What's new, they say, is the increased urgency of environmental efforts, particularly those tied to the voluntary LEED (Leadership in Environmentally Engineered Design) program. Increasingly, manufacturers believe that addressing "green" issues is not only good for the environment but good for the company's image in the minds of consumers as well.
For example, Mohawk's director of technology development, Frank Endrenyi, points to a list of initiatives undertaken by his company that have reduced emissions and increased the amount of old carpet used as raw material in new carpet. He notes that monitoring devices at the company's plants have helped trim water and energy usage by more than 50 percent in the last decade. Also, because Mohawk's plants manufacture products both with recycled content and without, the infrastructure is already in place if the residential segment decides to move more aggressively into environmentally friendly products, Endrenyi says.