Certification Further Signifies Company’s Long-Standing Commitment to Environmental Stewardship
DALTON, Ga. – April XX, 2017 – Further strengthening its position as an environmental leader in the commercial flooring market, J+J Flooring Group, a leading diversified manufacturer of commercial specified flooring, announced that its Dalton, Ga., manufacturing facility has achieved ISO 14001:2015 certification. J+J is one of a select few manufacturers in the industry to achieve this highly regarded certification under the new standard.
The company had been certified under the ISO 14001:2004 standard and achieved this certification in 2008. The ISO 14001 certification has been a leading environmental management standard for more than 20 years.
According the ISO, the new 2015 version creates a stronger integration between environmental issues and an organization’s strategic action planning and thinking. It also responds to the latest trends, such as an increasing recognition by companies for the need to factor in both external and internal elements that influence their environmental impact, including climate volatility.
Among the several new requirements under the 2015 certification, organizations are expected to show an increased alignment of environmental management within their overall strategic planning process and a greater commitment from leadership. Other requirements include: Life-cycle thinking, considering each stage of a product from development to end-of-life; added proactive initiatives to protect the environment from harm and degradation; greater interactions with external parties; and more effective communications, driven through a communications strategy.
The 2015 version aims to help organizations improve resource efficiency, reduce waste, drive down costs, provide assurance that environmental impact is being measured, and manage environmental obligations with consistency, while improving overall environmental impact.
“The unanimous decision by our leadership team to pursue this new certification – which requires a significant amount of time, investment and resources from the previous certification – was actually an easy one, since conservation is at the heart of who we are,” said J+J President David Jolly.
Chuck Lee, Lead Environmental Management System Auditor at NSF International, the organization that conducted J+J’s certification audit said: “J+J’s environmental program has accomplished major reductions in energy usage, water usage and waste through the implementation of not only state-of-the-art programs, but innovative technology as well. The results of in-depth interviews with employees from all levels and departments of the company was particularly impressive and revealed genuine, enthusiastic, committed, and continuous support for the J+J system.”
J+J manufactures broadloom and modular carpet along with proprietary Kinetex textile composite flooring at its Dalton facility, which spans nearly 950,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space.
J+J Flooring Group has a dedicated history of environmental leadership. In 2015, the company was recognized as the first commercial flooring manufacturer to receive independent certification as a zero to waste landfill manufacturer. The company is guided by its 20/20 Vision, a set of environmental goals the company aims to achieve by the year 2020. Since 2010, the company has achieved a 34 percent reduction in water consumption, a 23 percent reduction in energy use and an 18 percent reduction in GHG (green house gas) emissions.
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is the world’s leading developer of international requirements and standards for state-of-the-art products, processes, materials, services and systems.
For more information, visit www.jjflooringgroup.com or call 800.241.4586.