Shaw Industries to Host Tour of Manufacturing Facility for Federal, State and Local Government Officials
12.06.2005
Dalton, GA - Shaw Industries will host federal, state and local government officials, including U.S. Environmental Protection Agency representatives, for a tour of its tile manufacturing facility in Cartersville, Georgia on December 6, 2006. The tour will highlight the development and implementation of the Bartow County Environmental Management System, which could become the first in the nation to be developed jointly by the public and private sectors. As one of the largest employers in Bartow County, and an environmental leader within the manufacturing industry, Shaw Industries was selected as one of two facilities to visit on the tour. "Shaw has created its own Environmental Management System (EMS) based on ISO-14001 to solidify the culture of environmental excellence as a standard business practice throughout the company," said Steve Bradfield, director of environmental affairs at Shaw Industries. "By participating in the county-wide EMS, we will build upon what we have accomplished internally to encourage and support other businesses in reducing their environmental impact and creating a favorable place to live and work." The facility where the tour will take place manufactures and recycles Shaw's EcoWorx backing, a 100% recyclable backing for commercial carpet tile. Shaw received the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for EcoWorx in 2003, which recognized the company for developing a carpet tile that may be sustainably recycled and has less embodied energy than traditional PVC carpet tiles, while maintaining equal or greater performance. The tour will demonstrate how Shaw and other participants involved in the Bartow County Environmental Management System will continue to show improvements in air quality, along with reductions in solid waste production, energy production, and water use in the northwest Georgia community.
