Interface Debuts New GreenCircle Certification at Greenbuild

Atlanta, GA, October 10, 2016—Interface debuted a new third-party certification from GreenCircle Certified and spotlight its Climate Take Back mission at the 2016 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, which took place October 5 and 6 in Los Angeles, California.

After months of rigorous audits, GreenCircle developed two GreenCircle Certified Environmental Facts (“nutrition facts”) labels for Interface’s GlasBac and GlasBacRE products with Nylon 6 or Nylon 6,6 yarns. These products make up the vast majority— nearly 97% year-to-date in 2016 –of carpet tiles that Interface manufactures and sells in the United States. Interface is the first flooring manufacturer to receive this certification, which provides third-party validation of both product-level environmental and human health attributes, and factory-level environmental footprint claims in an easy-to-read, accessible format.

Similar in format to the now ubiquitous Nutrition Facts Label on all packaged food, GreenCircle’s Certified Environmental Facts label allows customers to quickly review metrics including carbon footprint, percent of recycled content, renewable energy, material ingredients and related certifications such as NSF-140, Green Label Plus, and LEED v4 credits. For example, through the certification process, GreenCircle has verified that these standard Interface products are made from at least 66 percent recycled materials, using 99% renewable energy.

As part of an ongoing pilot program with the United States Department of Defense, the GreenCircle Certified Environmental Facts label is used to connect product manufacturers with federal purchasers and is recommended in the GSA-DOE Verification Guide for Federal Purchasers of Sustainable Products with the goal of meeting federal procurement requirements set within the Executive Order 13693.

The progress Interface has verified at the factory and product level is a result of a 22 year focus on its Mission Zero goal of eliminating its negative impact on the environment by 2020. As the labels show, Interface is within striking distance of achieving these goals and is now looking to go beyond by announcing a new mission, Climate Take Back. The mission is focused on transforming Interface again to reverse global warming—and engage the support of industry, customers, partners and sustainability leaders to make it happen. Interface announced the new mission in the second quarter of 2016, and will continue the conversation with Greenbuild attendees.

Interface acknowledges the importance of engaging its customer base; indeed its sustainability journey was inspired by a customer inquiry. Since 1994, Interface has made significant progress toward eliminating its negative environmental impact and has redefined the effect manufacturers can have on the environment.

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