Shaw Reaches Carbon Neutrality for Commercial Carpet Manufacturing

(Photo Credit: Shaw Industries)

by | May 21, 2018

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Shaw Industries carpet manufacturing

(Photo Credit: Shaw Industries)

Shaw Industries Group says that the company has achieved carbon neutrality in its commercial carpet manufacturing operations, encompassing all the commercial carpet manufacturing facilities they own and operate globally.

In order to achieve carbon neutrality for commercial carpet operations, Shaw first reduced its energy consumption, and then switched to cleaner fuels, the company explained. This meant producing renewable energy at its facilities, including those for Patcraft, Philadelphia Commercial, Shaw Contract, and STS.

The company also incentivized more renewable energy development and usage through the purchase of renewable energy credits. Five years ago, Shaw installed a 1-MW solar array on its carpet tile manufacturing facility in Cartersville, Georgia.

Companywide, greenhouse gas emissions have improved approximately 25% compared to 2010, the company reported. Shaw has a target of reducing the amount of energy it uses and the amount of GHG emissions it produces by 40% by 2030 per pound of finished product

“This is just one of a series of actions we have taken and will continue to take in line with our overall sustainability strategy and corporate vision,” said Shaw’s director of sustainability and product stewardship Troy Virgo.

Speaking with Environmental Leader last year, Shaw Industries’ director of energy and reliability engineering Charles Chapman said the company had taken a holistic view of energy efficiency and energy management.

“Our folks doing product development are looking at how they design and construct products to move to processes that are less energy intensive. I see more questions and engagement from our team on that side of the house in trying to understand,” he said. “Our next step is to say we’re going to go design a purpose-filled product that is as low an energy-intensive product as possible.”

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