Invista, a global manufacturer of polymers and fibers
including Stainmaster and Antron carpet fibers, is the first company to obtain
Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) certification for its carpet fibers
under a new, expanded standard by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), a
recognized third-party expert in environmental certification. Environmentally
Preferable Products are defined by U.S. Executive Order 13101 (replaced by EO
13423) as products that have a lesser or reduced effect on the environment when
compared to competitive products that serve the same purpose.
“EPP
certification is important to Invista and to our customers because it is
third-party affirmation that our Stainmaster and Antron carpet fibers can have a reduced
environmental impact,” Bobby Berrier, global sustainability director for Invista’s
Performance Surfaces & Materials business. “It also supports our recent
Life Cycle Analysis data that shows that these products can have a reduced
environmental impact versus competitive offerings due to their manufacturing
processes and longer first life.”
The new EPP
certification, performed under the new standard SCS-002, is a complex
evaluation using advanced LCA metrics and product performance data that
quantifies the human health and environmental impacts associated with a
product, across the product life cycle. To achieve EPP certification status,
products must demonstrate reduced impact compared to a reference baseline,
reflective of the typical products in the industry sector. Core impact categories
for the carpet fiber certification standard include Non-renewable Energy
Depletion, Greenhouse Gas Loading, Oceanic and Regional Acidification, Ground
Level Ozone Exposure and Particulate Matter Exposure. Previous EPP
certifications used attribute-based environmental criteria but not quantifiable
impact metrics.
According to SCS, the
new certification provides green building professionals with both the breadth
and depth needed to assess the environmental impacts of products. Antron carpet
fibers have been certified by SCS as an EPP multiple times since 2002. This is
the first time Stainmaster carpet fibers have been submitted for certification.
“Invista was
awarded EPP certification after SCS’s
scientific review took into account the full ‘cradle to grave’ consequences of the raw
material and energy inputs, manufacture, use, product performance, and disposal
of the Stainmaster and Antron carpet fibers,” SCS president Stanley Rhodes,
PhD, described. “EPP certification means that Stainmaster and Antron carpet fibers were found to have
reduced environmental impacts, when compared against the carpet fiber
baseline.”