Solon, Ohio—Tarkett recently expanded its sustainability team, evidence of its ongoing commitment to environmentally responsible products and operations. The additions to the sustainability team include Rachel Palopoli, director of circular economy, and Rachel Berkin, sustainability product manager.
As director of circular economy, Palopoli will oversee the Tarkett take-back program, ReStart, which has collected over 112,000 tons of vinyl, linoleum and carpet globally since 2010. With more than 20 years of recycling experience, Palopoli will evaluate and establish take-back pathways for each product type, as well as evaluate internal waste streams.
“We need to make sure we are leading with the end in mind, designing products that can be recycled at the end of their lives so that we protect and preserve our planet for future generations,” she said. “One of my goals is to collaborate across all divisions to ensure that we are leading with sustainability on all fronts.”
Whereas Palopoli will focus on products’ end-life, Berkin will help uphold the rigorous sustainability standards Tarkett has set throughout product conception. This includes facilitating the implementation of healthy materials, product certifications and related processes, working with both internal and external partners.
“Engaging with our sales team and clients is an imperative part of the process to ensure we are exceeding the industry’s sustainability expectations,” Berkin said. “I am proud to work with a company that is deeply committed to corporate sustainability, transparency and setting strong sustainability targets.”
Earlier last year, Tarkett announced its Climate Roadmap for 2030, which includes a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% across its entire value chain by 2030—in full alignment with the Paris Climate Agreement objective to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celcius. To provide full visibility into these efforts, Tarkett has been evaluated and assessed by the independent organization Science Based Targets (SBTi) to confirm its reduction targets, which includes emissions from its own activities (Scope 1) and its purchased energy (Scope 2)—as well as those arising from the rest of its value chain, from suppliers to end customers (Scope 3).
Over the last decade, Tarkett has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 38% (Scope 1 and 2) through a combination of renewable electricity, closed-loop water systems and the responsible sourcing of raw materials, and is now accelerating that progress under the 2030 Climate Roadmap. The company recently achieved an A- score by CDP, representing the second highest level of maturity a company can reach at the world’s leading climate performance platform.
In addition to sustainability, Tarkett has also taken recent steps to further elevate design at the forefront of product development. Since September, Omoleye Simmons has led these efforts as vice president of design for the company’s commercial business, a newly created role to demonstrate Tarkett’s commitment to leading the industry in on-trend flooring solutions for any space.
Simmons welcomed the addition of Rachelle Roberts as director of design for soft surface. In her role, Roberts will be responsible for directing the design development of impactful soft surface products. Along with several key design initiatives, Roberts will collaborate with the entire product design team to develop coordinated flooring solutions for all market segments, focusing heavily on education, workplace and senior living environments.