Shaw Releases Inaugural Sustainability Report

Shaw also outlines its three pillars of sustainability: Corporate governance and social responsibility; operational and environmental excellence; innovative products and services.

Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 9/8/2009

Putting cold, hard facts where its mouth is, Georgia-based flooring manufacturer Shaw Industries Group has released an inaugural sustainability report outlining the company's commitment to environmental and corporate social responsibility.

The report begins by outlining Shaw's three pillars of sustainability: Corporate governance and social responsibility; operational and environmental excellence; and innovative products and services.

Shaw goes on to detail its public corporate goals and highlights, for categories including safety, energy, waste, and water. The Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary's highlights for 2008 include reclamation of more than 244 pounds of post-consumer carpet, 85 percent of which was recycled into new carpet; the introduction of the polyester-like ClearTouch PET filament with recycled content from reclaimed plastic bottles; the NSF 140 sustainable carpet certification; and the announcement of Shaw as one of 240 founding members of the Climate Registry.

Since the publication of the report, Shaw has also announced additional progress toward its sustainability strategy, including post-consumer carpet reclamation of more than 250 million pounds; construction of a new Re2E energy reclamation facility; Cradle to Cradle certification of Shaw’s Epic Hardwood; and the investment in ClearPath Recycling, the largest polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling facility in North America.

"We hope that sharing our own progress will help demonstrate our belief that innovation and sustainability are not only inextricably linked, they are the primary guarantors of long-term success," says company CEO, Vance Bell.



Images courtesy of Shaw Industries Group.