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Sustainability

Our Commitment
Our Initiatives
Our Sustainable Products
Our Awards/Certifications
Our Sustainability Update
  

OUR SUSTAINABILITY UPDATE


>News:
   Innovation and Success

>Progress Report:
  Sustainability Initiatives

>Product Profile:
  Migrations BioBased Flooring

NEWS

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Revitalizing Our Forests
At Armstrong, we are committed to protecting forests and promoting responsible forest management practices. During 2008, in partnership with the Hardwood Forestry Fund (HFF), Armstrong funded tree planting and forest regeneration projects as part of our Forest Management Sustainability Initiative to replenish what we harvest.

We planted hardwood species including red oak, white oak, black cherry, walnut, maple and birch at Tygarts State Forest in Carter County, Kentucky, near our wood plant in Somerset; Devil’s Lake State Park in Wisconsin; and Salamonie River State Forest in Indiana. We supported a major black cherry regeneration project at Kumbrabow State Forest in West Virginia, near our wood plant in Beverly.

Transforming Waste into “White Gold”
At Armstrong, we’re putting Our Sustainability Initiatives to work in our manufacturing processes. One example is an innovative technique pioneered at our plant in Macon, Georgia, that transforms ceiling product waste into a vital soil component.

We use perlite, a natural volcanic rock, to make ceiling tiles. Horticulturists use perlite to aerate and optimize moisture retention in soil.  The Environment, Health and Safety Group at the Macon Plant realized there may be an agricultural use for perlite-rich waste streams.

After extensive testing, we now convert waste that contains perlite into a soil amendment for local sod and hay farms. It’s a win-win solution – the waste doesn’t go to a landfill, and the farms’ water, energy and fertilizer costs are reduced. One sod farm saves $2,000 a month due to less water use.

Protecting a River in Shanghai
Even though it would have been acceptable local practice to discharge wastewater into the Hanpu River from our new wood plant near Shanghai, at Armstrong, we didn’t think it was the right thing to do.

Dung Dao, general manager of the Shanghai Plant, made sure that no wastewater was discharged into the river by building a temporary septic system. Then he and Environment, Health and Safety Manager Daniel Yang and Engineering and Maintenance Manager Sam Xuan worked closely with government officials to accelerate a proper sewer connection.

“We will continue to operate with respect for the environment, and do our part to protect the natural resources where we work and live,” said Dung Dao.

[More News]

Recycling more than 60 million square feet of old tiles
Since we started our pioneering ceiling recycling program in 1999, an industry first, Armstrong has recycled more than 60 million square feet of ceiling tiles -- enough to cover nearly 1,250 football fields. This total also represents 60 million pounds, or more than 8,500 30-cubic-yard dumpsters full of old ceiling product that would have been taken to landfills.

According to Joann Davis Brayman, vice president of marketing for commercial ceilings, “The recycling program is designed to help our customers reduce their impact on the environment by redirecting used ceiling tiles from landfills back to Armstrong, thereby creating a closed-loop manufacturing process and offering a valuable end to what typically would have been thrown away.”

Armstrong has the broadest portfolio of ceilings that meet key environmental criteria. Our ceilings are recyclable and contain both post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled content. They also contribute to indoor environmental quality because of their low emissions and acoustical properties.

Winning for sustainability in Australia
Armstrong Floor Products – Australia received two major sustainability honors:
  • the National 2007 Greenhouse Challenge Plus Award for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and;
  • Gold status registration as a Waste Wise Member for environmental sustainability by the State of Victoria’s Sustainability Victoria.

Mike Jenkins, vice president – Southern Asia/Pacific, said, “We have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 23 percent over five years. This means our two Australian floor plants keep 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the air annually. This is a testament to our people’s outstanding efforts, and Armstrong’s commitment to leadership in the sustainability arena.”

We manufacture commercial resilient flooring at two floor plants in Victoria, in Thomastown and Braeside, both near Melbourne. In 2007, these plants recycled 300 tons of post-consumer and post-industrial waste—water bottles, paper, plastic shopping bags and vinyl flooring scraps. For those efforts, AFP-Australia also received the Keep Australia Beautiful Sustainable Cities Litter & Waste Management Award in 2006 and their Zero Waste Award in 2007.

Protecting the world’s tropical forests
At Armstrong, we are committed to protecting forests and to promoting responsible forest management practices.

Armstrong and the Tropical Forest Foundation (TFF) are working together to identify ways that the tropical timber companies can use reduced-impact logging, an internationally recognized system to minimize the ecological impact of logging and ensure healthy forests.

We require our wood suppliers to adhere to all applicable laws and regulations, including those covering raw materials.  Less than five percent of the Company’s wood purchases come from tropical forests. In those instances, Armstrong requires suppliers to provide documentation verifying their adherence to national and international rules and regulations governing tropical wood species.

“Armstrong is an integral part of an important international leadership effort to preserve and protect precious ecological systems, benefit the environment and promote the responsible use of natural resources,” says O. Keister Evans, executive director of the Tropical Forest Foundation.


PROGRESS REPORT

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Energy and Greenhouse Gases
Armstrong spent 2007 quantifying its global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol from the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council on Sustainable Development. With 40 manufacturing facilities on four continents, this was an important but lengthy review. Our use of renewable wind power on our Corporate Campus is one of the ways we’ll reach our goal of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions 10% by 2015. That effort alone is the equivalent of planting 149,000 trees or removing 300 automobiles from the road.

Water
Our goal is to reduce fresh water use 10% by 2015. In Australia, our Thomastown Flooring Plant has reduced water use 33% by recycling and reusing waste water, enhancing maintenance, and replacing inefficient systems. Our Braeside Flooring Plant installed a rainwater collection tank to reduce water use by 8%.

Forest Management
Our goal is to support sustainable forest management practices globally, including planting trees to replenish what we harvest. In 2008, we aligned with the Tropical Forest Foundation (TFF) to establish chain-of-custody management systems with offshore suppliers. Domestically, we partner with the Hardwood Forestry Fund (HFF) on tree plantings and forest regeneration projects.

Our Vicksburg, Mississippi Wood Flooring Plant was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA) certified Armstrong Cabinet Products through its Environmental Stewardship Program.

Click here for more information on Our Sustainability Initiatives.


PRODUCT PROFILE

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Migrations™ BioBased Tile™

 Migrations BBT features BioStride™, a breakthrough patent-pending polymer developed from rapidly renewable materials grown in the U.S.



Developed at Armstrong’s Technology and Innovation Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Migrations BBT offers a host of advantages, including:



  • Resilience: In tests comparing it to standard composition tile, Migrations BBT demonstrates five times more impact resistance and two-and-a-half times more crack resistance.
  • Beauty: With a wide range of colors and styles, Migrations BBT enhances any room.
  • No PVC or plasticizers: Migrations BBT reduces the reliance on petroleum and fossil fuels.

LEED credits: The use of Migrations BBT contributes to LEED credits EQ4.3, MR4.0, MR6.0 and, depending on location, MR5.0.