Markham, Ontario, Canada—Mohawk Group’s Lichen carpet plank collection, which merges leading concepts in biophilic design and sustainability, was recently honored by BGIS with the Sustainable Product Award at its An Inspired Future event. The accolade was given at the fifth biennial conference, which took place last week at the Hilton Markham Suites & Conference Centre here.
“BGIS is proud to have a roster of forward-thinking innovative suppliers who can provide the best in sustainability for our clients,” said John Castelhano, senior director, strategic sourcing and procurement, BGIS North America, who presented the award.
Each year, An Inspired Future provides an open forum for decision makers in the corporate real estate industry to gather as leaders in sustainability to collaborate, showcase and inspire. At this year’s event, more than 500 financial and real estate executives from retail, government, telecommunication and technology sectors met with key BGIS team members and suppliers for the one-day summit.
Designed by Jason F. McLennan, founder of the Living Product Challenge, and his team at McLennan Design, the Lichen collection is inspired by the idea of “Nature’s Carpet,” assemblages of multi-hued, multi-textured lichens and their regenerative role in the ecosystem. Lichen is the first floor covering in the world to achieve Living Product Challenge Petal Certification, a product certification program, advocacy tool and philosophy developed by the International Living Future Institute to define the most advanced measure of sustainability in product manufacturing today.
“Lichen is the perfect melding of sustainability and design that cultivates a unique connection point for CRE end users with Mother Nature,” said George Bandy, Mohawk’s vice president of sustainability. “Our sense of responsibility to product transparency encourages us daily to look for ways we can meaningfully set the bar higher through innovative products with reduced environmental and social impacts. We are honored and delighted that this collection has been recognized by the Canadian CRE community.”
The creation and specifying of Lichen has a net positive impact for people and the environment through innovations in materials, manufacturing and community involvement, including a three-year water conservation strategy with Morehouse College in Atlanta. Leaving a “handprint” rather than a footprint, the Lichen collection is on track to give more resources back to the environment than it uses during its entire life cycle.
Lichen has been met with acclaim in a variety of segments and architecture and design circles. Since its debut last summer, Lichen has been honored in the modular carpet category with a Best of NeoCon Gold Award and an Interior Design Best of Year Award, as well as Nightingale Awards for healthcare (Best of Competition and Carpet, Gold). Additionally, it was named an Interior Design Best of Year Green Innovation honoree.