Atlanta-based carpet tile and broadloom manufacturer Interface Inc. reports it expects to complete environmental product declarations (EPDs) for 90 percent of its products, as measured by production volume, by the end of this year. The company has pledged to secure EPDs for all of its products worldwide in 2012.

An EPD stems from a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA), which lists a product's components and their origins and reports the environmental impacts - including energy and material consumption, waste generation, and emissions - across the product's life cycle. Both the LCA - which must comply with the ISO 14040 environmental management LCA standard - and EPD - which must comply with the ISO 14025 environmental labels and declarations, Type III environmental declarations standard - are verified by an independent third-party organization.

"With the multitude of labels and claims in the marketplace, only EPDs offer full transparency and allow customers to evaluate products based upon verified facts," said Interface President and CEO Dan Hendrix. "Adopting EPDs is one way we are responding to confusion in the marketplace and offering a trustworthy tool for customers. Our hope is that [the customers] will take advantage of EPDs to make decisions comparing and favouring products that have a smaller footprint, while using more sustainable products for their projects."

Interface's EPD pledge is part of the company's Mission Zero® initiative to eliminate all of its negative impacts on the environment by 2020.

October 11, 2011