Tarkett's 2022 CSR Report demonstrates progress on key priorities: climate goals, circular economy and support to people & communities

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Mar 20, 2023, 17:31 ET

SOLON, Ohio, March 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tarkett, a world leader in innovative and sustainable flooring and sports surface solutions, has released its 2022 Corporate Social & Environmental Responsibility (CSR) Report. Fully audited by an independent third party, this report outlines the company's significant sustainability performance.

"Our sustainability performance over the past year contributes actively to Tarkett's ambition: to be the easiest, the most innovative and the most sustainable flooring and sports surfaces company to work for and to work with. The pursuit of 'always more' is threatening our planet. We need to find a way to deliver more with less. For us, this means less waste, lower emissions and greater well-being. Doing more with less is our commitment, our mission and our mindset," said Fabrice Barthélemy, CEO of Tarkett.

In 2022, Tarkett's ambitious climate targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 were approved by the independent Science Based Target initiative (SBTi).^¹ The world's leading climate performance and reporting platform, CDP, recognized the company's climate action through a leadership level A- score. Moreover, the renowned sustainability rating agency EcoVadis gave a Gold Medal to Tarkett and ranked the company among the top 2% of all 90,000 rated organizations in 172 countries.

Lower Emissions

Scope 1 & 2 greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing operations were reduced by 41% versus 2019, notably through the increased purchase of renewable electricity.
Scope 3 emissions also decreased by 13% versus 2019, linked to the evolution of Tarkett's product mix, the actions taken to decarbonize its products and the progress in the share of recycled materials which now reach 17% (vs. 15% in 2021)^². In 2022, 43% of the company's total energy consumption came from renewable energies. Thirteen production sites purchased 100% renewable electricity.
In 2022, Tarkett kept working on improving water management at its production sites. For example, one of the company's plants in Dalton, Georgia implemented a project to install more efficient water cooling equipment, reducing water consumption in the manufacturing process.
Tarkett has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for committing to reduce portfolio-wide Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% within 10 years as part of the DOE's Better Climate Challenge. Tarkett will work with DOE to share actionable best practices for carbon reduction, with the DOE providing technical assistance, peer-to-peer learning opportunities and a platform for Tarkett to demonstrate its commitment to being part of the solution to climate change. Tarkett was already working with the DOE through its "Better Plants" program, which works with leading manufacturers to boost their efficiency, resilience and economic competitiveness through making improvements in energy efficiency.

Less Waste

Tarkett has made significant progress with ReStart^®, its take-back and recycling program, by transforming end-of-use flooring and recycled materials into new floors. This helps reduce waste and carbon footprint, diminishing the need for virgin raw materials while avoiding landfill and incineration. In the last 12 years, the company has collected the equivalent of 11 Eiffel Towers (115,000 tons) of flooring through Restart^®, into its eight recycling centers. The program is now deployed in 26 countries, including Brazil, India, and several across North America and Europe.
Within the Tarkett Sports Division, FieldTurf's Goal Zero program in North America helps divert job-site waste from landfill and facilitates its reuse and recycling. In 2022, the company recovered over 4,250 pallets of old artificial turf, diverting them from landfill, and recycling 182 tons of material (403,000 pounds).

Greater Well-Being

For many years, Tarkett has proactively sought alternatives to phthalate plasticizers in collaboration with its suppliers. The company has considerably invested in research and development and modified its formulas and processes to manufacture vinyl flooring with ortho-phthalate-free plasticizer technology. As of today, 100% of Tarkett's vinyl production sites in North America, Europe, Brazil, Ukraine, Serbia, and China use ortho-phthalate-free plasticizer technology.
Surpassing the most stringent world standards in terms of indoor air quality, 99% of Tarkett's flooring solutions have low volatile organic compounds emission levels, which are ten times lower than the strictest standards.
Powerbond^® RS, a hybrid resilient flooring produced in North America, was recently CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly^® by Allergy Standards Ltd, a certification program operated in collaboration with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Powerbond RS is the world's first soft-surface flooring to qualify for this certification and joins several other Tarkett solutions already certified by Allergy Standards Ltd.

Supporting our teams and local communities

Tarkett has made further progress in terms of supporting its teams and local communities throughout 2022. Committed to diversity and inclusion, the share of women in management positions reached 27% in 2022, progressing towards the company's 2025 target of 30%. The first Diversity and Inclusion Week organized across Tarkett locations continued to raise awareness among its teams.
By providing a wide range of training and coaching courses, Tarkett ensured continuous training opportunities for its teams on key topics such as product knowledge, sustainability, health and safety, compliance, as well as leadership development. Throughout the year, Tarkett trained its employees across the globe during a total of 252,000 hours and rolled out its new Leadership Program. The program is conducted over eight months with remote online activities, an off-site seminar and leaders being supported by external executive coaches.
Tarkett North America organized in May a 1,000 Hour Volunteer Challenge for employees to take action in their local communities by volunteering their time and services. Tarkett's employees exceeded the challenge with 1,325 hours volunteered. Tarkett went on to reward each of the four organizations with the most hours logged with a donation of $500.

"Tarkett North America has made significant strides in increasing sustainability along every step of a product's journey. Responsible material sourcing, renewable energy, closed-loop water systems, our recycling program—these are just a few of the initiatives that have us on track to meet our global sustainability goals set for 2030," said Roxane Spears, vice president of sustainability for Tarkett North America. "But there is always more work to be done, which is why we aren't stopping there. We continue to look both internally and externally for ways we can further reduce our impact and protect the health of both people and the planet."

To find out more and to download the infographic, visit our website.

About Tarkett
With a history of more than 140 years, Tarkett is a worldwide leader in innovative and sustainable flooring and sports surface solutions, generating net sales of € 3.4 billion in 2022. The Group employs 12,000 employees and has 25 R&D centers, 8 recycling centers and 34 production sites. Tarkett creates and manufactures solutions for hospitals, schools, housing, hotels, offices, stores and sports fields, serving customers in over 100 countries. To build "The Way to Better Floors," the Group is committed to circular economy and sustainability, in line with its Tarkett Human–Conscious Design® approach.

Visit www.tarkett.com (North America) or www.tarkett-group.com (Global)

Proof in Every Step
For years, Tarkett has raised the sustainability standards of the flooring industry. It purposefully designs floors with total transparency to create healthier, safer spaces for both people and planet. When Tarkett floors reach their end of life, the company's ReStart^® program makes it possible for them to be repurposed or recycled. Tarkett's near-term science-based carbon emissions reduction targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and are fully aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement objective to limit global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius. For more information, visit https://contract.tarkett.com/proofineverystep.

¹ SBTi has approved the following: By 2030, Tarkett commits to reduce by 50% absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a 2019 base year. Tarkett also commits to reduce by 27.5% absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services and end-of-life treatment of sold products within the same timeframe.

² Tarkett's Climate Roadmap for 2030 covers reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from its own activities (Scope 1) and its purchased energy (Scope 2) – as well as those arising from the rest of its value chain, from suppliers to end customers (Scope 3).

SOURCE Tarkett