Cradle-to-Cradle is one of the several “lifecycle models” that guide the scope and methodology of Life Cycle Assessments. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is THE scientific method to measure all environmental impacts of a product.

Cradle-to-Cradle includes all 5 life stages in your footprint measurements.  It shows a full footprint from start to end without the option to recycle or reuse.      

Cradle-to-Gate only assesses a product’s footprint until it leaves the factory gates before it is transported to the consumer 

‘Cradle-to-Grave’ assessment considers impacts at each stage of a product’s life-cycle, from the time natural resources are extracted from the ground and processed through each subsequent stage of manufacturing, transportation, product use, and ultimately, disposal.

Biobased products are commercial or industrial goods to be composed in whole or in significant part of biological products.

BREEAM stands for Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method. It is a certification system that assesses the sustainability of buildings. It was developed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in the UK and is now used worldwide.

BREEAM certification assesses buildings on various aspects, such as energy consumption, water use, waste management, transport, material use, health and comfort. The aim is to make buildings more sustainable and thereby have a positive impact on the environment and the health of their occupants.

When we talk about durability in flooring, we’re addressing the floor’s ability to withstand wear and tear, offering long-lasting performance, and maintaining its structural integrity. But in today’s environmentally conscious world, it’s equally important to consider sustainability in this context.

Sustainability and durability in flooring go hand in hand, forming a harmonious balance that not only ensures a floor’s longevity but also its minimal environmental impact.

An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) transparently reports objective, comparable and third party verified data about products and services’ environmental performances from a life cycle perspective.  It is by NO means an environmental certificate as such.  Among others it describes the origin of the raw materials used and the carbon footprint of the product.

Fossil based products are commercial or industrial goods to be composed in whole or in significant part of petrochemical products.

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is the first international label with strict requirements for sustainable and social forest management, supported by governments, companies and environmental organisations. It has two levels, with FSC 100% guaranteeing that the wood comes entirely from responsibly managed forests.

Greenwashing is the process of conveying a false impression or misleading information about how a company’s products are environmentally sound.

Homogeneous vinyl flooring is the one single layer flooring with same content from top to bottom made by same mixed raw materials.

Heterogeneous vinyl flooring is a type of multi-layered synthetic flooring. Made from materials like plastic, fiberglass and PVC, vinyl flooring typically comes in planks, tiles or sheets that can then be assembled. A core layer, potentially with an underlay or backing, makes up the bulk of the floor. Over this is an image layer, which can mimic a multitude of materials including wood and ceramic. A top wear layer of varying thickness protects the sublayers from damage. You want to choose for a sustainable solution? Than vinyl is not advisable.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the world’s most widely used green building rating system. LEED certification provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings, which offer environmental, social and governance benefits.

Currently, there is no universal threshold for ‘low embodied carbon’ in flooringmaterials. After discussing this research with experts, we have set a rigorous standard that can meet 2030 emission  goals. These products, labeled with ‘LEC’, embody below 5kg of CO2 per square meter.

We are using the definition of “Healthy Materials Lab at Parsons School of Design” in New York, a leading authority on this subject.

Linoleum is a floor covering primarily made from natural materials such as linseed oil and or other vegetable oils, resin, ground cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers, produced in a factory on a roll or liquid applied on site.

Luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) is a PVC / Vinyl floor made with photo prints to resemble wood, stone, or other types of flooring.

PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) flooring, commonly referred to as Vinyl, has become a widespread choice for residential and commercial spaces.  While PVC flooring offers numerous benefits, it is essential to consider its environmental impact.  PVC is a fossil based product and contributes high on the carbon footprint ladder.

One of the primary concerns with PVC flooring is its production process, which involves the use of chlorine gas and the release of harmful byproducts, such as dioxins.  The manufacturing of PVC flooring is energy intensive.  Additionally, the disposal of PVC flooring can be problematic.  When PVC flooring reaches the end of its life cycle and is incinerated or sent to landfills, it can release toxic chemicals into the environment, further impacting air and soil quality. 

Another issue with PVC flooring is that for many years it contained phthalates, which are plasticizers used to make the material more flexible.  Phthalates have been linked to health concerns, particularly in children, and their presence in PVC flooring can pose risks to indoor air quality.  Leading manufacturers have changed to so called non-phthalate plasticizers, being the diester of turophilic acid and 2-ethylhexanol, known for chemical similarity to phthalates.

While PVC flooring remains a practical choice for many due to its affordability and durability, it’s essential to consider its environmental drawbacks and explore more eco-friendly alternatives.  Taking steps towards responsible consumption and disposal of PVC flooring can help mitigate its adverse influence on the environment.

A thermoplastic resilient floor covering mostly made from fossil based materials without the harmful polyvinylchloride

The Living Building Challenge * “Red List” represents the “worst in class” materials, chemicals, and elements known to pose serious risks to human health and the greater ecosystem that are prevalent in the building products industry.  The international Living Future Institute believes that these materials should be phased out of production due to human and/or environmental health and toxicity concerns.

Click here for more information.

A renewable resource is a resource that can be replenished naturally over time. As a result, it is sustainable despite its consumption by humankind.

According to the Resilient Floor Covering Institute, or RFCI:

Resilient flooring is defined like this, “a non-textile floor that provides underfoot comfort and characteristically bounces back from repeated traffic or compression.”

Basically, resilient flooring is anything where the wear surface is non-textile, non-wood, and non-stone – therefore anything that is not carpet, hardwood, laminate, stone, ceramic, or concrete.

Resilient floors are:  PVC/Vinyl, Non-PVC, Rubber, and Linoleum

A fossil based resilient floorcovering produced on rolls or tiles with high mechanical properties. Equipped with the Redlist Free Label. Also available in bio-based liquid version.

In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Fossil based products made from non-renewable resources like PVC/Vinyl and rubber do not comply with this definition.  Durability is often mis-used for sustainability.  Durability can contribute to sustainability but it is not the same.

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, on 12 December 2015. It entered into force on 4 November 2016.

Its overarching goal is to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”

However, in recent years, world leaders have stressed the need to limit global warming to 1.5°C by the end of this century.

That’s because the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that crossing the 1.5°C threshold risks unleashing far more severe climate change impacts, including more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves and rainfall.

To limit global warming to 1.5°C, greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030.

The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all nations together to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.