ED+C editor Michelle Hucal recently toured Beaulieu Commercial facilities, including a recycling plant, in Adairsville, Ga., with ED+C Publisher Diana Brown and (back row, from left to right) Beaulieu Commercial President James Lesslie, Environmental Development Manager Clay Rigsby and President of the Marglen facility, John Burns.

“We don’t have a ‘green line’,” says Beaulieu Commercial President James Lesslie, “We only have one tile line.” If someone asks for Beaulieu Commercial’s “green” carpet tile, they get the same product as someone that specifies the company’s conventional carpet. That’s because everything produced by Beaulieu is green, according to Lesslie. Products feature recycled content, produced by wind power, and generated with sustainability in mind.

Beaulieu Commercial, manufacturer of commercial carpet brands BOLYU Contract, Cambridge Commercial Carpets and Aqua Hospitality Carpets, has worked hard to establish itself as a leader in corporate environmental stewardship. In addition to notable energy conservation and waste management best practices, Beaulieu Commercial is the first carpet manufacturer to include post-consumer recycled content in 100 percent of their products. The company’s NEXTERRA line is an award-winning carpet tile backing system featuring 85 percent post-consumer recycled content.

This spring, ED+C Publisher Diana Brown and I spent a beautiful day touring some of the Beaulieu facilities in Adairsville, Ga., hosted by Lesslie, Environmental Development Manager Clay Rigsby and Director of Marketing Cathy Mansour.

Green Power

Beaulieu Commercial purchases green power and is proud to be part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership. The company is purchasing more than nine million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, enough to meet all of the organization’s purchased electricity use across its operations nationwide. Green-e certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) are purchased from Tennessee Valley Authority’s Green Power Switch program and Sterling Planet.

“Purchasing green power helps our organization become more sustainable, while also sending a message to others across the U.S. that supporting clean sources of electricity is a sound business decision, and an important choice, in reducing climate risk,” Lesslie says.

He explains that green power is electricity generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro, with a net-zero increase in carbon dioxide emissions. These green power purchases also support the development of new renewable energy generation sources nationwide. According to the U.S. EPA, Beaulieu Commercial’s green power purchase of more than nine million kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide emissions of nearly 1,300 passenger vehicles per year, or is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power nearly 1,000 average American homes annually.

Beaulieu has been designated as a member of the EPA’s Green Power Partners’ Leadership Club, and can now display the Green-e logo on its Nexterra tile line to inform consumers that the tile was manufactured with 100 percent Green-e Certified renewable energy.

Nexterra-backed tile Manufacturing Plant

Led by Jim Warren, director of operations at Adairsville, Diana, the Beaulieu staff and I toured the plant that produces 24-inch-square Nexterra-backed carpet tile. Unlike many manufacturing plants I have toured in the past, the plant was surprisingly comfortable and odorless because of no off-gassing and the avoidance of harsh chemicals in production.

Beaulieu Commercial purchases enough green power to meet all of the organization’s electricity use across its operations nationwide. Shown is the Nexterra facility in Adairsville, Ga.

As noted, Nexterra backing is manufactured with 100 percent renewable energy; there are no curing ovens to result in energy waste, and no water is used in manufacturing Nexterra backing, resulting in no water waste.

Introduced in 2005, PVC-free Nexterra has the largest percentage of post-consumer recycled content (85 percent) in the industry, according to Beaulieu, consisting of about 10 16-ounce recycled PET bottles. The modular tile backing Nexterra contains 35 percent Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and glass from multiple consumer sources, including recycled windshields and lightbulbs. Recycled PET chips and pellets (35 percent) are melted down and blended with 50 percent post-consumer ground glass and polymers. Applied in liquid form to the primary backing, Nexterra backing cools and is ready for installation as soon as it’s cut.

Since Beaulieu uses about 40 million pounds of recycled PET, the company reports saving approximately 720-million 16-ounce beverage bottles from landfill.

Nexterra is also lighter (reducing shipping costs) — yet stronger — and recyclable at the end of its life, Warren told us.

PET Recycling Plant, Post-Consumer Content in Every Product

Beaulieu Commercial reports that the company uses two pounds of post-consumer waste for every pound produced. To see for ourselves, Diana and I toured Beaulieu’s PET bottle recycling plant. I must admit, this part of the tour did smell a bit (we were surrounded by garbage, after all), but it was a fascinating process. Before we even entered, we were astonished by the mounds of plastic bottles that would otherwise end up in landfills.

Inside, we watched as bottles were sorted, cleaned and processed for use in Beaulieu’s carpet products. Beaulieu Commercial offers post-consumer recycled content in 100 of its products. This includes the company’s three brands: Cambridge Commercial, BOLYU Contract, and Aqua Hospitality Carpets.

“Incorporating recycled materials in 100 percent of our carpet products is one more indicator of Beaulieu’s commitment to protecting the environment and preserving natural resources,” says Lesslie. “Environmental responsibility is part of every one of our purchasing, operating and manufacturing decisions.”

Continual Product Improvement

Beaulieu is in the process of certifying its Nexterra product line under the Sustainable Carpet Assessment standard, NSF 140. And the company’s low-VOC carpet adhesives are CRI Green Label certified.

Beaulieu also believes in the importance of indoor air quality and comfort, and therefore offers Puralex, an odor neutralizer that lowers VOCs and actually helps purify the air indoors. This self-renewing odor-destroying formula is applied to products such as Nexterra tiles.

Since Nexterra was introduced, the company has incorporated recycled content into all backings. The ILoc broadloom carpet backing system, for example, is a multi-polymer backing system that contains post-consumer recycled content and antimicrobial properties.

Finally, Beaulieu hopes to help reduce raw materials used by eliminating samples. A new online carpet design tool from Beaulieu Commercial helps designers create visually accurate virtual samples, saving time and resources. idesigncarpet.com lets customers view, customize and print carpet samples from their computer.

Setting an Example

As demonstrated during our tour, the company hopes it sets a good example for its costumers to follow. Beaulieu Commercial staff prides itself on being a leader in environmental and social responsibility, continually taking steps to protect the environment through the manufacturing of sustainable, and attractive, products. Lesslie says he wants to tackle the big issues, and he challenges others to follow suit.

Through technology, innovation and enthusiasm, Beaulieu Commercial will continue to improve its products and processes by driving down waste and energy generation.

For more information, visit www.beaulieucommercial.com.