Sustainability
At Novalis, sustainability is at the core of everything we do. As a family-run business with operations around the globe, we know the importance of keeping humans healthy and the earth habitable for generations to come. As our Novalis family expands, so do our responsibility and commitment to improving planetary and human health.
Novalis has been setting the global benchmark in LVT quality and performance for over 35 years, and we are excited to share the innovations we have been pioneering in resilient flooring sustainability.
The Novalis operational and product sustainability initiatives work in conjunction to reduce our environmental impact and improve material health. The Novalis China factory was constructed to enable the reuse of all production water and scrap, and in 2020 alone, the factory reused 145,000 tons of water and diverted 27,850 tons of scrap waste from landfill. Meanwhile, resource consumption at the factory declined from 2018 to 2019 and again from 2019 to 2020. The factory also retained the services of a third-party social auditor in 2020 to conduct a robust 4-pillar Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit to demonstrate adherence to international best practices.
On the product side, Novalis High Density Core, an SPC construction, attained the stringent Eurofins Indoor Air Comfort Gold certification and became one of the first 4 products on the market to achieve the ASSURE Certified multi-attribute standard for rigid core flooring. Also in 2020, the Novalis commercial line AVA was named a Leader in the Marriott Supplier MindClick Sustainability Assessment Program (MSAP), reserved for products demonstrating an exemplary use of environmentally and socially responsible practices.
2020 was also a pivotal year for Novalis as we began production at the Novalis Innovation Center, our new North American headquarters in Dalton, Georgia. In the midst of the turmoil of the global pandemic, the Novalis family of employees pulled together and developed unique solutions to the unexpected obstacles of the year. Between choosing to modernize an existing building rather than incur the environmental costs of new construction, retrofitting the entire building with LED lights, and procuring a fleet of all-electric forklifts, the team is ensuring sustainability is integrated into every aspect of operations at the Novalis Innovation Center.
The past few years have presented us all with many unprecedented challenges and reinforced just how connected and interdependent our modern world is. As we move forward into this next decade, Novalis remains rooted in our commitment to improving the health of the communities and planet that we all share and setting new standards of sustainability in resilient flooring.
Our Commitment to Nature
At Novalis, we follow environmentally responsible manufacturing practices every day. For example:
- AVA® is produced in a zero-landfill manufacturing facility, where all processing water and all production waste are 100% recycled in a closed loop system.
- During the Novalis manufacturing process, 100% of production water is recycled, and 100% of production waste is granulated to become part of new flooring in a closed-loop recycling process.
- With the implementation of an improved low-carbon press process, Novalis manufacturing reduced 78% of its steam consumption.
- Novalis uses 100% natural gas for its manufacturing – the cleanest fossil fuel energy available in the world today.
- Over 85% of Novalis raw materials are sourced within 800 km of our factory, with the goal of 100%.
- Novalis luxury vinyl flooring is 100% recyclable. After the product life span, it can be recycled to make new flooring, without pollution or waste production.
As a leader in the LVT industry, Novalis is an active participant in environmentally focused organizations. Through its participation and support, Novalis contributes to the progress of green technology, sustainable product development and environmental protection by manufacturing and design.
The U.S. Green Building Council was founded in 1993. Its members are changing the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated. USGBC believes in better buildings; places that complement our environment and enhance our communities. USGBC is best known for its development of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Novalis has been a member of the U.S. Green Building Council since 2013.
Green Idea Green Action (GIGA)
Green Idea Green Action is an international organization assessing the health and performance of buildings, combining the development of building standards with cloud software to increase the accessibility of healthy buildings globally. GIGA’s assessment infrastructure and metrics are used by hundreds of companies to track and communicate the health and performance of their properties. Novalis has been a GIGA manufacturing member since 2012.
The Resilient Floor Covering Institute is an industry trade association of leading resilient flooring manufacturers and suppliers of raw materials, additives and sundry flooring products for the North American market. RFCI promotes sustainability in the resilient flooring category through NSF/ANSI standards, FloorScore®, EPD and product transparency, while helping designers, architects, facilities managers, homeowners and others make wise flooring decisions through the use of resilient flooring. Novalis has been a member of RFCI since 2014.
World Floor Covering Association (WFCA)
The Wood Floor Covering Association is the floor covering industry’s largest advocacy organization
representing specialty floor covering retailers, cleaners, installers, manufacturers and distributors around the globe. Among its many green initiatives, the WFCA promotes education about environmentally friendly floors through partnership with The Learning Channel’s Designing Spaces. Novalis is a proud member of the WFCA and supports its mission of “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Respect.” in the floor covering industry.
The North American Association of Floor Covering Distributors was created to foster trade and commerce for wholesale distributors or manufacturers of floor coverings and allied products. Novalis supports the work of the NAFCD, such as sharing important industry data among members about trends in sustainable flooring, as well as promoting education, research and training programs to help ensure the highest standards in the flooring industry.
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
The American Society for Testing and Materials is one of the oldest non-profit standard academics groups in the United States. ASTM is a globally recognized leader in the development and delivery of international voluntary consensus standards. Close to 12,000 ASTM standards are used around the world to improve product quality, enhance safety, facilitate market access and trade, and build consumer confidence. Novalis became a member of ASTM to promote the knowledge of standards in materials, in production and in services.
With a first-class production facility and the strictest quality controls, Novalis Innovative Flooring represents quality and trust with its products … internationally.
Novalis Innovative Flooring has an integrated Quality Management System
achieving international standards encompassing facilities, people, training, services and equipment. Novalis was the first LVT manufacturer certified with ISO 9001 in China.
In 2010, Novalis achieved ISO 14001 certification, reaching international environmental management levels and ensuring the application of all green business requirements during the production process. Compliance means our operations and processes have a minimum environmental impact.
Novalis complies with this worldwide comprehensive program for managing occupational health and safety issues. OHSAS 18001 focuses on minimizing risks and preventing accidents during manufacturing while effectively lowering insurance premiums, reducing costs and increasing productivity.
From the beginning, Novalis has made sustainability a priority. Novalis produces healthy and environmentally responsible flooring and maintains the highest standards represented by the following:
This is a comprehensive, internationally harmonized report that documents the ways in which a product, throughout its life cycle, affects the environment. The EPD was created in accordance with standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and is verified in accordance with ISO 14025. According to EPD, “Having an EPD for a product does not imply that the declared product is environmentally superior to alternatives – it is simply a transparent declaration of the life-cycle environmental impact.” All Novalis products are third-party verified for EPD by UL Environment.
LEED
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. To receive LEED certification, building projects must satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. Prerequisites and credits differ for each rating system, and teams choose the best fit for their projects. Novalis is FloorScore®, EPD®, and HPD® certified, allowing the use of Novalis flooring in architectural and design projects eligible to earn LEED credits.
FloorScore tests and certifies all hard surface flooring and flooring adhesive products, ensuring they meet stringent indoor air quality emissions requirements. The program was developed by the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) in conjunction with Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) and has certified products since 2005. Because most people spend as much as 90% of their time indoors (at home, work or school), indoor air quality is an important issue for architects, designers and purchasers of interior building products and materials. All Novalis floors are FloorScore certified for low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds).
The Health Production Declaration® (HPD)
The Health Production Declaration is a report of the materials or ingredients content of a building product and the associated health effects. Through HPD, Novalis reports what makes up its products and any hazards of which consumers need to be made aware. The continuous improvement of the building industry’s performance through transparency, openness and innovation in the product supply chain is the commitment of HPD and Novalis.
Declare® Program
The International Living Future Institute created the Declare Program. Declare labeling is often compared to the nutritional labeling found on food packages; it focuses on specifics important to commercial specifiers, such as product ingredients, percentage of recyclable content, and possible potential hazards, to name a few. Declare labeling is strictly voluntary and underscores the Novalis commitment to producing the highest-quality and most ecologically trustworthy LVT. To receive a Declare label, Novalis submits its product content data to the Living Building Council for review and disclosure.
Eco+® Phthalate-Free Bio-Based Content
Phthalates (ortho-phthalates) are a family of chemical compounds primarily used to make PVC products, such as footwear, hoses, medical devices and vinyl flooring, flexible. But now phthalates are considered by many to be potentially hazardous from repeated exposure through contact. Novalis pioneered the development and use of a bio-based plasticizer derived from soya bean oil as a phthalate alternative in our LVT. Novalis ceased using phthalates July 11, 2014, and is Eco+ Phthalate-Free. All of its products are made with 100% virgin vinyl and are 100% phthalate-free.
