Tandus Centiva, a Tarkett company, has published seven Environmental Product Declarations to further enhance transparency, accountability and third party validation for its modular and hybrid resilient flooring products. The manufacturer now offers EPDs for modular carpet with a variety of backings: ER3 backing of 100% recycled content, ethos backing made from the film in recycled windshields, and Flex-Aire cushion with improved ergonomics and acoustics. In addition, Tandus Centiva developed EPDs for its Powerbond hybrid resilient sheet flooring cushions including: standard Powerbond cushion, ethos cushion, ER3 cushion, and Medfloor cushion with improved rollability for healthcare applications. The EPDs cover 95% of the company's U.S.-made carpet and hybrid resilient products. The EPDs and accompanying Transparency Briefs cover all styles available in the product lines and can be downloaded from the EPD Program Operator, UL Environment, at www.ulenvironment.com, or from Tandus Centiva at www.tandus.com.
Equivalent to a sustainability "nutrition label," an EPD is a comprehensive disclosure of a product's lifecycle-based environmental impacts that has been validated by an independent third party. It is based on an audited lifecycle assessment using approved Product Category Rules and completed in accordance with ISO 14025 guidelines. The report covers product attributes and certifications as well as a broad range of environmental issues including impacts to the atmosphere, water and the earth. This extensive review empowers specifiers and purchasers to make informed decisions about the product's sustainable qualities and environmental repercussions.
To develop the EPDs, Tandus Centiva conducted cradle-to-cradle Lifecycle Assessments for the products. The assessments accounted for production of these products at facilities in the United States and use of the flooring products internationally. PE International, Inc. performed an external peer review of the LCA results. UL Environment, a leading EPD Program Operator and global environmental solutions company, reviewed, verified and registered the EPDs.
"EPDs certified by UL Environment empower purchasers in the pursuit of products with reduced environmental impact," said Paul Firth, EPD Product Manager at UL Environment. "Certified EPDs show that a manufacturer has made a commitment to provide transparency, backed by the trust of third-party verification and rigor."
The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED v4 encourages use of products with EPDs. Product-specific, third-party, Type III EPDs such as those Tandus Centiva offers, contribute towards the Material and Resources Credit 2. Tandus Centiva has also certified recycled content of these products through SCS Global, and most products are certified to the NSF/ANSI 140 Sustainability Standard for Carpet at the Gold or Platinum level.
"Tarkett is committed to absolute transparency of our environmentally responsible products and practices," said Erin Istanbulluoglu, director of environmental and social stewardship for Tandus Centiva. "Tandus Centiva was the first in the carpet industry to obtain third-party product certifications, the first and only manufacturer to third-party certify our recycling program, and the first to publish an EPD under the new NSF Product Category Rules for Flooring. We are committed to providing important validation tools such as EPDs that provide clear, credible and verifiable information about environmental impacts."
Tarkett is committed to the Cradle to Cradle principles, using a closed-loop, circular design approach emphasizing four main areas of the product lifecycle: Good Materials - using the best available raw materials that will become technical or biological nutrients at the end of their use; Resource Stewardship – continuous evaluation and improvement of water and energy use; People Friendly Spaces – creating products that contribute to healthy indoor air quality; and Reuse – designing for deconstruction and closed loop recycling. Transparent communication and third party verification of environmental claims allows customers to choose Tarkett flooring solutions with confidence.
