Media Contact: Sarah Tuck
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MOHAWKRANKS FIRST IN FLOORING INDUSTRY IN 2014 SOUTHEAST CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY RANKINGS
Mohawk placessecond among Georgia-based companies and fifth in the region; Company ranks first in flooring industry for fourth consecutive year
Calhoun, Ga.(December 11, 2014) For the fourth consecutive year, Mohawk Group’s parent company Mohawk Industries has been named the most sustainable flooring manufacturer in the Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings’ annual assessment of the sustainable practices of the region’s largest businesses.
Mohawk, the world’s largest flooring company,also saw its state and regional rankings reach record highs. Among Georgia-based companies,Mohawk rose to second behind UPS, while its overall regional rank increased sixplaces to number five. To compile the annual rankings, the Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings reviews the practices of publicly-traded companies from an eight-state region: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
“Mohawk’s rise in the Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankingsreflects the continual expansion of our sustainable practices across the business,” said Jenny Cross, Mohawk Industries’vice president of sustainability. “Our sustainability platform is an extension of our core principle of doing the right thing for our communities, employees and customers, and we are pleased that an independent assessment of our practices ranks us among sustainability leaders.Thanks to the dedication of our thousands of associates, we have made tremendous progress toward our very aggressive sustainability goals including lower energy and water consumption, up-cycling our waste stream and expanding the range of our products incorporating recycled content.”
Mohawk employs a three-factor strategic approach to sustainability, focusing on the Company’s processes, products and people. Each year, the Company processes billions pounds of recycled material into higher value streams each year. Initiatives like Mohawk Group’s ReCover program reclaim carpet products at the end of life in commercial flooring installations and divert millions of pounds of commercial carpet from reaching the landfill each year. Six of the Company’s ten U.S. ceramic tile manufacturing facilities recover and reuse all of their process wastewater. Twenty-four of the Company’s carpet manufacturing plants have achieved an internal “Zero Waste” status. Across all flooring categories, hundreds of the Company’s commercial and residential products contain recycled material. Mohawk also continues to make progress toward an aggressive 25 percent intensity reduction in energy consumption, greenhouse gases, water use and landfill waste by the year 2020.
“Mohawk Group has created an entirely new conversation in sustainability related to product transparency and healthy interiors, and we have an extensive list of products that will help our customers create the healthiest indoor spaces,”said said Michel Vermette, president of Mohawk Commercial. “We are educating others about the importance of transparency, and we are leading the entire flooring industry with the largest and most varied selection of products that have associated Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Health Product Declarations (HPDs) and Declare labels.We will continue to work with our customers and other leaders in the building industry to strive for greater transparency and healthier choices.”
In addition to Mohawk, other companies recognized for exceptional sustainable practices include such well-known organizations as Delta, Denny’s, Hanes, Lexmark, Office Depot, Sanderson Farms, Sonoco, Vulcan Materials and Yum! Brands.
The Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings evaluate companies on a variety of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factorsthat align with Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) G4 Guidelines. The assessment is the only ranking of companies headquartered in the Southeast based on these factors. Founded in 2010 by GreenBusiness Works and Mark Callaway Investments, the annual rankings are designed to help Southeastern companies maintain and improve their sustainability practices, while establishing a legacy of corporate and social responsibility in the region.
To learn more about Mohawk’s sustainability initiatives and to view the company’s most recent corporate sustainability report, visit MohawkSustainability.com.
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ABOUT MOHAWK INDUSTRIES
Mohawk Industries is a leading global flooring manufacturer that creates products to enhance residential and commercial spaces around the world. Mohawk’s vertically integrated manufacturing and distribution processes provide competitive advantages in the production of carpet, rugs, ceramic tile, laminate, wood, stone and vinyl flooring. Our industry-leading innovation has yielded products and technologies that differentiate our brands in the marketplace and satisfy all remodeling and new construction requirements. Our brands are among the most recognized in the industry and include American Olean, Daltile, Durkan, Karastan, Marazzi, Mohawk, Pergo, Unilin and Quick-Step. During the past decade, Mohawk has transformed its business from an American carpet manufacturer into the world’s largest flooring company with operations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia and the United States.