It’s 2021, and the time of taking natural resources for granted has passed. Population growth, urban sprawl, and rising living standards are depleting natural resources. For over 100 years, Milliken has looked beyond day-to-day business and considered the impact we make on the world and are committed to ensuring this impact remains positive.
Determined to lead the flooring industry with our commitment to sustainability, we are focused on creating innovative solutions to improve lives and guide our work to create a safer, more sustainable, and healthier future.
Sustainability
Sustainability is core to our culture. Here at Milliken-Ontera, we believe a healthy enterprise and healthy earth are vitally linked – you cannot have one without the other. Our greatest joy comes from creating innovations that help solve the worlds’ problems at a human level.
Our sustainability journey is ever evolving, and we remain committed to reducing our environmental footprint, being transparent, and staying fully accountable to our stakeholders and communities.
Eco-friendly designers
- From as early as 1900, we reused packaging and textile materials in our operations and had documented our first recycling policy.
- By the late 1900’s we had developed a comprehensive plan to eliminate waste, increase product performance and preserve resources.
- By 1960, we established a formal environmental policy to reduce our impact on the environment.
These directives still guide our daily discourse, choices, product design innovations, raw material selection, manufacturing operations, and marketing and merchandising materials. Our 2025 planet goals are:
- PLANET GOALS: Reduce our global footprint by zero waste to landfill and environmental violations.
- PRODUCT GOALS: Create circular economies by collaborating with scientists and thought leaders to advance the goal of solving the plastics end-of-life challenge.
- PEOPLE GOALS: Caring for communities by developing cutting edge-innovation with cared-for-communities through inclusivity, volunteering, zero lost time safety incidents.
We have a clear vision of our place in the world of tomorrow. In it, “disposable” culture is unthinkable, and so, through conservation and efficiency, our floor covering division has reduced its global eco-footprint by 50% over 15 years. We do this for us, for our children, and for our children’s children.
As part of our environmental stewardship, we run the following initiatives:
- No Carpet to Landfill Pledge: Milliken-Ontera’s carpet takeback program provides three non-landfill solutions to ensure used carpet is recovered and managed in an environmentally, socially and financially responsible way.
- Reuse: Ensure that our products get maximum useful life through repurposing.
- EarthPlus Recycling: EarthPlus renewal process using Millitron PrintWorks technology to provide a second and/or third life to our products.
- Waste to Energy: Partnering with Cleanaway Australia to provide unwanted carpet tiles to Processed Engineered Fuel.
Cradle to Cradle Certification™
The Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard steps designers and manufacturers through a process of continuous improvement that examines products through five quality categories:
- material health
- material reutilisation
- renewable energy and carbon management
- water stewardship
- social fairness.
Products receive achievement levels in each category (Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum), with the lowest achievement level representing the product’s overall mark.
Manufacturers must demonstrate reasonable faith efforts to improve their products to have their products recertified every two years. The number of brands, organisations, and standards globally that recognise Cradle to Cradle Certified as a preferred product standard for responsible purchasing decisions is growing, and Milliken-Ontera is proud to be Cradle to Cradle Silver Certified™.
Good Design = Good Business
Studies show the product optimisation in response to Cradle to Cradle (C2C) certification brought significant benefits such as:
- reduced costs
- improved product value
- new revenue streams
- and avoided risks.
The goal of C2Cproduct optimisation and certification helps companies become front-runners in the move towards a circular economy, providing instant recognition for their outstanding commitment to sustainability.
DECLARE
DECLARE is a transparency platform and product database established by the International Living Future Institute (IFLI)changing the materials marketplace. In this modern world, consumers value transparency more than ever. Through disclosure of ingredients, sourcing, and life cycle information, DECLARE shows consumers your products can be trusted and that your company stands by its commitment to sustainability.
Our commitment to transparency led us to voluntarily disclose the ingredients of our floor coverings to DECLARE, and our products comply with the Red List Imperative of the Living Building Challenge™.
A DECLARE Label answers these three questions:
- Where does a product come from?
- What is it made of?
- Where does it go at the end of its life?
This labelling system allows designers to easily select the healthiest products on the market for projects, knowing they adhere to stringent materials requirements.
Contact us today for more information about our sustainable products.
Milliken has been named among the 2021 World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. This marks our fifteenth year of recognition, making us one of only seven companies to receive this distinction every year since the award’s inception in 2007. At Milliken, we know that doing the right thing is as important to our success as reaching our goals. We are constantly raising the bar on ethical business practices that guide our day-to-day operations and our long-term vision. Being named to the World’s Most Ethical Companies list is an external affirmation of our commitment to integrity and excellence.
