Calhoun, Ga.—Mohawk Industries has a long history of introducing sustainable products that have influenced consumer preferences. More recently, the company was the only flooring manufacturer to be ranked among America’s Climate Leaders by USA Today. Mohawk’s sustainable products are well known to retailers and consumers, but the sustainability initiatives that are reducing the company’s carbon footprint may be less familiar.
Mohawk’s commitment to sustainability extends across all product categories and has been a priority for the company’s leadership team. “Sustainability is a core part of Mohawk’s business strategy,” said Jeff Lorberbaum, Mohawk chairman and CEO. In fact, he has stated on multiple occasions that doing good for the environment and people is also good for business. “We are fully committed to doing what is best for our employees, customers and the planet to optimize our long-term potential.”
To that end, Mohawk remains focused on creating new products to excite consumers and also on improving operational processes to reduce its impact on the planet. “Our employees are committed to these principles as we work together to advance our sustainability leadership and bring new innovation to flooring,” Lorberbaum. stated. “They challenge one another to identify new processes to conserve resources and reduce waste. Every new idea we implement leads to additional possibilities, and the potential is unlimited.”
Lorberbaum noted that for retailers, Mohawk’s sustainable products are the most readily apparent aspect of the company’s sustainability platform, though they are far from the only way the business is addressing environmental and social issues.
“Our philosophy is reflected in the products we bring to market, how we enhance the well-being and careers of our employees and our efforts to improve the quality of life for those in our communities,” Lorberbaum said. “We are committed to leaving our children a cleaner, more sustainable world by lowering our carbon footprint. Across the business, we have reduced our consumption of water and electricity, and we have invested in green energy production (solar, wind and biomass) on four continents.”
To execute the company’s sustainability strategy consistently across the global enterprise, Mohawk has elevated Malisa Maynard to the position of chief sustainability officer. Maynard joined Mohawk’s Flooring North America segment in 2021 after two decades of environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) leadership roles at multiple manufacturing companies. She also provided expertise and insight on the sustainability, climate and environmental committees of numerous national trade organizations.
“During her tenure at Mohawk, Malisa has facilitated collaboration across the business, championed new best practices and standardized existing ones,” Lorberbaum stated. “She has built consensus around key policies and practices and increased the scope and scale of how we measure progress toward our ESG goals. The quantifiable impact of her efforts led to a significant increase in third-party rankings of Mohawk as an industry leader in sustainable products and processes.”
In addition to leading the Mohawk’s global sustainability strategy and teams, Maynard will partner with operations, engineering, finance, product development, marketing and human resources teams to increase alignment and optimize the company’s global efforts for carbon reduction, product circularity, resource conservation and commitments to workplace excellence.
“Our sustainability story has grown through the years, and we are all working to make that story easier to share with customers and consumers,” Maynard stated. “People immediately link Mohawk to recycling bottles to create EverStrand carpet, and we are the largest recycler of plastic bottles in the industry (billions per year) and one of the largest in the world. However, that’s only part of our story. We have recycled content in ceramic tile, laminate, LVT, sheet vinyl, door mats and carpet cushion. As exciting as our recycling story is, that is only one aspect of our commitment to building a better future.”
As an example of how previously used materials can be recycled into a new value-added product, Maynard highlighted Mohawk’s RevWood and UltraWood collections. The boards that comprise the core of these products contain more than 90% recycled wood. If burned or sent to a landfill, this wood would release stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to the climate changes that are impacting the planet. By extending the lifecycle of previously harvested wood, Mohawk also avoids the need to harvest additional trees, keeping more carbon out of the atmosphere.
“Just as Mohawk took the lead with recycled content in its products, we are taking the lead on reducing our carbon footprint,” Maynard noted. “We’re doing that through green energy production; co-generating heat and power; reducing our energy consumption overall; enhancing logistics efficiencies; and increasing our use of recycled wood in products, which keeps carbon dioxide stored rather than released into the atmosphere.”
Mohawk expects the transition to sustainable products will accelerate. “During my career, I’ve seen an increased interest in sustainability among consumers because they see these issues as important in their lives, where they live and where they work,” Maynard explained. “They want healthy products. They want products that are good for the planet. They want to support recycling. They want products that last a long time and that do not need strong chemicals to be cleaned. They want to buy from companies that do the right thing. Those are reasonable propositions, and we are aligned with all of them.”