Article Number : 3830 |
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| Date | 11/6/2008 7:56:45 AM |
| Written By | LGM & Associates Technical Flooring Services |
| View this article at: | //floorbiz.com/BizResources/NPViewArticle.asp?ArticleID=3830 |
| Abstract | With a green priority in mind, J&J / Invision, a family-owned and-operated commercial carpet manufacturer, has taken numerous measures to ensure maximum sustainability... |
| Article | With a green priority in mind, J&J / Invision, a family-owned and-operated commercial carpet manufacturer, has taken numerous measures to ensure maximum sustainability. The company is committed to a leadership role in protecting the environment and has recently become certified under ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 14001. The certification exemplifies J&J / Invision’s corporate commitment to reducing pollution and minimizing the company’s environmental impact on air, water and land. In response to a need for an organized environmental program, J&J / Invision created EnAct, an organization-wide focus on reducing, recycling, reusing and creating a healthier, more sustainable environment. The goal of EnAct is to diminish the environmental impact of the company’s facilities by reducing waste of raw materials, energy and water in every department of the business. The company continually seeks to recycle or reuse whenever possible. ecoScorecard is just one of the company’s environmental initiatives included in the EnAct program. J&J / Invision is the first commercial carpet manufacturer to provide ecoScorecard, an Internet-based tool enabling architects, designers and end users to search, evaluate and document products based on varied environmental parameters. This tool provides an objective evaluation based on a wide array of accepted protocols. Within seconds, the user sees a comprehensive account of how the product contributes to selected environmental criteria. Two EnAct recycling initiatives, R4 and the Carpet Reclamation Program, offer J&J / Invision customers an opportunity to take action. Created with the goal that no architect folders or carpet samples will reach a landfill, the R4 (Return, Reuse, Recycle, Reduce) program means the company will take back all architect folders and samples, regardless of manufacturer, and guarantee they will not be landfilled. To date in 2008, the company has processed more than 40,000 pounds of materials, of which 42% were restocked on the shelves to be reused. With the Carpet Reclamation Program, J&J / Invision will take worn carpet and guarantee it will not reach a landfill, regardless of the original manufacturer, type or fiber content. The company strives to find the most beneficial end use for reclaimed carpet and will facilitate the containers and shipping. Another recent addition to the EnAct program is an agreement with Dow Chemical to purchase latex backing made with Lomax technology. The backing is created using landfill gases as renewable energy. This new partnership allows the company to participate in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 27 million pounds annually from local landfills. This amount of captured greenhouse gas would have the same impact on the climate as eliminating carbon dioxide emissions of approximately 2,300 cars per year. An additional component of EnAct is called Campus Green, which involves all employees and ranges from supporting local and national non-profits to recycling post-industrial solution dyed nylon extrusion waste and implementing a virtual sample program. |