directional

- Installs faster than roll carpet or

directional modular carpet

Creates less waste since scraps can

be reused along the edges

Innovation

INSPIRED BY NATURAL SYSTEMS

End of Life/ Use

Landfill

Recycling

Use & Maintenance Manufacturing

Raw material extraction

71%

10% 9% 7%

3%

Greenhouse gas emissions

Transportation

MEASURING GLOBAL WARMING

IMPACT POTENTIAL

Product

Approx. 30 lbs of GHGs for

1 yd2 of carpet

WHAT IS LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT?

A science-based methodology for

assessing the environmental

performance of a product over its full

life cycle

- standardized by

ISO 14040 series

- 3 main parts: 1) scope,

2) inventory, 3) impacts

LIFE CYCLE STEWARDSHIP

CLOSING THE LOOP: RE-ENTRY 2.0 CARPET RECLAMATION & RECYCLING

the Loop Fiber is separated and broadloom backing is removed

to be further processed

4

Loop - fiber Face fiber is bailed and shipped to Universal Fibers

CONTROVERSIAL MATERIALS

www.pharosproject.net (v2, 5/07/12)

EPD STANDS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCT DECLARATION

It is a statement of product ingredients and

potential environmental impacts during the life of

a product.

EPD IS BASED ON LIFECYLE DATA

EPD IS THIRD-PARTY VERIFIED

EPD MEETS ISO STANDARDS

EPD is not:

-A performance rater

-A sustainability claim

-A system Interface developed for its own purposes

INITIATIVE/STANDARD DEVELOPED BY INTERFACEFLOR STATUS

ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCT

DECLARATION

ISO (14025 & 14040) 90% OF PRODUCTS

COVERED BY UL- CERTIFIED

EPDs (ALL PRODUCTS BY

END OF 2012)

PHAROS PROJECT HEALTHY BUILDING

NETWORK (HBN)

ALL PRODUCT DATA (NORTH

AMERICA) IN DATABASE

HEALTH PRODUCT

DECLARATION

HBN & BUILDINGGREEN.COM COMMITTED TO PILOT

PERKINS & WILL

TRANSPARENCY LABEL

PERKINS & WILL IN DISCUSSION TO PILOT

DECLARE LIVING BUILDING

CHALLENGE (ILBI)

IN DISCUSSIONS

TRANSPARENCY LEADERSHIP

LEED PILOT CREDIT 43:

PRODUCT CERTIFICATIONS

CALL TO ACTION

If you are a design professional, firm, or company

working in the Building Sector (architects,

designers, planners, interior designers, landscape

architects, builders, and/or developers, etc.),

Architecture 2030 encourages you to adopt the

2030 Challenge for Products and pledge to request

third party expert verified Life Cycle Assessment

(LCA) and, where possible, Environmental Product

Declaration (EPD), results from product

manufacturers and specify low-carbon building

products that meet the Challenge targets.

Architecture2030.org

TRANSFORMING

BUSINESS CULTURE

2010, Ray Anderson, Jim Hartzfeld

and Mona Amodeo, “Changing

Business Cultures from Within”

- Is a product really green if it’s made in a polluting

factory?

- “Sustainable” is not a specialized product line

- Radical transparency -> More complete picture ->

Smarter choices -> More sustainable buildings

- “Controversial materials” = good conversation

starters about ALL materials

SUMMARY