PE International, the sustainability experts and leaders on LCA, have written a case study about how at Interface we use LCA as a managament tool for product design, customer transparency, sales and marketing

1. Interface:
Using LCA to guide
their sustainability journey
Interface, the worldwide leader in design, production and sales of environmentally responsible modular carpet, uses GaBi
life cycle assessment software to understand its products’ environmental footprints, improve their performance, innovate
products, reduce risks and succeed in the marketplace.
Interface has been using GaBi software in-house to track and Commit to Transparency – Create product EPDs
improve its products’ life cycle performance since 2001. Life Interface’s recent pioneering pledge is to obtain Environmen-
cycle assessment (LCA) studies all the impacts throughout the tal Product Declarations (EPDs) for all its carpet products glob-
life of a carpet tile from extraction, production and manufac- ally by 2012, demonstrating its commitment to product trans-
turing, to transport, customer use, maintenance and disposal. parency. As of October 2011, Interface had completed EPDs for
It tells the entire story, revealing the environmental impacts at 90 % of its products, as measured by production volume. “With
every phase. Applying the results of a LCA clarifies where the the multitude of labels and claims in the marketplace, only
biggest improvements can be made in order to increase trans- EPDs offer full transparency and allow customers to evaluate
parency, innovate, expand product offerings, decrease cost and products based upon verified facts”, said Interface President
manage risk. and CEO, Dan Hendrix.

2. PE INTERNATIONAL AG Phone: +49 711 341817-0
Fax: +49 711 341817-25
Hauptstraße 111-113
70771 Leinfelden-Echterdingen gabi@pe-international.com
Germany www.gabi-software.com
New Product Creation – Ditch the glue began working with their suppliers to support their ‘off-oil’
Conducting an LCA of its modular carpet, Interface realized that efforts by providing recycled nylon whenever possible and en-
the adhesive presented a great opportunity for change because courages them to accept reclaimed fibre and turn it back into
it emitted a large amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). yarn, which is both cheaper and less damaging to the environ-
ment. Cost savings are passed on to consumers.
In 2006 Interface used this finding to create an entirely new
line of flooring adhesive – TacTiles – which eliminate the need
for this problematic adhesive. TacTile connectors adhere car- Total Life Cycle Global Warming Potential of a Carpet Tile (%)
pet tiles to one another, not the floor. TacTile connectors meet 68 %
LEED requirements for Low Emitting Materials. They also in-
crease the ease of removal and recyclability of the carpet tiles.
As of the end of 2011, sales of over 83 million TacTiles resulted Yarn 45 %
in the installation of some 21 million square metres of carpet.
Backing Compound 11 %
9 % 8 % 8 %
Product Innovation – Less is more Glasfleece and Tufting 7 %
6 %
Carrier
Another outcome of LCA has taught Interface that the largest Precoat Bonding
4 %
Layer
contributor to their environmental footprint comes from the Packing 1 %
nylon used in the yarn. Microtuft, a new product, has been de- Raw Material
1 %
Transport
signed using approximately 50 % less yarn to achieve equival- Raw materials Production Transport Customer use End of life
ent performance. Microtuft bridges the gap between a carpet
tile and hard floor and is among the highest growth products,
Factor 4 by using 100 % recycled nylon and less of it
already accounting for 13.2 % of Interface’s European sales.
By using 100 % recycled yarn, Interface tackled the single largest
contributor to environmental impact among all the raw ma-
Risk Management – Work with your suppliers
terials in a carpet tile. As a result, the Biosfera collection unites
An in-house LCA, which evaluated two types of virgin nylon as well
100 % recycled yarn with recycled materials in the backing. In
as recycled nylon, demonstrated that recycled nylon had a much
addition, by using Microtuft construction which needs an un-
smaller environmental footprint in all impact categories. Interface
usually low amount of yarn without compromising perfor-
mance, Biosfera Micro has achieved a factor 4 carbon footprint
reduction when compared with some of Interface’s products
from 1996. Interface aims to only use yarn derived from either
recycled or renewable sources by 2020.
»Everybody is talking about embedding sustainability. But sustain-
ability is not embedded until it is in your product. We measure
this using LCA and GaBi Software. Furthermore, LCA allows consistent
integration of sustainability standards such that what we tell our
customers is in line with what we ask of our suppliers.«
Ramon Arratia, Sustainability Director EMEAI / InterfaceFLOR