Calhoun, Ga.—Mohawk’s 13th annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report highlights the company’s internal and external partnerships that are driving its commitment to achieving a better tomorrow together. The report is now available online.
“During Climate Week NYC, we announced a unique collaboration with the International Future Living Institute (IFLI) and shared stories about Mohawk’s progress in reducing CO2 emissions; delivering more carbon neutral products; lowering our water consumption through advanced manufacturing processes and optimizing product circularity,” said Malisa Maynard, vice president of sustainability, Mohawk.
According to the company, that theme of partnerships and sharing good ideas runs throughout Mohawk’s new ESG Report, which includes stories about people, products and processes from around the globe. The report provides detailed data about Mohawk’s sustainability initiatives while highlighting the impact of new and ongoing projects.
“While our report addresses environmental, social and governance topics, the commitment to being part of the climate change solution is at the forefront,” Maynard said. “Across the enterprise, Mohawk is implementing a decarbonization strategy through measurable, science-based targets.”
In 2021, three of Mohawk’s business units took ownership of climate-related commitments. Mohawk Group signed The Climate Pledge to achieve net zero carbon by 2040, a decade ahead of the Paris Accord timeline. In July 2022, Unilin Group submitted its emission reduction targets for validation and approval by the Science Based Targets initiative. Godfrey Hirst obtained carbon neutrality certification through the Australian government’s Climate Active program. These steps are all part of the overall company goal of reducing scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, disclosing scope 3 emissions and developing science-based targets by 2024, according to the company.
For the end user, Mohawk said its ESG Report reinforces the company’s commitment to sustainable products that help to preserve natural resources and support better living and working environments.
Carpet
Mohawk’s residential carpet collections offer consumers renewable (wool), recycled (EverStrand polyester from billions of plastic bottles) and bio-based (SmartStrand) fiber options while delivering unsurpassed style and performance. In commercial flooring, Mohawk Group offers the industry’s largest portfolio of Red List Free products and has achieved by far the lowest water consumption in the production of carpet tile, according to the company.
Ceramic tile
More than 99% of the company’s ceramic floor and wall tile collections contain recycled or reclaimed materials, according to Mohawk. In North America, Dal-Tile said its ceramic tile manufacturing plants recover and reuse wastewater generated in the production process, preventing 125 million gallons from entering local municipal water treatment facilities.
Resilient
Every year, Mohawk’s domestic resilient flooring manufacturing reclaims thousands of tons of PVC materials destined for landfills and transforms the material into the backing for beautiful luxury vinyl tile (LVT) flooring, with commercial LVT utilizing 100% post-industrial recycled content, according to the company.
Laminate/wood
More than 90% of the wood used in Mohawk’s U.S. premium laminate flooring is recycled content. The company said its flooring is sustainably sourced from well-managed forests.
In addition to product and process enhancements, Mohawk said it remains focused on reinvesting in team members around the globe through award-winning training and development programs. Mohawk also said it continues to deliver accessibility to affordable health care through on-site, near-site and virtual clinics, which include resources to support mental health needs. This year’s report again highlights women in leadership, showcasing a grassroots Dal-Tile initiative that creates mentorship opportunities to build the next generation of leaders.
“We are proud of all that our team members around the world are accomplishing as we pursue ambitious goals in many areas,” Maynard said. “Our progress toward our goals has been substantive as we have worked together to find innovative solutions to enhance our performance. We recognize we still have much work to do and we continue to listen and learn as we strive for continuously better results. We welcome feedback on the ESG report as a part of our ongoing efforts to improve and grow.”