Marietta, Ga.—Strengthening its dedication to environmental stewardship, Mohawk Industries announced receipt of a 2011 Virginia Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award (GEEA) in the “Project” category for its Glasgow, Va. manufacturing facility of Lees Carpets, a commercial brand of Mohawk.
Presented by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality during the Environment Virginia Symposium banquet at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., the GEEA annually honors leaders in environmental conservation that continue to pave the way in sustainable best practices and processes.
“At Mohawk, we are on a constant journey to identify ways in which we can make a positive impact on the environment and within the communities we work and live,” said Roger Miller, director of manufacturing at the Glasgow Plant. “Receiving the GEEA is further confirmation that, through our commitment to environmental management initiatives, we are succeeding — making steady progress toward further minimizing the environmental footprint of our organization and that of our industry here in Virginia and beyond.”
Mohawk received the award specifically for its efforts to ensure little to no impact to the environment surrounding the Glasgow manufacturing facility, which is situated along the headwaters of the James River, a tributary that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. Understanding the long history of nutrient pollution (phosphorus and nitrogen discharge) that has been shown to impact the water quality in the Bay and its tidal rivers, Mohawk adjusted its manufacturing processes to reduce the amount of phosphorous and nitrogen (nutrient pollutants) utilized within the carpet dying process. As a result of the fine tuning, Mohawk not only met the government-mandated compliance levels, but exceeded them by more than 50%.
For more information about Mohawk, visit mohawkgreenworks.com.
Additional information on the GEEA is available at deq.virginia.gov.