FEATURE All the industry insiders who spoke at the event.
I absolutely would.” Roger also talked of the importance of ensuring all floors had a very hygienic finish, and described the client as being “extremely pleased” with them. Twelve rooms in the new Birmingham hospital were successfully trialed with the closed-loop scheme, proving to the industry that it really can be done.
The Tarkett Group’s approach to sustainability is called ‘Balanced Choice’, and the next speaker in the program was Peter Okmark, the Environment and Sustainable Manager for Tarkett, who enthusiastically explained the principles of this approach, along with an introduction to the new Cradle-to-Cradle certification scheme. His infectious Swedish accent only added to his charm, as he proudly explained Tarkett’s achievement of
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being one of the first companies to promote and adopt this concept, both in its approach to new materials and in terms of product certification, and having recently been awarded a Silver Certificate for its Linoleum range. Before joining Tarkett, Peter worked for the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning in Sweden, dealing with issues such as building and construction materials contributing to an increase in allergies and hypersensitive reactions.
And last, but by no means least, was the youngest of the bunch; Nick Baker, recently made the Sustainable Procurement lead for Skanska, after displaying a keen interest in resource efficiency and learning from other sectors. Nick managed to keep everyone’s attention, despite a few rogue stomachs
starting to rumble, and regardless of whether lunch time was approaching or not, he gave a fascinating insight into his company’s ‘Journey to Deep Green’, going into lengthy detail about Skanska’s environmental commitment, specifically their waste management strategies at the ongoing Barts and Royal London Hospitals project. To date, over six tonnes of Tarkett vinyl flooring offcuts have been returned for recycling at the hospitals, helping to achieve a total of 96% of all waste from the project being diverted from landfill. Nick originally joined Skanska as an Environment Advisor on the Barts and London project, before progressing on to the role of Environment Manager before undertaking his newest one.
When it was over, we were invited back for refreshments and a chance to ask any
unanswered questions. But by the end of what the panel of experts had to say, we’d come away with enough; a handful of notes and a whole boat-load of faith in the flooring industry. It really is apparent that, not only are companies going the extra mile to make their clients happy, but they’re doing it in the most ethical way they can. Despite a few hiccups in the seminar, including a couple of difficult questions and a microphone that threatened to break, each talk given was as informative and interesting as the last.
If you ever get the chance to attend something similar, I thoroughly recommend it. These informative seminars are a must for everybody in the industry.
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