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Our vision for sustainable transport
at InterfaceFLOR Europe

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Just the facts our vision for sustainable transport at InterfaceFLOR Europe
InterfaceFLOR’s seven
fronts of sustainability
1. Eliminate waste 4. Closing the loop 6. Sensitising stakeholders
Eliminating the concept of Redesigning processes and Creating a community within
waste, not just incrementally products so that all resources and around InterfaceFLOR that
reducing it. used can be recovered and understands the functioning
reused, closing the technical or of natural systems and our
2. Benign emissions natural loop. impact on them.
Focusing on the elimination of
molecular waste emissions. 5. Resource-efficient 7. Redesign commerce
Eliminating waste streams that transportation Redesigning commerce
have negative or toxic effects Transporting all of our people to focus on the delivery of
on natural systems. and products efficiently and service and value instead of
with minimal waste and material. Encouraging external
3. Renewable energy emissions. This includes organisations to create
Reducing our energy demands plant location, logistics and policies and market incentives.
while substituting non- commuting.
renewable sources with
renewable ones like solar, wind
and landfill gas.

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Just the facts our vision for sustainable transport at InterfaceFLOR Europe
Transport at
InterfaceFLOR Europe
Our transport can be divided InterfaceFLOR has three
into two main categories: factories in Europe and
international transport and national distribution centres
national distribution. in all our major markets.
International transport • Craigavon, Northern Ireland
• Inter-company transport of • Shelf, England
semi-finished products from • Scherpenzeel, the Netherlands
factory to factory.
London and Paris are our
• Line-haul transport of two largest city markets and
finished carpet tiles account for the most significant
from factory to national proportion of our transport
distribution centres. impact due to the high volume of
distribution. Peripheral regions
National distribution such as Spain or Scandinavia
also have a relatively high impact
• Transport of products from
on international transport due to
national distribution centres
the relatively long distances from
to our customers
our factories.

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Just the facts our vision for sustainable transport at InterfaceFLOR Europe
Understanding our
transport impacts
We conducted a study in 2008 to
establish an accurate baseline
for our current performance and
quantify opportunities to reduce our
transport impacts. The main aim was
to develop a tool to measure and
monitor transport emissions.
Monitoring our impacts gives us
a better understanding of the
factors that influence our transport
emissions levels and enables us to
work with our logistics partners to
identify areas where we can improve
our performance.
To calculate the environmental
impact of our distribution we
collected data on the amount of
goods transported, the total distance
travelled by our goods and the
environmental performance of each
mode of transport. We collected
data internally and from our logistics
partners to calculate transport
impacts per m² of carpet delivered.
Our current performance is 0.3
kg CO2/m² of carpet delivered.

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Just the facts our vision for sustainable transport at InterfaceFLOR Europe
How to reduce our
transport impacts
Following a review of our In the Netherlands, where
entire distribution network, we have switched from
we have identified several dedicated to grouped
areas where we can reduce delivery, the fill rate of our
our transport impacts: trucks have increased
from 38% towards 60%.
1. Manufacturing regionally demand is growing, we are Sharing transport space with Our international line-haul
developing local manufacturing goods for other companies transport uses Groupage, a
Cutting the distance that our
facilities. For example, new rather than sending dedicated service that enables us to
products have to travel is one
factories were recently trucks or containers for our share space with other goods
of the most effective methods
completed in China and Uruguay. products can significantly for international shipping
of reducing our transport
increase efficiency, particularly from our factories to national
impacts. 2. Improving load factors for national distribution where distribution hubs.
In Europe over 99% of Empty and underutilised freight capacity is typically
used less efficiently. This also Load factors are one of
the products sold are vehicles dramatically reduce
the criteria in the annual
manufactured in Europe. transport efficiency. A 2009 helps to avoid trucks delivering
our products coming back questionnaire sent to all our
report by the World Economic
In addition, the majority of empty. logistics partners, and we
Forum found that 24% of
our raw materials by weight welcome ideas on how to
freight vehicles in the EU run
are sourced from suppliers improve these.
empty. The research also
close to our factories. This
found that the rest run with an We are also looking for ways to
is especially important for
average load of only 57% of pack more products per truck.
heavier raw materials such as
capacity (load factor), giving an This is challenging because
limestone.
overall efficiency of just 43%. our products are heavy and
Our commitment to regional The report estimates that this their size means the pallets
manufacturing is not limited inefficiency costs the 27 EU we use are not the standard
to Europe. As we expand into countries 22 billion a year – dimensions (1,06m x 1,06m).
emerging markets, where 1.2% of GDP.

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Just the facts our vision for sustainable transport at InterfaceFLOR Europe
How to reduce our
transport impacts
Now, orders heavier than potential reductions in CO2 and Once vehicle efficiency
three tonnes (around three NOX emissions which affect is optimised, the
pallets) are transported climate change, as well as biggest opportunities for
Scherpenzeel, Netherlands directly to the customer particulates which contribute to InterfaceFLOR are the use of
from our factory in local air pollution. second generation biofuels
Lille, France Scherpenzeel, and hybrid or electric vehicles.
‘Megatrucks’ can improve
the Netherlands. These are areas where we
the efficiency of transport by
expect our logistics partners
Paris, France There will still be some moving more goods per trip,
to innovate to cut impacts
detouring for small orders (for reducing the overall number
dramatically. We look forward
example, from Scherpenzeel to of trips needed. However,
to new ideas and projects
Paris and back to a customer they are not accepted in
4. Using cleaner fuels and to improve efficiency and
in Lille or Strasbourg), but a all European countries
Optimised delivery route
more efficient vehicles emissions of vehicles. For
balance needs to be made in and weight restrictions on
Delivery route example, we are exploring
order to avoid small orders Cleaner, more efficient and individual vehicles make the
options with our transport
travelling long distances on alternative vehicles are the use of megatrucks difficult for
3. Optimising delivery routes company in the UK to test
potentially empty trucks. most effective way to reduce InterfaceFLOR because our
trucks that run on bioethanol.
Our products do not travel in a We are working to cut the our transportation impacts. carpet tiles are heavy.
Since 2009, deliveries We are also in discussion with
straight line from our factories amount of de-touring in our Improved vehicle efficiency, our logistics partners to invest
to our customers. Their journey distribution network. In France, of over 1.5 tonnes also Manufacturers are continually
alternative vehicles and the improving the efficiency in hybrid delivery vehicles in
is determined by transport for example, all our goods dispatched directly from use of biofuels will bring the of regular trucks and Paris and London in the future.
networks and the location of used to go via our hub in Scherpenzeel to customers biggest reductions in CO2
national distribution hubs. The Paris because the Paris area in Germany and Austria improvements in aerodynamics
emissions, according to the and rolling resistance are
amount our routes deviate from accounts for around half our European Commission.
In our other major markets, expected to make new vehicles
a straight line is called sales in the country. However, such as the UK and Spain, 30% more efficient by 2020.
‘de-touring’. Reducing de-touring this often added unnecessary The table on page 14 shows
we are looking for similar But there are limits to what can
can cut environmental impacts mileage. the potential savings that could
opportunities to reduce be achieved through efficiency
of transport, especially for be achieved by implementing
detouring and encourage our gains while still using fossil
larger orders. a range of new technologies
logistics partners to help us fuels.
or fuels in trucks. It shows the
meet our goals.

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Just the facts our vision for sustainable transport at InterfaceFLOR Europe
How to reduce our
transport impacts
Measures to reduce the environmental footprint of truck transport fuels. The key to achieving these
Key EtOH: Sugar cane (Brazil)
targets lies in what are known
Material Effect on carbon dioxide Effect on nitrous oxide Effects on particulates Conventtional gasoline EtOH: Wheat straw
(CO2) emissions (NOX) (PM10) as ‘second generation’ biofuels Conventional diesel EtOH: Wheat, NG GT+ CHP, DDGS as AF
as they require less chemical Syn-diesel: Farmed wood RME: Gly as chemicals
and energy input and typically Syn-diesel: Waste wood, Black lquor DME: Waste wood, Black liquor
1 Natural gas -3% to -10% -80% -40%
produce more fuel per unit of
2
agricultural land used. These Fuels 2010 (source EUCAR/CONCAWE/JRC
Replacement of Euro 1-3 by Euro 5 - -65% to -70% -80% to -95%
are produced from cellulosic
3
materials (such as straw or plant
Retrofit particulate filters on Euro 2/3 +1.5% - -20% to -40%
waste) rather than the starchy 180
4 Megatrucks/ Ecocombi -22% -25% -25%
part of plants which could
compete with food crops. 160
5 Hybride drive -15% to -40% Locally - 100% Locally - 100%
Overall 0% Overall 0% InterfaceFLOR supports the
WTW GHG emissions 9g CO2eq / km)
140
use of second generation
6 Electric drive (for distribution) -3% to -10% Locally - 100% Locally - 100%
Overall -70% to -90% Overall -90% to -95% biofuels such as:
120
7 Biofuels +10% to -140% - - • Biomass to Liquid (BtL)
• Cellulosic ethanol 100
• BioDME/Methanol
The use of hybrid vehicles For the same reason, electric The EU road transport sector • BioSynthetic Natural Gas 080
reduces the amount of diesel vehicles can significantly reduce accounts for more than 30% of (BioSNG)
used by running off a battery local air pollution. However, their the total energy consumption • Bio-oil/Bio-crude 060
which is recharged using energy potential to cut carbon emissions in Europe. It is currently 98% • Algal biofuels
lost in braking. When running depends on the source of the dependent on fossil fuels and • Hydrocarbons from catalysis 040
in electric mode, there are also grid electricity used to charge the EU has set a target for 25% of plant sugars
no particulate emissions. This them. Based on the average of transport fuel needs to be • Biohydrogen
reduces local air pollution, carbon intensity of EU electricity met by biofuels by 2030. 020
• Bioelectricity/CHP
especially important in production, electric vehicles can • Biobutanol
Biofuels are a renewable
populated areas. achieve savings of about 40% 0 100 200 300 400 500 600
energy source and a lower-
compared with fossil fuels. Total WTW energy (MU / 100km)
carbon alternative to fossil

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Just the facts our vision for sustainable transport at InterfaceFLOR Europe
How to reduce our
transport impacts
CO2 (g/tonne-km); containers/non-bulk; short distance; 2010
160
140
120
100
080
060
040
020
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CO2 (g/tonne-km); containers/non-bulk; long distance; 2010 5. Shifting to lower carbon We have already made a transported to the port at transport to several countries
transport (multimodal) number of changes to the way Rotterdam by road. in Eastern Europe. We are
160 we transport goods. also looking into the possibility
Shifting loads from trucks to By transferring goods to a
140 of using ships from the port
120 other modes of transport – In Italy, for example, we barge for part of this journey of Rotterdam to places such
100 such as trains, inland barges have transferred 98% of our (between Rotterdam and as Bilbao in Spain or Saint
080 and short sea shipping – for shipments from road to rail, Utrecht), we have cut CO2 Petersburg in Russia.
060 part of the journey can reduce reducing CO2 emissions emissions by 39%
040 CO2 emissions. The EU goal associated with the Our goal is for 10% of our
020 is for 30% of road freight We are looking for more products (by volume) to be
journey from Scherpenzeel opportunities to reduce
travelling over 300 km should distributed using multimodal
to Italy by 69%. road mileage by shifting to
shift to other modes such as
to k
tru ted
ric n
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TE ip.
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transport by 2015.
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70 sh
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80 sh
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multimodal transport. We are
la
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rail or waterborne transport In the Netherlands, products
(2 l.
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cu
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investigating opportunities
Ri
by 2030. from our site at Scherpenzeel
(e
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Note: Short distance transport applies to trips of around 150 km have traditionally been to use rail for international

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Just the facts our vision for sustainable transport at InterfaceFLOR Europe
How to reduce our
transport impacts
there is not demand for green
solutions by bigger companies.
Influencing other companies is
a key part of our Mission Zero
and our transport strategy.
We are working with other
multinationals to develop and
share ideas on sustainable
transport as well as creating
market demand through
the Duurzame Logistiek
(Sustainable Logistics)
programme, which supports
250 leading companies
in the field of sustainable
6. Promoting regular 7. Understanding the will allow us to make better transportation of goods.
training for drivers impacts of every m2 of and faster decisions on Its aim is to increase the
our products our transport to optimise profitability of companies and
Training truck drivers in
efficiency. This will help simultaneously reduce CO2
fuel efficient driving can Introducing the Eyefreight
us monitor and reduce emissions by more than 20%
cut emissions by up to 5%. system will allow us to track,
environmental impacts. by 2012.
We encourage our logistics among other things, the
partners to provide such environmental footprint of 8. Collaboration with More information on how
training for their drivers. This each individual delivery. The other companies InterfaceFLOR is working with
is one of the criteria in our system will act as a portal
Our impact on transport is other companies to reduce
supplier questionnaire and for our European distribution
very small in comparison with the impact of our product
most of our partners already and will track order intake,
other multinational companies. transportation is available at
train their drivers regularly. service level, freight costs
We cannot achieve our vision www.duurzamelogistiek.nl.
We will continue to raise and environmental footprint.
awareness on this. This granularity of information for sustainable transport if

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Just the facts our vision for sustainable transport at InterfaceFLOR Europe
Our goals for
sustainable transport
These are the targets set up by the preliminary transport vision of the European Union. By 2015, our vision for Our goals do not stop at
InterfaceFLOR in Europe 2015. The table outlines the
Influence factors Target for Sensitivity is this: vision of the European Union
on transport for 2020, 2035
2020 2035 2050 GHG FFS • Efficiency is down from
and 2050. We seek to be
an average of 0.3kg CO2 /m2
1 Stabilizing the increase of tkm Max. +30% Max. +43% Max. +44% N/A N/A
well ahead these targets,
of carpet delivered to
and demonstrate to other
0.2kg CO2 /m2
2 Decreasing vehicle energy -20% -40% -50% 88% - companies that it is feasible to
demand
• 10% of our total volume is reduce environmental impacts
3 Reducing carbon emissions in -37.5% -61% -88% 55% 22% intermodal from transport significantly.
electricity production
4 Electric engines in road transport 0% 10% 25% 41% 5% • 90% of vehicles used in our To achieve our vision on
transport is in top Euro Class sustainable transport, we
5a Increase share biofuels 8% 24% 33% 38% 30% for tailpipe emissions need the support of all our
stakeholders. We encourage
5b Biofuels upstream emissions -35% -83% -83% • 85% of our transport our logistics partners to
suppliers are ISO 14001 develop more sustainable
6 Increased efficiency in usage +8% +30% +50% 25% - certified transport solutions and we
of veh
are continuing to work with
7 • All forwarders regularly train
Improved engine efficiency +21% +40% +45% 21% 2% industry and other companies
their drivers on efficient
to help drive change within
8 Higher modal share of Road 75% Road 70% Road 65% 7% - driving
rail ad IWW
the sector.
Rail 19% Rail 22.5% Rail 25%
IWW 6% IWW 7.5% IWW 10%
9 Increased share of electrical rail 66% 75% 80% 3% -
10 Usage of larger trucks 2% 8% 10% 2% -

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Just the facts our vision for sustainable transport at InterfaceFLOR Europe
How does Mission Zero affect our
relationship with transport companies?
Q&A with David Kers, European
Distribution Manager
As a transport company, How do you ensure the How would you like to What would be your
how can I do business for economic sustainability of manage your suppliers? perfect supplier?
InterfaceFLOR? your transport suppliers? The relation with our The perfect supplier would be
We select logistics service Being financially healthy in logistics service providers the supplier that will help us
providers who can help terms of profit and cash flow is based on a performance in realising our Mission Zero.
us in our quest to launch is important for a logistics partnership, where we focus Besides focusing on Service
a sustainable European service provider, to become on continuous improvement and Quality, this supplier
distribution organisation and and stay a sustainable projects. We challenge our will have a strong focus on
eliminate any negative impact company. In close cooperation logistics service providers innovation (technological and
our distribution activities may with our logistics partners we to do better every day. Our social), can adapt to short
have on the environment want to change the European transport management and mid-long term changes
by 2020, in order to reach transportation market from a system “Eyefreight” enables in the market place and is
Mission Zero. short term leverage market to us to monitor our KPI’s on demonstrating commitment
a long term sustainable market (Service) Performance, Profit to become a sustainable
Our European distribution focusing on the 4 P’s. Market and Planet. Annually targets partner. Sustainability
model is based on the 4 developments and financial for KPI’s will be agreed and should be a key element in
P’s; Performance (service), performance of our logistics the progress on these KPI’s their strategy. Our perfect
Planet, People and Profit. We service providers are reviewed is reviewed in our quarterly suppliers will be or become
have developed a supplier on a quarterly basis. Through review meetings. leaders in the sustainable
assessment model in which collaboration we focus on European transportation
our suppliers are assessed eliminating supply chain costs. market, implementing new
on criteria linked to these 4 sustainable logistics concepts,
P’s. Examples of these criteria for example: multi modal
are: Green Fleet composition, transportation and trucks
driver training programmes, using alternative fuels.
experience with alternative
fuels, profitability etc.

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If you want to know more,
please go to
www.interfaceflor.eu/transport
For more information about
our products please visit
www.interfaceflor .eu