News
previous [article]next [article]
Life Cycle Assessment Must Become Industry Benchmark for Green Credibility: InterfaceFLOR
1 July 2008, Australia
InterfaceFLOR, the largest manufacturer of modular carpet in Australia, today released its latest independently audited report card on its efforts to meet Mission Zero, the company’s pledge to reduce its environmental footprint to zero by 2020.
InterfaceFLOR’s Australian General Manager Clinton Squires said InterfaceFLOR’s strategy of subjecting every aspect of its business to a stringent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is paying dividends in terms of the environment and profitability.
Mr Squires said a comparison of LCA results between 2004 and 2007 showed the company has reduced its emissions of greenhouse gases by 25% per square metre of carpet produced.
“These improvements mean that in 2007 we have prevented an additional 10,000 tonnes of CO2 being released into the atmosphere,” Mr Squires said. This has been confirmed by SGC*.
InterfaceFLOR's extensive data collection over the last 15 years also confirms improvements in environmental aspects other than greenhouse gases, including:
- A reduction in environmental toxicity due to reduced manufacturing processes for raw materials.
- A reduction of terrestrial toxicity impacts from landfill due to increased recycling of materials and reduction of waste
- A reduction in photochemical smog potential
- due to less manufacturing waste
- lower rates of product disposal to landfill at the end of its life
- Increased renewable material use resulting in less reliance on oil well products
“Life cycle assessment is the only way the true environmental impacts of a product can be accounted for. We believe it must become the industry benchmark for measuring any product’s environmental credentials,” Mr Squires said.
Based on the ISO 14000 Environmental Standards (ISO 14040 and ISO 14044) an LCA provides comprehensive environmental impacts on factors such as embodied energy, toxicity, pollution potential as well as greenhouse gas impacts.
“To be taken seriously you must rigorously assess a product from birth through to the end of its life. This includes raw material extraction and processing, internal manufacturing, transportation and distribution, use, reuse, and maintenance and recycling or final disposal,” Mr Squires said.
“Above all you need to have the whole process independently verified.”
Mr Squires said life cycle assessment was the definitive scientific evaluation method to assess environmental footprint impact, used by the Green Business Council of Australia, the US Green Building Council and other credible green product third-party certifiers and evaluators.
Mr Squires said he welcomed the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) interest in ensuring green marketing claims are genuine.
Media contact: Scott McFarlane, Wilkinson Media 02 8001 8888 or 0407 265 053
* SGS is one of the world's leading inspection, verification, testing and certification organisations.
SGS conducted its verification with regard to InterfaceFLOR’s Cool CarpetTM program which includes the modelling of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the full life cycle of its carpet, and then off-setting those emissions through the retirement of an equivalent number of verified emission reduction credits. SGS concluded with reasonable assurance that:
- The LCA methodology applied by InterfaceFLOR is sound, valid and based on best practice.
- The amount of GHG offsets purchased equates to the total amount of GHG emissions modelled.
- The GHG offsets purchased were verified by another third party.
For more information on SGS’s verification please visit: http://www.climatechange.sgs.com/cool_carpet_a_climate_neutral_option.htm