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First Existing Carpet Manufacturing Facility Earns LEED

The facility meets and exceeds LEED requirements.

Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 11/6/2007 12:00:00 AM

Bentley Prince Street, the largest commercial carpet manufacturer in California, has achieved an industry first for its City of Industry-based mill. The facility is the first existing carpet manufacturing facility to earn LEED Silver from the U.S. Green Building Council and the first manufacturing facility of any kind to land the LEED for Existing Buildings v2.0 label.

Each year, seven million yards of carpet is produced and shipped from the mill, which performs on 100 percent renewable electrical energy and has one of the first privately funded photo voltaic solar arrays in the field. Bentley Prince Street's efforts have reduced landfill waste by 95 percent, water consumption by 71 percent, and overall energy use by 57 percent. The company also picked up several LEED Innovation credits, recognizing environmentally friendly practices exceeding LEED requirements. Among other initiatives, credits were awarded for an on-site waste diversion program and detailed emission reporting methods.

"We believe we have a responsibility to demonstrate that the perceptions of what types of facilities can--and should--be LEED certified need to be expanded to the manufacturing sector," says Bentley Prince Street president Anthony Minite. "We hope our LEED-EB certification will encourage other manufacturers to follow our lead and attempt to do the same."

The company has an ongoing campaign--Mission Zero--to end all of its negative environmental impact by the year 2020.