InterfaceFLOR, a leader in the design and manufacture of eco-friendly modular floor coverings, has made a significant industry breakthrough for carpet tiles now found in a number of offices across the Middle East.

The company, which has been operating in the Middle East for more than 30 years and opened a new regional headquarters in Dubai last November, has achieved a European first with an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for its range of carpet tiles.

The EPD is often described as a sophisticated product ‘label’ which lists all the ‘ingredients’ and environmental impacts of a product throughout its lifecycle; this includes everything from energy and material consumption to waste generation and emissions.

Developed in consultation with the European carpet industry’s environmental association GUT, the EPD provides an unprecedented level of validated information on the environmental performance of InterfaceFLOR products.

It marks a significant step forward for transparency in the industry which, the company hopes, will change the way carpet is marketed and procured.

InterfaceFLOR has long used Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to measure the environmental impact of its products and processes, and currently conducts an LCA on each of its carpet tile products.

However, the EPD enables the company to go even further by providing LCA information which is both European industry standard and third-party validated. 

InterfaceFLOR was also the first carpet manufacturer in North America to achieve a third-party verified EPD.

Commenting on the achievement, GUT’s Dr Edmund Vankann said: “EPDs are based on clearly defined EU-wide Product Categorisation Rules and will help to provide reliable, independent information on the environmental impacts of building products."

"They provide the data required by green building certification systems and support architects in their attempts to create sustainable buildings," he noted.

Lindsey Parnell, president and CEO, InterfaceFLOR Europe, Middle East, Africa and India, said, “We live in an age of green-wash, where over-claims and manipulation of the facts have blurred the lines between truth and hype.The only solution, we believe, is complete transparency.”

"We have always been open and honest about our company’s environmental performance – our Mission Zero progress – and are delighted to be able to apply the same clarity to our products."

"Our customers can now look at the facts, and only the facts, and draw their own conclusions. We hope that in future inauthentic claims and certifications based on proprietary systems will disappear, with an EPD the main source of information companies will use to specify their flooring products," he added.

InterfaceFlor’s new EPD is based on an ISO 14025-compliant methodology from GUT, the environmental association for the carpet industry, and has been validated by IBU, the institute for sustainability for the construction industry.

The first EPD covers the products Scandinavian Collection and Straightforward from the FlatWorks range.

Both are based on InterfaceFLOR’s unique Microtuft technology which means they contain 30-50 per cent less oil-based yarn than other products, significantly reducing their environmental impact.-TradeArabia News Service