FIRST: Vance Bell and Randy Merritt held their first joint press conference since taking the reins at Shaw Industries on Sept. 1. Bell, CEO, and Merritt, president, held the meeting at the company’s headquarters in Dalton and rolled out Green Edge, an initiative that includes Shaw’s environmental programs. Both executives stressed Shaw’s leadership role in the recycling process and its commitment to protect the environment. “We are the same company doing the same thing,” said Bell, “an organization of 32,000 people focused on helping the customer while conserving resources and re-using products. Our culture is one of integrity, honesty and hard work, built over many years—and it will continue.”

MORE: Some of the statistics are staggering. Since 2003, Shaw has saved the energy equivalent of 119,795 barrels of oil or enough energy to run 3,692 homes for a year. At current prices for a barrel of oil, that’s more than seven million bucks. It gets better. Since 1995, Shaw’s “greening” of its manufacturing process, which reduces the use of natural resources, allows it to make 75% more carpet per cubic foot of natural gas, more than twice as much per gallon of water, and nearly seven times as much per gallon of fuel oil. Shaw is very dedicated to its environmental initiatives, of which there are currently more than 100 the company has going on—and the number keeps increasing, and which are embraced by all employees. “All our efforts to keep the environment healthy is not what we do,” Merritt told the editors, “it’s who we are.” He defined the company quite eloquently.

SURVEY: WebVisible of Irvine, Calif., conducted a study with Nielsen/Net Ratings of 3,000 Internet users to learn how they find local service providers on the Internet. The results were revealing; here are some of the highlights: 70% said they used the Internet to search for a local service, 46% said they searched for a local vendor in the past 90 days, 89% are happy with the results when they search the Internet locally for services, 54% referred a friend to a vendor found online, 68% said they would use the phone number listed on a Web site to contact a vendor, and only 16% said they would contact a vendor through e-mail. The Internet is truly a potent shopping tool.

HONOR: At the annual conference of the Premier Design Association in China, Milliken Floor Covering was named one of the 10 most trusted brands in that country. At a presentation ceremony, the award was accepted by David Caples, president of the Milliken Floor Covering Division, who pledged his company “will continue its international legacy of design, quality and sustainable practices in China.” Hunter Douglas was among the other companies recognized by the association.

RETURN: The Long Island Floor Covering Association (LIFCA) is returning to a tradition that it enjoyed many years ago. On Jan. 17, it will hold its installation of officers dinner at the Woodbury Country Club, a venue it frequented regularly in the past. The affair will start at 7 p.m. and will feature Keith Campbell, chairman of the board of Mannington Mills and chairman of the Floor Covering Industry Foundation (FCIF), as keynote speaker. Tickets for the affair are $75, which includes dinner and an open bar. All proceeds generated by the event will be donated to the FCIF, which financially assists members of our industry who are catastrophically stricken or experiencing a life-altering hardship. For more information or to order tickets, visit lifca@optonline.net.