Colourful carpets from a company with its focus set firmly on a green future

The headquarters of InterfaceFLOR are a riot of colour.

Bright carpet tiles in an array of different designs are a prominent feature of the building, and they are replaced several times a year to showcase the firm's latest designs to visitors.

On first impressions, this could be seen as a symbol of a modern, disposable and wasteful society. Yet that could not be further from the truth because the world's biggest commercial carpet manufacturer is one of the most committed to sustainability.

The company, which is part of US-based Interface, has sites in Shelf, West Yorkshire, and Northern Ireland as well as in Holland.

In 1995, the firm, whose customers include Yorkshire Water, Yorkshire Bank, Santander, HBOS and Bradford University, made a pledge to eliminate its impact on the environment by 2020, and is more than half-way there.

Lindsey Parnell, chief executive of InterfaceFLOR, said: "We started becoming sustainable in 1995 when it was very unpopular.

"The company's founder, Ray Anderson, was branded as a tree-hugging nutcase and people were asking where the value was for shareholders. But it was something he really believed in.

"It's not just a marketing exercise; anything we do has got to save us money and enable us to remain competitive."

The company manufactures more than 60 per cent of commercial office carpets in the UK and actively markets 64 ranges of carpet tiles, although it also has limitless custom-made possibilities.

The recession has inevitably had an impact on business. Turnover for the European operation is more than e200m (174m), which is 20 per cent below the high of 2007, but Mr Parnell insists the business, which employs about 200 people in Shelf, remains profitable.

"It has been a tough 18 months," he said. "We had a very good 2007 – a record year – and half-way through 2008, when the banks started to run into financial crisis, we started to feel the pressure.

"We had to do some downsizing and lay a few people off but we came out of 2009 still very profitable, and I am more than pleased with how we have finished up."

Despite the downturn, the company continues to invest in its Mission Zero pledge.

"We use a life-cycle computer analysis programme which tells us how much CO2 it takes to produce a carpet tile," said Mr Parnell.

"We use bio raw materials and renewable energy, but as the target gets closer, the job gets tougher."

Last year, the company invested in a new 750,000 recycling plant, which allows waste carpet from the manufacturing process to be recycled into backing for new carpets.

Mr Parnell said: "Recycling is a dangerous subject. You can recycle and do more damage to your carbon footprint, so you need to make sure you're doing the right thing and get expert advice."

InterfaceFLOR is currently working on the second generation of the recycling plant which will take yarn from existing carpet and recycle it into yarn for new carpet.

The firm is also about to open a plant in China to supply the fast-growing Chinese market.

Since 1995, Interface has achieved cumulative savings of $433m (282m) in avoided waste costs.

Mr Parnell is keen for other companies to follow its lead even if that means forcing them through legislation.

He said: "We favour quite tough legislation because it will make our competitors step up to the mark, but people should try to do it on their own because it saves money and customers want it."

Looking past next month's General Election, Mr Parnell urged the next government to increase its investment in renewable power sources, such as wind power.

"All our factories run from green electricity tariffs. The growth of renewable power sources is not in line with the growth in companies wanting to go green.

"Unless something changes, the day will come when there won't be enough green electricity for everyone who wants it," he said.

InterfaceFLOR: The Facts

InterfaceFLOR produces 161m sq ft of carpet a year in Europe

It manufactures more than 60 per cent of commercial office carpets in the UK

InterfaceFLOR was one of the first companies to publicly commit to sustainability when it made a pledge, in the mid-Nineties, to eliminate its impact on the environment by 2020. Since then, it has achieved cumulative savings of $433m (282m) in avoided waste costs.

Waste and water usage have reduced by 80 per cent

Some 36 per cent of the total raw materials used to manufacture Interface's products are recycled or bio-based materials.