Glasgow, Va.—Mohawk Industries has been awarded LEED Gold certification for its renovated showroom at the commercial carpet tile manufacturing facility here. LEED is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Available for virtually all building, community and home project types, the rating system provides a framework to create healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings.
“LEED certification for our Glasgow showroom is another inspiring chapter in our company’s sustainability story,” said George Bandy, vice president of commercial marketing and sustainability for Mohawk Industries. “Our investment in the customer experience reinforces our dedication to better design, innovation, sustainability, project solutions and operational excellence. This commitment can be seen in how we approach the same rigorous certifications that our very products help customers achieve.”
The facility, located in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, manufactures carpet tile and plank for the flooring company’s Mohawk Group commercial brand. The renovated showroom, which showcases Mohawk Group’s carpet tile, broadloom and hard surface portfolio, will be used as an initial connection point for contract customers visiting the site as part of Mohawk’s mill tour experience and as meeting space for internal and external stakeholders. The re-envisioned showroom achieved LEED Gold by implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions aimed at achieving high performance in energy efficiency, materials selection, indoor environmental quality and other sustainable attributes.
“The Glasgow showroom LEED certification demonstrates Mohawk’s tremendous green building leadership,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO, U.S. Green Building Council. “Market transformation happens one building at a time. Mohawk understands the value of LEED and has long been a respected champion of sustainability, reshaping their sector. The success of LEED is due to the partnership and support of those committed to advancing green building and sustainability. Each new LEED certification brings us one step closer to revolutionizing our built environment, and to create a better future for all.”
The Mohawk team implemented several strategic operations in design and construction, including the following:
- All construction waste generated on-site was diverted from the landfill.
- All finishes used in the showroom’s interior are comprised of low-emitting materials.
- All appliances installed in the showroom space are ENERGY STAR certified.
- Virtually all showroom lighting fixtures include occupancy sensors.
- Only LED lighting was specified, helping to reduce lighting power by nearly 67% over code.
- Almost one third of materials taken from the original space were repurposed, salvaged and reused in the renovation.
“This certification is the perfect complement to our strides in corporate social responsibility and sustainability and the work done by our associates here in Glasgow,” said Todd Shail, vice president of commercial manufacturing. “Our Virginia plant employees pour their hearts into their work here—this showroom is a meaningful customer-facing representation of the innovation that takes place both inside and outside of the plant.”
Mohawk’s Glasgow facility has long been celebrated as a model of innovation and energy efficiency as the source of the world’s first Living Product Challenge Petal certified floorcovering, Lichen, as well as several hundred other Red List-free products. Investments like lighting retrofits and the replacement of aging boilers and ovens with new, more efficient ones have led to significant reductions in energy consumption at the plant. The Glasgow campus was recently recognized by the National Wildlife Federation as a Certified Wildlife Habitat. The plant is also home to six on-site beehives maintained by a production manager who is also a beekeeper. Additionally, the site provides rich connections to the natural world for the nearly 645 team members there, helping contribute to employee health and wellness.
For more information, visit MohawkSustainability.com.