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CONTRACTORS’ VIEW

Flooring contractors can legitimately claim that their hands are to some extent
tied when it comes to sustainability. They can only work with the products that are
available from manufacturers and specified by architects or clients on each job.
Nonetheless contractors are finding that, by collaborating and cooperating with
industry partners, they can make a difference. We spoke to some leading contractors
about how things are changing in the sector, while there are still many challenges
ahead on the road to improved sustainability.

Shared commitment is critical to the to implementing sustainable practices on the
success of circularity within the contract ground. We also believe that our in-house
flooring sector. As Louise Walters, colleagues have a vital role to play in the
commercial director for Designer Contracts, journey.
the UK’s largest flooring contractor explains Designer Contracts works extensively
here, working with customers, contractors, across a range of sectors where customers
suppliers and staff is at the very heart of look to their supply chain to share information
their drive towards Net Zero. and data, not only in terms of their own carbon
Collaboration and co-operation with performance, but in gathering information on
industry colleagues – both external and procurement standards, materials selection,
internal – are essential for achieving product design and the manufacturing
sustainability goals. process.
Customers increasingly prioritise Our mutual customers expect us to help
environmentally responsible practices, so them make greener choices when it comes
companies must align their operations to meet to flooring, and we need to think about
these expectations. Partnering with suppliers how we can do this collectively. We all want
28 who share a commitment to sustainable carpet to remain a staple when it comes to
practices ensures that raw materials and flooring within domestic dwellings and how
resources are responsibly sourced. And sustainable a product is – from cradle to grave
contractors, as integral stakeholders, are key – is vital to achieving this.
As well as customers, we also work closely
with Innovate Recycle, a recycling company
which has invested heavily in state-of-the-art
machinery/technology to develop a circular
solution, producing plastic pellets from carpet
waste for the plastics industry. According
to Innovate, more than 500,000 tonnes of
end-of-life carpet is produced in the UK each
year, and, for the first time, there is now a way,
at volume, to deconstruct carpet and enable
the reuse of its constituent materials in a wide
range of industrial supply chains.
To maximise the recyclability and/or
reuse of carpet going forward relies on
manufacturers aligning with an Extended
Producer Responsibility (EPR) so that they are
designing and manufacturing with this in mind.
We have high hopes that our partnership
with Innovate will ultimately enable us to
further improve our long-established and
multi-award-winning carpet recycling scheme
which has been recognised with some 15
different awards and commendations over the
last 10 years.
The scheme has evolved significantly
since we introduced it in 2015, and we now
have a robust system that operates across our
national regional network of warehouses. It is
has taken a huge amount of time and effort
to get to where we are and forms part of our
drive for circularity, key to which is supplying
high performance products which can be
recycled effectively.
Recycling bales at Kettering CDC
Another step forward in our sustainability

CFA Guide to Sustainability 2025/26