Article Number : 2715 |
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| Date | 11/27/2007 8:50:41 AM |
| Written By | LGM & Associates Technical Flooring Services |
| View this article at: | //floorbiz.com/BizResources/NPViewArticle.asp?ArticleID=2715 |
| Abstract | Chicago—If there were any doubts as to the validity of the “green movement,” they were erased earlier this month when an overbooked crowd of 22,835—a 72% increase over last year—packed into McCormick Place West here to see the latest in eco-friendly products, tools, services and innovations at the a |
| Article | Chicago—If there were any doubts as to the validity of the “green movement,” they were erased earlier this month when an overbooked crowd of 22,835—a 72% increase over last year—packed into McCormick Place West here to see the latest in eco-friendly products, tools, services and innovations at the annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. Throw in a keynote address by former president Bill Clinton that was seen by more than 8,000 people and the seventh annual exhibition left everyone with an understanding of just how large this movement has become as well as the tremendous opportunities available. “Fifteen years ago green building was just a good idea, today it’s a global movement,” proclaimed Rick Fedrizzi, president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the non-profit organization that stages Greenbuild. The crowd, which included more than 1,000 green building leaders representing 51 countries, “underscores the excitement and passion that our movement has ignited,” he added. “We are changing minds. We’re challenging the old, and very tired story that going green costs more. It does not. We’re showing over and over again that you can create—and operate—a building that respects its occupants and community by using less energy and water, producing less CO2 and delivering healthier spaces, saving money in the process.” Fedrizzi pointed to a newly released study by the New Buildings Institute that reports buildings built to USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines tend to save on average 30% on energy over traditionally constructed buildings. “It’s no longer anecdotal folks—it’s real,” he said. “[The study] shows in figures that are documented, verified, statistically relevant and defensible. In light of record oil prices…the building and real estate industry is showing every other industry on this planet that you can go green and not only survive—but thrive.” Flooring stands out Among the 850-plus exhibitors at this year’s Greenbuild, the flooring industry showed the audience why it has been one of the main leaders in the environmental movement as manufacturers, associations and related businesses not only had swarms of people in their booths the entire show, but occupied some of the largest spaces on the show floor. “I’ve been doing trade shows for 35 years and this is incredible,” said John Blanton, national sales manager of Fritz Industries, maker of recycled glass floors as well as environmentally friendly underlayments and adhesives. “This is the premier show for what we want to do, and if there was only one market to go to each year, I’d do this one—the interest from the attendee is so sincere.” Manufacturers reported attendees filled the gamut of the building industry—from the architect and designer to building managers and from corporate and university executives to environmental lawyers. “It’s been a great cross section,” said Harry Brownett, vice president of sales and marketing for resilient maker LG Floors, which was showcasing its NatureLite line made with post-consumer and industrial recycled content. “This is a market where green transcends every product and thing; it involves everyone. And everyone is curious to learn as much as they can about how they can contribute to building more friendly working and living environments.” Milliken’s Bill Gregory, director of sustainable strategies, noted, “We’re seeing more developers and people from major companies coming in and trying to understand how to design and specify high-performance, environmentally friendly buildings. We’ve also had a huge influx of international inquiries.” Despite the incredible environmental advances made within the flooring industry in the last decade—in soft and hard surfaces—Kathy Young, director of design for Shaw Industries, added, “Most people are still trying to learn what is going on in green with floor coverings. They are interested in what the manufacturers are doing and gauging to see how responsible we all are.” With green now moving into the residential sector, she said there was also a great deal of interest in this area among attendees. “Residential is the next step forward as we had a lot of people inquire about what is happening in that area. They wanted to know how to find out more and where to go to purchase these products.” Armstrong’s a-‘maize’-ing Migrations While information was the number one item being sold at Greenbuild, a number of manufacturers used the show as a platform to launch new products. One of the biggest came from Armstrong World Industries, which debuted the fruition of a multi-year, multi-million dollar research and design project—Migrations BioBased Tile (BBT) with Biostride. Frank Ready, president and CEO of Armstrong Floor Products, said, “With BioStride, Armstrong has made a giant leap forward with the integration of rapidly renewable ingredients [such as corn] which reduces reliance on limited resources such as petroleum and fossil fuels.” BioStride provides the same or better performance attributes as vinyl polymers, yet has 13% bio-based content by weight. Available in January, Migrations also contains 10% pre-consumer recycled content, meets low VOC emissions in compliance with California 01350 and contributes or complies with a number of LEED credits. (Editor’s note: See related story on page one for full details.) Universal Textile Technologies (UTT) used Greenbuild to launch the EnviroCel family of carpet backings and cushions. Coming three years after the introduction of its BioCel backing technology, UTT’s Brian Medlin said EnviroCel technology replaces over 90% of the petroleum-based polymers in its polyurethane formula with bio-based polymers derived from domestically grown soybeans. He noted it also contains Celceram, a highly refined material recovered from the process of coal combustion in an electric utility power plant that has the added benefit of increasing carpets’ dimensional stability. And, three of the four EnviroCel backings incorporate post-consumer recycled PET plastic from beverage bottles. As with BioCel, which began UTT’s foray into using soybeans instead of oil, Medlin noted most major carpet manufacturers are incorporating EnviroCel into their new hospitality and high-end residential product offerings. Carpet standard Greenbuild was also the site for the official launch of NSF 140, the Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard for environmentally preferable building materials. Announced by the Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI) and NSF International, an independent, not-for-profit organization, committed to protecting public health and safety worldwide, NSF 140 is the first multi-attribute American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-approved standard to identify carpets that have a reduced environmental impact. This standard can be used to evaluate any carpet product, but is primarily intended for evaluation of commercial goods by providing a product evaluation methodology that is complementary to emerging commercial green building standards. It applies to carpets for all types of buildings, including commercial office, education, government, healthcare, hospitality and so on. (Editor’s note: See related story on page one for full details.) Looking for solutions Greenbuild was not just for flooring companies to exhibit their environmental products and initiatives; distributor and mill personnel were scouting the show and taking part in the vast amount of educational sessions being offered as they searched for new ideas to make their companies even greener. Diane Martel, vice president of marketing for Tarkett Commercial, was walking the aisles searching for waste management ideas for resilient products. “Being environmentally responsible is one of our strong points, and I’m looking for new things to keep us on the cutting edge.” This responsibility, she noted, has evolved down to the installed floors, specifically what to do with the old when it is taken up. “We have a pilot program in Texas where the floor covering is brought back to us. We grind it up and depending on the quality either reuse it in new products or mark it for use in other ways, such as in road beds and roofing.” Bob Weiss, president of All Tile, noted the distributor is heavily into the green movement. In fact, the company already offers a green package of products. Greenbuild was a way to not only check in with companies helping to supply this eco-friendly offering but see if there was anything that could be added to the wholesaler’s collection. “This is the future,” he concluded, “and our job is to stay in the forefront so we can give our customers products and services that differentiate.” |