Washington, D.C.—FCNews is on the scene here for the start of the inaugural Flooring Sustainability Summit 2024, an event that brings together key decision makers representing the flooring supply chain.
“Nearly half a decade ago we learned nothing like this existed; it’s long overdue,” Bill Griese, deputy executive director of the TCNA (Tile Council of North America) said in his opening remarks. “We have one simple goal at this summit: dialogue.”
With that Griese kicked off an opening keynote panel of leading authorities representing the architecture, interior design and green building community. Joining Griese (far left), were Peter Templeton, president/CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council; Vicki Worden, president/CEO of the Green Building Initiative; Alexander Cochran, chief advocacy officer, the American Institute of Architects and Cheryl Durst, executive Vice President/CEO, International Interior Design Association.
The panel set the stage for the first-of-its-kind summit, which aims to facilitate productive and insightful discussion of sustainability and green building practices. “Flooring is such an integral part of the design solution,” said Durst, whose organization includes 15,000 members in 58 countries. “Continue to invite designers into your world.” Cochran’s message to the flooring industry: “Think big, be bold. Come to the table not to sell a product but to think about making the person you are meeting with successful. We all need allies. The power of the community is better than the power of one.”
Prior to the summit, several flooring vendors set up tabletop exhibits during Tuesday’s evening reception. Here, Hector Narvaez, executive vice president with Stonepeak Ceramics, and Sofia Sabattini, marketing director, promote the brand’s H2 Factory, a new production facility based in Italy that will be powered by hydrogen and will produce large slabs in 4D ceramic as well as large full-body porcelain surfaces in thicknesses of 12mm and 20mm.