Interface goes carbon neutral for entire product range

Interface’s entire product range, consisting of carpet and luxury vinyl tiles (LVT), has secured carbon-neutral status across the complete product lifecycle and will be offered to customers at no extra cost.

The company has revealed it will likely have to offset 400,000 tonnes of carbon by the end of 2018, equivalent to the carbon sequestered annually by nearly half a million acres of forest, as part of the programme.

Interface’s chief sustainability officer Erin Meezan said: “Architects and designers, flooring contractors and end users are beginning to see that their decisions – the products they specify and buy – have a direct impact on our climate.

“By specifying Interface products, they can do their part to address embodied carbon. And, we need to work together to elevate embodied carbon as an opportunity and to shine a light on those that are taking the lead. Now with every purchase, our customers are joining us in this important endeavour.”

The US-based firm, which has committed to “bring carbon home and reverse climate change” as part of its bold Climate Take Back scheme, said it achieved carbon neutrality across its range by looking beyond carbon emissions from manufacturing and calculating emissions across the entire product lifecycle.

Having already reduced the carbon footprint of its products to “the lowest levels in the industry” by cutting the average carbon impact of its products by 60% against a 1994 baseline, Interface said in a statement that it went one step further by purchasing carbon offsets and achieving carbon neutrality throughout its supply chain, as well as examining end-of-life processes such as disposal and recycling. Offset projects have included reforestation drives, wind farms and water power installations.

Driving carbon collaboration

Meezan, previously told edie that she did not believe that one company has the means to reverse climate change alone – but explained that the firm’s lofty carbon ambitions were fashioned to create a collaborative green push within the private sector that goes beyond traditional carbon reductions.

Similarly, Interface hopes the move to carbon-neutral products will drive other manufacturers to consider the role of embodied carbon in their ranges.

As part of the carbon neutral flooring scheme, the firm will also provide information on the carbon impact of each purchase to its customers, and will offer end-user companies tools to promote their sustainability leadership with key stakeholders. 

Sarah George