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• ISO Standards
• Ecologo®
• Good Environmental Choice
• CRI Green Label
• LEED
• Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard
• GUT

If we are to create a model for sustainability, our progress and results must have integrity. Third party verification and certification of the claims we make is critical.

Verification means that an independent reviewer has assessed and audited our claim or statement and assured that it is accurate. Interface participates in voluntary reporting programs in which verification is built-in. For example, to ensure that members accurately report their annual greenhouse gas emissions, the Chicago Climate Exchange hires independent auditors to review and verify data submitted by member companies.

Certifications are typically more involved than verifications. In the certification process, an independent organization is hired to assess your product or company against a prescribed set of criteria. Certifications are a way to distinguish certain products and companies from each other, and can help advance sustainability by providing manufacturers with a detailed set of criteria toward which they can specify or design.

Because the credibility of different verifications and certifications can vary widely, Interface supports consensus-based, multi-stakeholder developed, non-proprietary standards and participates in these types of processes whenever possible.

ISO STANDARDS

Interface frequently works with outside organizations that monitor the processes we use to manage our facilities. Eight Interface facilities have been confirmed to conform to ISO 14001 standard. ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's largest developer of standards, including ISO 14001, the international standard for environmental management systems. This standard provides a common approach for all types and sizes of organizations to achieve and demonstrate sound environmental performance. ISO 14001 helps organizations manage the environmental impacts of their operations while always working toward continuous improvement, and is recognized and accepted worldwide.

Certificates have been received from third party registration bodies confirming that the following Interface facilities conform to the ISO 14001 standard:

•  Bentley Prince Street - City of Industry, California
•  InterfaceFLOR Europe - Craigavon, Northern Ireland
•  InterfaceFLOR Europe - Scherpenzeel, The Netherlands
•  InterfaceFLOR Europe - West Yorkshire, England (Shelf Mills facility)
•  InterfaceFLOR Asia-Pacific - Bangkok, Thailand
•  InterfaceFLOR Asia-Pacific - Picton, New South Wales, Australia
•  InterfaceFLOR Canada - Belleville, Ontario, Canada
•  InterfaceFLOR Americas - Troup County, Georgia
 

ECOLOGO®

Environmental Choice's Ecologo® is Canada's symbol of environmental responsibility and its only national and comprehensive eco-labeling program. The Ecologo program is designed by Environmental Choice to help customers make informed choices, and to encourage the supply of, and demand for, products and services which cause less stress on the environment.

Environmental Choice establishes stringent criteria against which products and services are assessed. The process of Ecologo certification includes assessment of quality, performance, environmental and safety aspects of the product. InterfaceFLOR Canada has earned certification in this program for its products.

GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL CHOICE

The Good Environmental Choice Label (Australia) is the only environmental labeling program which indicates the environmental performance of a product from a whole of product life perspective for consumer goods. The label is awarded to products that meet voluntary environmental performance standards which have been created and assessed in conformance to international environmental labeling standards. The program is internationally recognized and growing in demand and awareness throughout different industries.

InterfaceFLOR Australia is the first and only carpet manufacturing company in Australia to receive accreditation from Good Environmental Choice Australia. The accreditation includes all InterfaceFLOR modular products manufactured in Australia as well as those manufactured in the U.S. for Australian markets.

All InterfaceFLOR products have been assessed by Good Environmental Choice and certified to meet requirements for durability, environmental management systems, product stewardship, eco-preferred, modular and designed for disassembly sections under Green Star Mat-2. Additionally, InterfaceFLOR’s exclusive Inter-Tac adhesive was independently certified as a low VOC product that meets the Green Star criteria. All products manufactured and sold by InterfaceFLOR Australia also meet the U.S. based Carpet and Rug Institute’s Green Label Plus™ test protocol for total VOC emissions and individual chemical concentrations, a key factor in their qualification for full IEQ criteria points in Green Star. Furthermore, there is the potential to attract further innovation points in Green Star registered building projects if the Cool Carpet option is selected, thereby offsetting all of the CO2 emissions associated with the life cycles of the specified products.

CRI GREEN LABEL

The CRI Indoor Air Quality Green Label program is the industry's most widely recognized test protocol for evaluating total volatile organic compound (TVOC) emissions for carpet, carpet padding, and adhesives.

The CRI Green Product Label indicates that:

•  The manufacturer voluntarily participates in these programs and is identified by an assigned number on the label.
•  The manufacturer is committed to developing ways to minimize any adverse effects on indoor air quality.
•  A representative sample of the product type is tested by an independent laboratory and meets the established requirements for each program.
 

All products manufactured by InterfaceFLOR and Bentley Prince Street meet or exceed the requirements of the CRI Green Label test protocol for carpet.

The CRI Indoor Air Quality Green Label Plus program is a 14-day test that follows the test protocol Section 01350 of the California High Performance Schools (CHPS) Protocol. The Green Label Plus program measures TVOC emissions as well as setting a maximum concentration level for a number of "Chemicals of Concern" as defined by the State of California's OSHA Proposition 65. The Green Label Plus test protocol goes beyond the requirements of Section 01350 to test emissions of six additional chemicals.

All InterfaceFLOR and Bentley Prince Street carpet products have been independently tested and verified to meet the requirements of Section 01350 as part of their Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) certifications from Scientific Certification Systems.

LEED

The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED™ Green Building Rating System (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) a system for designing, constructing and certifying green buildings. LEED New Construction (LEED-NC) addresses a number of topics in the design and construction of new buildings to reduce their environmental footprint as well as to increase the well-being of their occupants. LEED Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) addresses several topics in the design and construction of tenant build-outs in leased office space. LEED Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) addresses a variety of topics in the design and construction of existing buildings.

Carpet is a highly visible component of a green building; however, carpet by itself can only result in a LEED credit for low emitting materials (carpet). InterfaceFLOR® and Bentley Prince Street® branded products qualify for LEED NC IEQ Credit 4.3. This is the only credit where carpet alone can earn a point in LEED. Credit for recycled content and local materials must take into consideration ALL building materials and products by weight or cost. Carpet is typically a small fraction of the total weight or cost of materials in any building project.

In addition to offering products that contribute to our customers’ LEED projects, several Interface facilities have acquired LEED certification:

SUSTAINABLE CARPET ASSESSMENT STANDARD

NSF 140-2007, the Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard, is based on life cycle assessment principles and is the only carpet sustainability standard in North America that evaluates the environmental impacts of carpet over the entire life cycle of the product, from manufacturing to reclamation, renewable energy use to social equity, including:

•  Pollutant reduction in manufacturing, minimization of product emissions
•  Reduction of energy use in manufacturing, use of renewable energy
•  Use of recycled and/or bio-based raw materials
•  Manufacturing – publicly declared environmental targets, labor practices, product durability, waste minimization
•  Reclamation and recycling program

In the era of greenwash and confusing product claims, 3rd party certification to a robust standard, such as NSF 140, is critical. InterfaceFLOR and Bentley Prince Street hired NSF International due to their reputation as a leader in standards development, product certification, and risk management. The NSF mark is one of the most recognized certification marks worldwide in ensuring public health, safety and environmental quality. NSF 140 was developed in strict accordance with ANSI requirements for openness, balance, consensus, and due process. NSF 140 is the first ANSI approved standard for green building products. ANSI standards allow for any third party to certify conformance to the standard, thereby increasing transparency and reducing potential conflict of interest found in proprietary standards.

All InterfaceFLOR products with GlasBac®RE backing and all Bentley Prince Street products with High PerformancePC backing meet the Platinum level of the NSF/ANSI 140 Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard (SCAS). InterfaceFLOR products with GlasBac or NexStep® backing and Bentley Prince Street products with NexStep Cushion or Prestige PlusRC backing meet the Gold level of the NSF/ANSI 140 standard.

GUT

Gemeinschaft Umweltfreundlicher Teppichboden (GUT) is an association of environmentally friendly carpet manufacturers based in Germany, with members throughout Europe. GUT aims to be proactive in ensuring its members develop products with minimal impact on the environment and demonstrate their commitment to the environment. GUT sets test standards, which in some cases are more stringent than any national standards. Members' products must meet the standards before they can be sold as GUT registered. InterfaceFLOR Europe is a founding member of GUT, all InterfaceFLOR Europe carpet products are registered with GUT and Interface associates contribute to working groups tasked with formulating standards.