The theme of environmental respect, which falls within the broader framework of sustainable development, has assumed particular importance in recent years, especially with regard to the aspect of deterioration of the natural environment as a consequence of human activities.

In the mid-1990s the flooring industry began looking for ways to make operations less harmful to the environment within the concept of the circular economy.

Customers are examining the environmental impact a product has throughout its life cycle; they take into account raw materials, how they are produced and the ability of end users to recycle them.

The aim is to minimize the overall “environmental footprint” of a floor covering.

In fact, Samuel Bracken, vice president of marketing at the Mohawk Group, said: “The first thing we can do to improve or minimize our environmental footprint is to create products with a long life cycle.”
Furthermore, more than 2.5 billion tonnes of waste are produced every year in the European Union. The EU is updating waste management legislation to promote the transition towards a circular economy, as an alternative to the current linear economic model.

Floors are an important part of companies and buildings and renovation with industrial flooring with the installation of quality material can give the building added value

From the European Parliament
“The circular economy is a model of production and consumption that involves sharing, borrowing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible. This extends the life cycle of the products, helping to reduce waste to a minimum. Once the product has finished its function, the materials of which it is made are reintroduced, where possible, into the economic cycle. Thus they can be continuously reused within the production cycle, generating further value."