“Crossville didn’t just follow the pack, they worked with others to develop a new, respected standard for the tile industry… to be good leaders and stewards of environmental responsibility.”
— Jean Hansen | Sustainable Principal at HDR Architecture, Inc
The need to reduce carbon footprints is more pressing than ever. As a company with a conscience, Crossville wants to do more to hold ourselves accountable and play our part in designing beautiful spaces that make sense for the environment, too.
Sustainability was a natural decision for the theme of our spring newsletter; it’s always been a core company philosophy. But to really do something about it, we hope to educate the design community on ways to merge design with eco-initiatives and together pave the way for a more sustainable future…that also looks fabulous.
In 2018 alone, Crossville recycled more than 11.8 million pounds of fired porcelain—almost one million pounds of recycling per month for an entire year—and an additional three million pounds of filtrate solids recycled back into tile production. All told, since the launch of our Tile Take-Back® program in 2009, we’ve recycled a total of 126 million pounds of tile.
For a fresh perspective on design sustainability in 2019, we looked to San Francisco–based Jean Hansen, FIIDA, LEED Fellow, CID, EDAC, and AAHID. Hansen is the sustainable principal at HDR, an architectural, engineering, and consulting firm based in Omaha, Nebraska. She believes that education is key when it comes to sustainability; designers, clients, and manufacturers alike often don’t know the right questions to begin the conversation, she said. One of the main priorities she believes our industry should focus on moving forward in 2019 is to work more closely to promote human and environmental health in every facet of interior design and architecture, whether you see it or not.
HDR and Crossville teamed up to remediate and redevelop a brownfield site in the center of Alexandria, Virginia, to certify the project under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.
It demonstrated our partnership with the city of Alexandria in forging a more sustainable future, and resulted in the project winning Environmental Design & Construction’s Excellence in Design Awards in the government/institutional category for new construction. The building is now projected to achieve a 31.8% energy savings relative to a similarly designed building.
By installing Crossville Porcelain Stone EcoCycle in the new state-of-the-art police station, Crossville delivered with a tile that looked good aesthetically, contains a minimum of 4% pre-consumer recycled content, and is manufactured using processes that are Green Squared® certified.
“Porcelain is non-emitting and is used for a variety of aesthetics for walls, exteriors, counters, and floors,” Hansen said. “Porcelain is becoming more popular because it’s easy to use, beautiful, and applicable for many uses.”
Crossville is certified by the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) for its entire U.S.-manufactured porcelain product lineup, as well as its manufacturing processes.
“Crossville closely evaluates their products from a life cycle perspective, including how their products influence interior environments,” Hansen said. “What’s important for a porcelain tile manufacturer to take into consideration? Crossville didn’t just follow the pack, they worked with others to develop a new, respected standard for the tile industry. Staff wanted their products to stand out, but also they wanted to be good leaders and stewards of environmental responsibility.”
The relationship between manufacturers, design teams and architects continues to evolve, but the most important part, Hansen said, is that all parties communicate, push each other, provide more opportunities for education, and raise the bar when it comes to beautiful, sustainable design.
After all, the litmus test for interior design should not be whether it looks good, but whether it can do good, too.
To learn more and order sustainable samples on us, visit Crossville.com.
To donate recycled or reclaimed previously installed tile through our Tile Take-Back® program, visit Crossville.com/green.
