From 1 July 2007, 100% of InterfaceNZ’s nylon carpet tile products will be carbon neutral. This means that all CO2 emissions generated during the production and distribution of InterfaceNZ’s nylon carpet tile products will be eliminated by operational and technological change, or by the purchase of carbon offsets. InterfaceNZ is calling this programme ‘Climate Neutral’.
This is a first for a New Zealand Building Industry company. To our knowledge, no other Building Industry company in New Zealand offers a Climate Neutral (or similar) product.
This is particularly significant as the building industry has a massive impact on the environment in New Zealand. This Industry therefore, has a great ability to effect meaningful change.
InterfaceNZ has been on its sustainability journey since 1996. The company’s ‘Mission Zero’ promise is to eliminate any negative impact the company may have on the environment in New Zealand by 2020.
Eliminating greenhouse gas emissions is a significant part of this journey, as is eliminating waste, reducing non-renewable energy consumption and eliminating the use of toxic substances.
Going Climate Neutral is therefore a significant milestone for InterfaceNZ. But it’s by no means the beginning of the journey, and it’s far from the end.
The production, use and disposal of a simple piece of carpet – if not done right – can leave a huge footprint on the environment.
The only nylon carpet tiles InterfaceNZ supplies to the New Zealand market are those produced by InterfaceFLOR. We have made this choice because of the massive sustainability focus of InterfaceFLOR and the commonality of sustainability principles shared by both companies. InterfaceFLOR monitors the total impact its processes and products have on the environment and is continuously working to reduce these impacts.
Here are just some of the steps involved in the lifecycle of one square of carpet:
InterfaceNZ is only directly responsible for a fraction of the carbon emitted during the carpet tiles product lifecycle. InterfaceFLOR itself is only responsible for 15%. The remaining 85% of emissions are produced by participants in the supply chain.
In order to affix the term ‘Climate Neutral’ to its products, InterfaceFLOR is not only monitoring and working to reduce its own emissions, but is also working closely with its individual suppliers, distributors, customers and installers to help them reduce their carbon emissions. For any remaining emissions that can’t yet be reduced, InterfaceFLOR purchases CO2 offsets in the global market.
InterfaceNZ’s 12-year sustainability journey proves that environmental initiatives make organisations more efficient, and also reduce operating costs. Concurrently, through awareness of and support for the initiatives being undertaken, sales increase.
InterfaceNZ is therefore working with its supply chain to make their operations more sustainable, reducing their operating costs and, as a consequence, InterfaceNZ’s own operating costs.
In meeting the needs of the building industry InterfaceNZ, seeks to source only sustainable product from reputable and environmentally responsible global players. We do not source flooring for example from countries such as China and India, where environmental performance is poor.
New Zealand is part of the Global village and hence we must take responsibility for the products we sell in New Zealand. The difference between having Climate Neutral products, and being a Climate Neutral organisation, is in InterfaceNZ’s administration processes. For example, the carbon emitted during a manager’s taxi ride, or the energy emitted in producing the company’s paper supply.
InterfaceNZ is aiming to be a 100% Climate Neutral organisation by 2020. It is an ongoing journey. We are working with InterfaceFLOR to fully offset all carbon associated with InterfaceNZ carpet tile. We are working with Lonseal to increase the recycled content in their vinyls and are concentrating on the sale of their LONECO range which has 50% recycled content. We are offsetting vehicle emissions our employees create through COOL CO2MMUTE and our sales force drive Toyota Prius Hybrid vehicles. Additionally InterfaceNZ bonus’s staff in part on environmentally preferred products.
Sustainability is a core value of InterfaceNZ. We have developed our own sustainability policy and strategy that builds on the Interface international approach, and like InterfaceFLOR, we have based our approach on a rigorous science-based sustainability framework (see www.naturalstep.org, www.naturalstep.org.nz, http://www.interfacesustainability.com/step.html). All staff trained in The Natural Step framework in 2005, and we jointly established our purpose, our sustainability principles and our long term objectives.
Our Purpose: Providing sustainable design-led flooring solutions
Our Long term Objectives: By 2020:
Since then we have been steadily working towards these objectives. Here are some examples of our initiatives:
Product:
Each year Interface is introducing new products which are a step more sustainable than previous offerings. To encourage a move to these more sustainable products, sales staff have a target 20% of the total to be ‘greenest product’ of our range and are rewarded with a 10% bonus for meeting this target. In 2006/07 ‘greenest product’ was defined as either GlassbacRE (recycled carpet tile backing) or the Climate Neutral i2 product. From 1 July 2007, all our range is Climate Neutral so we need to set a new target, but it will probably include PLA fibre and our new product EntropyRE. All our Australian sourced InterfaceFLOR carpet tiles bear the Environmental Choice label.
As well as Interface carpet tile InterfaceNZ also distributes Lonseal vinyl in New Zealand (see below).
Energy and Fossil Fuels:
Vehicles: Beginning in 2005, we have been progressively increasing the fuel efficiency of our vehicle fleet. Five of the company’s seven cars are now hybrid electrics. In 2006 we also started to focus on individual driver performance. We provided staff with tips on fuel efficient driving behaviour and began reporting monthly to all staff on individual driver performance in comparison with AA averages for their particular vehicle. The result has been a healthy competition between staff as each strives to achieve the lowest reading in comparison to the AA average, and the driver with the best fuel efficiency is awarded a night out on the town with a show and dinner.
The combination of these two initiatives has had a significant impact on fuel use and hence on our carbon emissions. Since 2001 we have increased our sales staff by two, and hence our fleet by two, and have increased sales by 123%, yet at the same time the annual carbon footprint for our vehicle fleet has reduced from 35.1 tonnes CO2 in 2000/01 to 31 tonnes in 2006/07.
From 1 July 2007, all use of company cars plus all staff commuting to work will be carbon neutral ("COOL CO2MMUTE"). Our footprint monitoring now includes not only the use of company cars (during work hours, to get to work and for leisure), but also the footprint of those who use private cars or public transport to get to work. Staff using private vehicles have been asked to measure how much fuel they use getting to and from work, and this fuel use, plus the fuel use of the company vehicles, will be offset annually. Staff are also being encouraged to reduce vehicle use by having any bus use subsidised by $10/week.
Electricity use: We have been monitoring electricity use, both total and per m2 of product sold, for several years, and calculating the related carbon footprint. Electricity use has grown slightly as the company has grown (now equivalent to 3.05 tonnes CO2) but efficiency has improved. In 2000/01 we used 1.28 kWh per 100m2 carpet sold; in 2006/07 this had reduced to 1.03, mainly through a focus on switching to energy efficient light bulbs and increasing the daylighting in the warehouse. We also made a conscious decision in November 2005 to switch our electricity supply agreement to Meridian, as the supplier most committed to renewable energy.
Air travel: InterfaceNZ staff travel regularly to stay connected with the latest Interface developments internationally and we also regularly fly groups of architects and developers to the off-shore manufacturing sites of our products in order to expose them to the principles applied to the manufacture of Interface products. We have tracked air miles, both total and per m2 of product sold, for several years. The carbon footprint for our air travel has approximately doubled since 2001 (to 34.82 tonnes CO2) but the footprint per m2 sold has slightly decreased.
Freight within New Zealand: The wide number of destinations, transport types and quantities and the paucity of data on New Zealand transport systems make this the hardest part of our footprint to calculate accurately. However we are working to make our estimate more accurate in the coming year, and will also continue working to ensure the transportation is as efficient as possible.
Waste and recycling:
All office and warehouse cardboard and paper are recycled and staff can also bring all their batteries to work for recycling.
InterfaceFlor Carpet Tile:
Approximately 80% of the Interface products sold by InterfaceNZ are manufactured at the Interface plant at Picton, NSW, Australia. Most of the remainder are manufactured at the Interface plant Thailand, with a small percent coming from Interface plants in USA and UK. The transport to New Zealand and within New Zealand is covered in the carbon offsetting of the product described above.
Lonseal Vinyl:
Approximately 90% of all Lonseal vinyl is sourced directly from Japan. The remainder is sourced from the USA.
GreenVinyl™ is Lonseal's comprehensive environmental positioning, encompassing developments in eco-friendly products and sustainable product attributes. GreenVinyl™ features:
Recycled content:
LEED compliant:
LEED MR 4.1 and 4.2 compliant (recycled content)
An offset is anything that removes greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere, or reduces further greenhouse gas emissions.
InterfaceFLOR measures the CO2 emissions for its own operations and for all the other steps in the life cycle of each carpet tile and then purchases CO2 offsets in the global market. These offsets must meet stringent standards and are third party validated.
Interface, Inc., the global parent of InterfaceFLOR, negotiates the purchase of carbon offset credits at a global level for cost efficiency. This creates a ‘carbon bank’ to permit all Interface companies to offset their respective emissions as necessary.
For example, two sources of InterfaceFLOR’s offsets are associated with the following projects:
InterfaceFLOR calculates its greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the World Resource Institute (WRI) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Greenhouse Gas Protocol. This Protocol is the most widely used international accounting tool for governments, businesses and environmental groups.
InterfaceFLOR’s emissions are also internally audited by a team of in-house experts, as required by the company’s membership in the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX).
Beginning in late 2007, InterfaceFLOR Australia’s emissions will also be verified by an independent third party.
Once this process has been completed, and InterfaceFLOR has third party verification, the company will be able to register with the Australian Federal Government’s ‘Greenhouse Friendly Program’.
Locally InterfaceNZ works closely with The Natural Step, and in particular Dr Lin Roberts, to monitor its carbon footprint and ensure that we continue to progress to our company’s ‘Mission Zero’ promise to eliminate any negative impact the company may have on the environment in New Zealand by 2020.
InterfaceFLOR is building a new state-of-the-art carpet factory in Picton, NSW, to enhance production and energy efficiency.
The new factory includes energy-reducing initiatives such as: using natural gas on the production process as it has four times less greenhouse effects than Australian electricity (which is largely supplied by coal-fired power stations); motion-triggered light sensors; time-based hot water and air-conditioning systems to reduce unnecessary heating/cooling at night; and many other initiatives.
InterfaceFLOR Australia has a product line called GlasBac RE. This product incorporates recycled backing from old carpets as fresh raw material.
Sustainability Manager – InterfaceFLOR has a dedicated Sustainability Manager based at the Australian plant, responsible for designing sustainability initiatives, implementing the processes and measuring the results.
InterfaceFLOR is taking a global leadership position on sustainability and is proactively influencing the behaviour of its supply chain.
InterfaceFLOR is developing a global tender protocol, whereby sustainable behaviour, which complies with InterfaceFLOR’s stringent global environmental standards, is a heavily weighted component of any bid.
Recent negotiations with Australian transport companies, for example, have seen them begin the process of reducing their emissions to win part of InterfaceFLOR’s business.
In the USA, InterfaceFLOR has had such an impact on other organisations (their clients, their supply chain vendors, and through word of mouth) that it has set up InterfaceRAISE, an environmental consulting organization, to consult and educate other interested organisations on the necessary steps towards becoming a sustainable enterprise.
InterfaceFLOR is firmly committed to disconnecting itself from the oil well and implementing renewable alternatives.
The company has already reduced its global usage of petroleum-based materials by 28% since 1994. We have achieved this through improved energy efficiency, switching to renewable energy, re-materialization (replacing petro-based materials with non petro-based materials), and de-materialization (creating products with less "stuff"). We have also reduced the amount of virgin petro-based materials used in our products by progressively increasing the proportion of recycled content in our range.
Recycled or bio-based content products now make up approximately 20% of InterfaceFLOR’s product range. For example, InterfaceFLOR is currently trialling a corn-based biopolymer (PLA) in one of its product ranges, which can be composted at the end of the product’s lifecycle.
While renewable alternatives are being developed, InterfaceFLOR has conducted lifecycle assessments on its current raw materials, and compares the results to other possible materials, such as wool, polypropylene (PPE) and biopolymers such as polylactic acid (PPL) and hemp.
When the full lifecycle of each product is considered, the petro-based materials incorporated in InterfaceFLOR’s current products have a lower impact on the environment than many of the obvious alternatives. InterfaceFLOR will continue using these products whilst investing heavily in R&D as part of its ongoing effort to develop truly sustainable alternatives that are acceptable from a product performance and environmental perspective.
InterfaceNZ costs are down, not up, dispelling the myth that going green costs more.
By significantly reducing our waste, energy usage and petrol consumption, InterfaceNZ has become more efficient and reduced overall costs.
Concurrently our InterfaceFLOR carpet tile volumes continue to increase on the back of responsible marketing, true New Zealand initiatives to limit our environmental impact (per above) and focusing solely on InterfaceFLOR carpet tile versus sourcing other product from around the world. In particular there is substantial pricing pressure on sourcing from China. We will not lower our sustainability positioning to do so and will focus on doing well financially by doing good environmentally.
InterfaceFLOR examples.
For example, by reducing waste alone, InterfaceFLOR has saved USD$34 million (approximately AUD$40 million) in Australia since 1995. Worldwide, the savings from waste elimination activities total USD$336 million (approximately AUD$397 million) since 1995.
Since sustainability became a core focus 13 years ago, InterfaceFLOR has increased top line sales by 49%. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) have grown by 95%.
Globally, InterfaceFLOR’s sales grew by 15% in 2006. In Australia and New Zealand specifically, the annual average sales growth has been 25% each year since 2004.
Interface’s share price has moved from USD$3 to USD$19 in four years, and has more than doubled during the past eighteen months. Even critics must admit that this performance can not simply be explained by reference to buoyant market conditions or high investor confidence in the stock exchange.
InterfaceFLOR would not be enjoying its current level of success without its commitment to sustainability. Every business decision for the past 13 years has been made with sustainability top of mind – from product innovation to operating practices and administration. InterfaceFLOR is proof that organisations can ‘do well by doing good’.
More information
Robb Donze
Managing Director
InterfaceNZ
09-441-9850
To learn more about InterfaceFLOR’s sustainability journey, visit www.interfaceflor.com and www.interfacesustainability.com