Sustainable Products

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Sustainable Products
Bill Gregory Milliken Company 2006
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(No Transcript)
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What is Sustainability?

• Sustainable Development is a term first used in
  the UN-chartered Brundtland Commission Report on
  Environment and Development.
• It is the practice of responsible use of limited
  space, scarce natural resources, and respecting
  the fragility of eco-systems while minimizing the
  environmental consequences of human activities.

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Classic Definition of Sustainability
Social Equity

• Balance of economy, ecology and social equity
• Often applied only to products
• Go beyond products to integrate into entire
  enterprise

Ecology
Economy
Triple Bottom Line
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Product Selection In the Context of Applicable
Standards

• Sustainable Development begins at system-wide
  scale evolved from the simple priorities Reduce
  Reuse Recycle.
• Standards (I.e. ISO 14001, Sustainable Carpet
  Assessment Standard, LEED) provide the system
  guidelines to subscribe to.
• Independent/3rd Party Certification then becomes
  critical for the selection of product to meet the
  standards.

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Beyond Recycling The View Towards
Sustainability in Full

• TO RESPONSIBLY USE NATURAL RESOURCES AND TO
  REDUCE THE IMPRINT ON THE ENVIRONMENT.
• Day by day, we look at our product life cycle and
  supply chain to assess our net impacts and what
  we can do to reduce them.
• IF WERE NOT MEASURING, WERE ONLY PRACTICING.

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Key Tools for Evaluation

• Design for the Environment (DfE)
• SMART Standards
• Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard
• Flooring Standard
• Green Label Plus or Greenguard certification
• Minimized packaging
• Recycled and recyclable
• Performance rated
• Eco-friendly installation process
• Life Cycle Assessment

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Design for Environment
Design for Environment (DfE) is also known as
eco-design. It recognizes that environmental
impacts must be considered during the new product
design process, along with all of the usual
design criteria. DfE is a systemic consideration
of design performance with respect to
environmental, health, and safety objectives over
the full product life cycle
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DfE Strategies

• Select environmentally low-impact components
• Avoid toxic and hazardous materials
• Choose cleaner production processes
• Maximize energy water efficiency in manufacture
  and use of product
• Design for waste minimization reuse of
  technical nutrients

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Key Tools for Evaluation

• Design for the Environment (DfE)
• SMART Standards
• Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard
• Flooring Standard
• Green Label Plus or Greenguard certification
• Minimized packaging
• Recycled and recyclable
• Performance rated
• Eco-friendly installation process
• Life Cycle Assessment

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Life Cycle Assessment

• The ultimate look at the impression products make
  on the earth..
• RESOURCE RETRIEVAL
• DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING
• INSTALLATION
• USE AND MAINTENANCE
• DISPOSAL AND REUSE

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LCA is product specific (i.e. Midnight Sparkle),
not category specific (i.e. carpet tile). Every
process element in a base is evaluated against
each of the environmental impact categories, as
shown in the chart above.
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LCA Impacts on Milliken Offering

• Introduction of ES backing
• High recycled content
• Introduction of TractionBack
• Adhesive free installation
• Elimination of PVC
• No phlates nor dioxins
• Development of Earth Square
• Carpet renewal
• Reduction of product weight
• Less consumption of resources
• MilliCare
• Prolonged product performance

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Green Product v Brown Factories

• To deliver a Green product, the factory must be
  green
• Sustainable Organization
• ISO 9000 and ISO 14001 certified
• Meet all regulatory requirements
• Carbon neutral
• Cleaner and Greener Certified
• Alternative Energy Policies
• Environmental and Sustainable Policies
• Waste Diversion Policy
• End of Life Policy

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Top Questions to Ask Concerning Sustainable
Products

• Whats in the Product?
• How was it made?
• Does the manufacturer subscribe to Sustainable
  practices?
• Is the product certified against a Sustainable
  product standard?
• What is the off-gassing of the product? Are the
  VOCs harmful?
• Is the product durable?
• How is the product maintained?
• Is it recyclable?
• Is there a reclamation program? What happens to
  the product at the end of its useful life?

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In the end, healthy enterprise and a healthy
earth are vitally linked, and we invite you to
join the mutually inclusive campaign to make
sustainability work.
Eco Logue Notes on the Journey to Sustainability