INTERIORS 93 There’s more to floors
Manufacturers can help specifiers navigate their carpet choices to help underpin sustainability aims, says Becky Gordon from Interface
B
uilding sustainably is a challenge that applies at a macro level across entire projects. However, there’s no silver
bullet; it’s ultimately achieved via lots of smaller decisions made at every stage of the design and construction process. Specifying decisions are opportunities for architects and designers to make a tangible positive impact on the planet, and such opportunities are more abundant than you might think. Flooring can make a real difference to the sustainability of a building if chosen correctly.
Assessing products and suppliers for their sustainability can be tricky to navigate. Architects can often be left fitting together a jigsaw of different scoring and certification methods. With all aspects of a product considered, including the materials used to make them, the manufacturing process, supply chains, usage and disposal, there is a lot to think about.
Cradle-to-gate & back again The demand for carbon transparency has grown significantly in recent years, which has led to more and more manufacturers producing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). These contain third party verified data on products, allowing the specifier to see the carbon impact at each stage of the life cycle, including transport and installation. Manufacturers providing this information is an important first step from which action can follow. Manufacturers often report their product’s carbon footprint based on the “cradle-to-gate” data, which includes the raw materials, transport to the factory and manufacturing process. This is the element of a product life cycle that the manufacturer is in control of. With insights from their life cycle assessments, manufacturers can reduce the carbon emissions of their products. When specifying with climate in mind, it’s also important to keep embodied carbon as the benchmark – an indicator of both the carbon credentials of a product itself and its manufacturer’s measures to reduce the overall environmental impact. To make a real, positive change, it’s also
crucial that manufacturers continuously work to lower the carbon footprint of their products. This gives specifiers the ability to select products that contribute to their customers’ sustainability goals, regardless of design brief and budget.
Thinking about end of life Architects’ view of the impact of a product they specify must go beyond just the completion of the project, extending through its use in a space, to the end of its life and disposal. The latter, in particular, can have a sizeable environmental impact and so represents an important opportunity for emissions reduction. It’s important for specifiers to take time to research the disposal options for products, as there will often be better alternatives to ending up in landfill. When looking at the different end of life options, a waste hierarchy should be used – prioritising reuse where possible. Some products can even be recycled back into new products.
Interface operates the ReEntry programme, which allows customers to send back used carpet tiles and, in addition to recycling, facilitate their reuse by charities, local businesses and others in need. These reuse schemes not only prevent products going to landfill, but increase their lifespan, meaning fewer emissions from new product creation.
Schemes like these are a sign of manufacturers beginning to embrace the circular economy. Providing viable and accessible opportunities for recycling and reuse helps to close the life cycle loop, with the objective being a completely circular process, in which as few new raw materials are needed as possible.
How manufacturers engage with ideas such as the circular economy is a good barometer for their willingness to go the distance when it comes to sustainability, and something architects must be aware of when deciding which products to specify.
Becky Gordon is regional sustainability manager at Interface
ADF SEPTEMBER 2022
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
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