Leading floorcovering provider Shaw Industries released its 2016 sustainability report highlighting progress toward its 2030 sustainability goals and other key metrics and initiatives. Chief among its accomplishments, 85 percent of the products Shaw manufactures are now Cradle to Cradle Certified™ (based upon sales unit volume).

This achievement is a result of the recent addition of the company’s polyester carpet products to the expansive portfolio of Cradle to Cradle Certified products. Among the most rigorous third-party assessment programs in the world, Cradle to Cradle Certified signifies the company’s strong performance in material health as well as recyclability, energy, water and social fairness.

“This report reflects our daily quest to help create safe, healthy spaces that foster innovation, promote healing, encourage learning, and bring people together,” said Paul Murray, Shaw Vice President of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs. “We are dedicated to carefully evaluating each advance in technology, chemistry, manufacturing, and processes to ensure that we are good stewards, using shared resources wisely to meet the diverse needs of all those who step foot on our products.”

Titled Creating a Better Future (a reflection of Shaw’s corporate vision statement), the report covers Shaw’s comprehensive approach to sustainability. It demonstrates the company’s commitment to transparency and to being nimble and responsive to the market while focusing on achieving the ambitious 2030 sustainability goals.

Progress towards the company’s 2030 sustainability goals include:

• a 36 percent reduction in actual vs. modeled water intensity since 2011, toward a goal of 50 percent

• a 34 percent reduction in waste intensity since 2008, toward a goal of 100 percent

• a 25 percent reduction in actual vs. modeled Greenhouse Gas emissions intensity since 2010, toward a goal of 40 percent

• a 16 percent reduction in actual vs. modeled energy intensity since 2011, toward a goal of 40 percent

• a 40 percent reduction in OSHA incident rate since 2005, toward a goal of 100 percent

“Shaw is continuing to invest and evolve to succeed amidst ever accelerating change in every market in which we compete,” said Vance Bell, Shaw Chairman and CEO. “Sustainability will continue to be an important catalyst for the sort of innovation that will drive our enduring success.”

An industry leader and the largest employer in many of the communities in which it operates, Shaw plays a significant role in creating rewarding careers that contribute to economic prosperity. In 2016, the company:

• Opened a new carpet tile manufacturing facility in Adairsville, Ga. - an $85 million investment that adds production capacity and recycling capability. Currently employing more than 200 associates, more than 500 new jobs will be created at this facility once it reaches full capacity in the coming years.

• Broke ground on its Create Centre in Cartersville, Ga., a collaborative environment that will house approximately 150 marketing, design and innovation associates from the commercial division, slated for move-in by the end of 2017

• Further expanded its strong position in the resilient luxury vinyl tile and hard surface markets through the acquisition of USFloors

• Brought its $100 million resilient manufacturing facility in Ringgold, Ga. fully online. The facility, which will ultimately create more than 240 new jobs, currently employs more than 100 associates, with further expansions planned for 2017 in support of the USFloors business.

• Provided an average of 50 hours of training per associate – for a total of more than one million training hours. These and other associate programs and benefits contributed to Shaw being recognized among Forbes’ America’s Best Large Employers 2016, Elearning magazine’s Learning100! and Training magazine’s Top 125.

• Contributed more than 43,000 hours of volunteer time and more than $5.3 million to organizations that impact people’s lives in the communities where the company operates.

Shaw’s sustainability report follows the Global Reporting Initiative framework and is third-party assured by Deloitte & Touche, LLP.