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Notes on the journey to sustainability


VIEW SCS CERTIFICATES
READ THE PRESS RELEASE

CORPORATE PHILOSOPHY
Sometimes it's human nature to miss the long view. But Roger Milliken, Chairman of Milliken & Company, is one of the rare few who sees both the forests AND the trees. In his 60 years of visionary leadership, he’s nurtured the planting of tens of millions of trees. In fact, our headquarter campus is a nationally acclaimed arboretum dedicated to cultivating and sharing information about noble trees for future generations.

Long before 'sustainability' entered the corporate lexicon, Roger Milliken understood that a living enterprise and a living earth were inextricably linked. His passion for excellence and environmental stewardship gave rise to today's sustainable policies and daily practices.

Beyond Recycling: The View to Sustainability in Full
In recent years our industry has been seized by a recycling mania that often overlooks the larger impacts of manufacturing on the environment. Milliken has always taken a more holistic approach, believing that stewardship means more than chasing recycled content statistics.

• As early as 1900, Milliken was reusing packaging and textile materials
• By 1960, we had established a more formal environmental policy to reduce our imprint on the environment
• This philosophy still guides the daily choices and practices of all Milliken & Company associates around the world. We continually review our product's life cycle, supply chain and manufacturing processes to assess net impacts and what we can do to reduce them.

REDUCING OUR ECO FOOTPRINT
While conservation is critical, the greater challenge lies in reducing the impact of our operations. Since 1990, we have reduced our environmental footprint by more than 85% while setting new benchmarks in green manufacturing.

Preserving nature’s footprint. (While reducing ours)

• All our manufacturing plants have recorded ZERO WASTE TO LANDFILL SINCE 1999 (an uncontested industry first)
• We've REDUCED BOTH OUR ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND WATER USAGE BY OVER 50% (per pound of product) since 1995, while increasing production over the same period
• Our small hydroelectric plants and more than 138,000 acres of company-owned forests allow us to claim the rare status as the only CARBON NEGATIVE MANUFACTURER in our industry
• We’ve replaced at least 30% of our natural gas consumption with an ALTERNATIVE ENERGY source - methane harvested from our community landfill
• The respected Leonardo Academy certified Milliken as the first textile and carpet manufacturer to achieve "CLEANER AND GREENER" for innovative renewable energy and emissions reduction strategies
• All our manufacturing locations have been certified to ISO 14001 —the highest global standard for environmental responsibility
  

MILLIKEN RESEARCH
Great innovations spring from tiny seeds. And so it was when Roger Milliken established what would become Milliken Research Corporation in 1945. Out of this pioneering investment grew the world’s largest textile research organization. With more than 2,000 patents, Milliken Research has launched thousands of manufacturing and product innovations, including those that eliminate waste, increase product performance, preserve resources and shorten the journey to sustainability.

Natural dividends grow from tiny seeds:

• IN 1986 MILLIKEN DEVELOPED PVC-FREE CARPET BACKING. With that single change, we’ve kept over 800 million pounds of PVC out of production and landfills
• TRACTIONBACK bio-based, adhesive-free carpet installation system improves indoor air quality, reduces waste and speeds installation
• EARTH SQUARE closed-loop renewal process gives used carpet a productive after-life
• ES BACKING SYSTEM (Engineered towards Sustainability) contains 35% recycled content and is available on all Milliken modular carpets

 




EXTENDING PRODUCT LIFE CYCLES
Taking a holistic approach extends the life expectancy of our products—your carpet—and reduces the impact on our environment.

• COMFORT PLUS® CUSHION BACKING for modular carpet extends your carpet’s life by up to 50 percent. Acting like an insulating shock absorber, it protects against wear, improves appearance retention, conserves energy, and enhances comfort and safety
• FIRST APPEARANCES™ ENTRYWAY SYSTEM traps dirt at building access points, lengthening carpet life while improving safety and cutting maintenance costs
• MILLICARE® TEXTILE AND CARPET CARE is the industry leader in sustainable maintenance, keeping your space cleaner longer, improving Indoor Air Quality and extending carpet life.
• More than 90 percent of our products are rated for “SEVERE WEAR” (highest rating for appearance retention) by the Carpet and Rug Institute

TRACTIONBACK
Bio-based TractionBack®, our patented installation system is less costly, environmentally conscious, and faster and easier to use. The remarkable high-friction coating applied to carpet tile backing during manufacturing prevents lateral movement, even in high-traffic areas. Yet tiles lift out easily for under floor access or replacement.

Installation made easier. On you—and the environment

• Working without wet adhesives, floor sealers or primers, it eliminates VOC offgassing which improves Indoor Air Quality
• Unlike peel-off polyethylene film systems, it generates no waste that must ultimately be land filled Installing or moving tiles is so simple that TractionBack saves time and labor costs
• Being inert, it won’t permanently adhere to the floor like wet adhesives can. Our Lifetime Floor Compatibility Warranty guarantees TractionBack won't react with old adhesives from prior installations

NO CARPET TO LANDFILL
Our carpet manufacturing plants have recorded zero waste to landfill since 1999—an uncontested industry first. So as our products reach the end of their useful lives, we encourage responsible alternatives to landfill.

Through our No Carpet Landfill Pledge , we evaluate the condition and contaminant levels of every used carpet sent back to us and choose the highest form of recovery possible-- renewal through Earth Square, donation for charitable reuse, recycling into new products, or lastly energy cogeneration of unusable waste components.

EARTH SQUARE:

• As the industry's only closed loop renewal process for modular carpet, Earth Square conserves the energy and resources that recycling or replacement would claim and extends our product's useful life another 10 to 15 years--at less than the cost of new carpet
• Earth Square renewed tiles are a 100% post consumer product—a higher form of stewardship than recycling
• Earth Square is certified “Gold” against the MTS (Institute for Market Transformation towards Sustainability) “Sustainable Textile and Carpet 1.0" standard

 



LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
We've used Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for years to track upstream and downstream impacts along with inputs and outputs in raw materials and energy to make our products and affiliated processes more sustainable. We've learned even small innovations or countermeasures can bring about positive large-scale change.

The ultimate look at the impression our carpet makes (on the earth)

• Resource retrieval — screen all incoming materials and resources and seek smart alternatives through research
• Design and manufacturing — Guided by the principles of Design for the Environment (DfE), we constantly refine our manufacturing processes to reduce our environmental footprint
• Installation —Through LCA, we saw a better way to install carpet and created TractionBack, the bio-based, adhesive-free system with numerous environmental advantages
• Use and maintenance —Comfort Plus ® cushion backing, First Appearances® entry system and MilliCare® Textile and Carpet Care combine to ensure appearance retention and extend the life of the carpet
• Disposal and reuse — Responsible end-of-life alternatives are driven by our NO CARPET TO LANDFILL pledge

THE JOURNEY FORWARD
To ensure transparency, we continuously invite outside parties to review our products, just as we join our peers in elevating those organizations and practices that support measurable change.

We fully support the development of leading environmental assessment tools such as:

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Milliken modular carpets with ES backing contribute the maximum allowable points for carpet in LEED NC, CI and EB
Read ASBE LEED NC

Enhanced Green Label Certification
All our products meet the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) Green Label Plus Certification for Indoor Air Quality (CA 01350 equivalent)

Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard
All our modular carpets meet the Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard--the new single global carpet standard as agreed by the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI0 and the Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS)

We are proud of our affiliations with:
Alliance for Sustainable Built Environments (ASBE)—Founding Member
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)—Founding Member
Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS)—Founding Member
Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE)—Founding Member
International Facilities Management Association (IMFA)—Founding Member
International Design Center for the Environment (IDCE)
American Society of Interior Designers (ASID)
International Interior Design Association (IIDA)
Scientific Certification Systems (SCS)
Leonardo Academy for Cleaner and Greener Energy and Emissions
Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI)





OUR ENVIRONMENTAL TIMELINE
A Heritage of Environmental Stewardship -
No Spin, No stopping.

ENVIRONMENTAL RECOGNITION