By Ellis Smith, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn.
July 29--DALTON GA. -- Floor Covering Weekly, the business newspaper covering the floor covering industry, presented its second annual GreenStep awards Wednesday at the Holiday Inn in Dalton.
Mohawk Industries won in promotions for a program to inform more than 20 retail organizations about environmental sustainability and business growth.
Anderson Hardwood Floors won for its Tropical Reflections product, flooring that consists of 50 percent post-industrial waste and uses domestic board.
The process category winner was USFloors, an industry leader in solar power, for its voltaic array of panels, the largest commercial one in Georgia. The company is set to triple the size of the array by the end of the year, according to CEO Piet Dossche.
Interface Flor took an award for reducing landfill waste 77 percent, recycling an additional 6.9 million pounds of waste and generating 44 percent of its energy from renewable resources. In addition, the company's products feature 75 percent recycled product.
Kimberly Gavin, executive editor of trade publication, said the floorcovering industry has raised the bar for transparency and environmental sustainability.
"We're all excited at how well this industry has done, especially when you compare this industry to others. It's very impressive," Gavin said.
She, along with publisher Santiago Montero, handed out awards in four categories: overall sustainability, educating end users, green products, and sustainable processes, which were dubbed pinnacle, promotion, product and process, respectively. Nate Kredich, U.S. Green Building Council vice president for residential market development, delivered the keynote speech on the importance of accelerating industry efforts to promote environmentally friendly business practices.
"There is no way to go but up," he said to the assembled floor covering industry executives. "You represent the acceleration that's needed, not just for the flooring industry, but for the entire building industry."
LEED certification, the group's green building standard, has been a runaway success, Kredich said, with 137 percent growth in LEED certified construction since 2008.
But the industry needs to do more, he said, for financial reasons if nothing else.
"Over 80 percent of C-level executives plan to green at least a sixth of their property within years," Kredich said. "LEED buildings are enjoying a higher premium price and lower vacancy rates."
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