Green Report Card: Vetrazzo® Sets Sustainability Benchmark with First 'Environmental Product Declaration' for U.S. Countertop Manufacturers
Vetrazzo joins global sustainability pioneer Interface, Inc. to become one of the first three companies to publish an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) in the U.S. MindClick SGM™, a consulting firm specializing in Sustainable Growth Management, enables Vetrazzo to set the environmental benchmark for the U.S. countertop industry through development of an EPD. EPD: a certified sustainability report card based on a 360æ green audit. Developed through the scientific process of Life Cycle Analysis following ISO guidelines and verified by an independent third party, the internationally recognized EPD is a marketing breakthrough for validating a product's green claims.
Phoenix, AZ (Vocus/PRWEB ) November 10, 2009 -- Vetrazzo is giving transparency a new meaning in the recycled glass surfacing industry. The award-winning countertop manufacturer has achieved an industry breakthrough with its Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), developed in partnership with sustainability experts MindClick SGM™. Vetrazzo is the first countertop company - and one of only three companies in any industry - to publish an EPD in the U.S.
Photo of Vetrazzo countertop
The EPD, created by MindClick SGM™ and registered in The Green Standard System™, presents a comprehensive assessment of the environmental performance of Vetrazzo's products from cradle to grave through third-party verified scientific measurement. With the EPD, Vetrazzo has established the surfacing industry's benchmark for environmental product marketing and positioned itself as the undisputed leader of sustainability in countertop manufacturing.
"At Vetrazzo, we've demonstrated that you can offer distinctive style without compromising the environment," said James Sheppard, CEO and Co-Founder, Vetrazzo, LLC during the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. "Publishing an Environmental Product Declaration was a natural step for us to take as part of our commitment to credible and transparent communications about our environmentally responsible practices. By helping us develop an EPD, MindClick SGM has provided third-party scientific credibility supporting our efforts in setting the sustainability standard for our industry."
The internationally recognized EPD process serves as a valuable tool for companies that strive to connect with savvy consumers as well as meet business and government leaders' sustainability goals.
"For years, Vetrazzo has made sustainability the core of its products and operations," said Heather Gadonniex, Managing Partner of Sustainability, MindClick SGM. "We recognized that they were the perfect candidate to set the benchmark for their industry with an Environmental Product Declaration. With this EPD, they demonstrate their commitment to transparency and leadership by example - among countertop manufacturers and U.S. businesses overall."
Vetrazzo: What it Means to Be Green
Vetrazzo, the original recycled glass countertop, was invented in Berkeley, Calif., by a Ph.D. in glass and materials science looking for an innovative way to utilize local recycled glass headed for the waste stream. Vetrazzo offers a sustainable alternative to granite and other quarried stone. It can be used for kitchen and bath countertops, fireplace mantles, table and desktops, bars and other surfaces.
The glass used to make Vetrazzo is 100 percent recycled, and it makes up more than 83 percent of each panel. Glass sources include wine, beer and mineral water bottles recycled at Northern California redemption centers in close proximity to Vetrazzo's Richmond, Calif. manufacturing plant. Other sources include traffic light lenses, safety glass from windshields and shower doors, architectural window glass, stemware and art glass. Vetrazzo glass surfacing contains more recycled content than other surfacing options. As many as 1,000 recycled bottles are used to make one 5 ft. by 9 ft. panel of Vetrazzo glass countertop.
A U.S.-based business that uses only U.S.-based raw materials, Vetrazzo, LLC employs 100 percent U.S. domestic labor, paid a living wage, and provides full benefits to all.
Vetrazzo's newly certified EPD highlights its zero-waste manufacturing process as well as identifying its carbon footprint: 193.35 lbs. CO2 equiv. per square meter of installed countertop.
Environmental Product Declaration: The Green Report Card
Green claims are commonplace in product marketing, but can be difficult to substantiate. In today's marketplace, incisive businesses are turning to sustainability as a marketable, competitive advantage. But the proliferation of green claims is creating confusion among companies and consumers as they seek objective and reliable information.
At the June 2009 Sustainable Brands conference, MindClick SGM led a focus group of Fortune 500 executives in which all participants strongly agreed, "The most critical challenge to the success of sustainability is meaningful measurement."
The Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) offers a compelling solution. For more than 10 years, global companies have relied on EPDs as a means to standardize technical sustainability information instead of having to wrestle with more than a dozen individual documents. Now, U.S. businesses that recognize the value of transparency in building trust for their products are turning to the EPD process.
An EPD allows companies the opportunity to rise above the greenwash clutter through a focused compilation of meaningful, validated product life cycle assessment facts covering environmental impact from product creation, through distribution and use, to disposal. Internationally recognized, the EPD is a single comprehensive disclosure of a product's environmental performance. Based on the ISO 14025 series of standards and validated through third-party review, it substantiates companies' green marketing claims.
Vetrazzo's EPD was developed by MindClick SGM, verified by PE Americas, and published and registered in The Green Standard System. Vetrazzo joins carpet manufacturers and sustainability pioneers InterfaceFLOR and Bentley Prince Street as the first three companies in any industry to certify and publish an EPD in the U.S.
About Vetrazzo, LLC
Vetrazzo, LLC transforms recycled glass into artful surfaces for home and commercial applications including countertops, tabletops and vanities. Glass sources include bottles from curbside recycling programs as well as waste from glass manufacturers and building demolition. Vetrazzo® is the original Recycled Glass Surface. Invented and first produced in 1996, Vetrazzo enables customers to showcase their individual sense of style and respect for the environment. Vetrazzo surfaces use only 100 percent recycled glass, in a patent-pending, resin-free formulation, and are fabricated using standard stone equipment. Vetrazzo, LLC, a certified green business and B Corporation™, manufactures in the United States in Richmond, Calif. Vetrazzo is available in North America through a network of authorized kitchen and bath dealers. For more information, visit www.vetrazzo.com.
About MindClick SGM™
With more than 20 years of product, marketing and research experience combined with more than a decade of sustainability expertise, MindClick SGM™ is an innovative consultancy offering unparalleled leadership in Sustainable Growth Management™. MindClick SGM specializes in helping companies comprehensively assess the sustainability of their business and develop solutions to optimize the performance of their brand, products, operations and communications. MindClick SGM provides a unique combination of specialized services - seamlessly integrating a deep understanding of sustainability best practices and standards with groundbreaking scorecard-based performance measurement and proven business acumen. Utilizing their proprietary MindClick Sustainable Growth Management™ (SGM) methodology, MindClick SGM offers clients customized sustainability services for bottom-line growth. For more information, visit www.mindclicksgm.com
MEDIA CONTACT:
Lydia Cisaruk
(248) 619-6852
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