MFA adds to Pilot Certification Program | Sustainability

Sustainability

Monday, September 10, 2018

[Calhoun, Ga.] The Multilayer Flooring Association (MFA) and SCS Global Services announced that four companies have committed to the pilot certification for new resilient flooring products in the multilayer format with rigid polymer cores. The pilot companies are Metroflor, Novalis, US Floors and Karndean. According to the association, the standard not only focuses on performance and sustainability, it will protect flooring consumers and reassure them that the certified product is a high-performing and quality one, free of heavy metals and ortho-phthalates and meeting indoor air quality standards.

According to the association, the motivation for developing the certification resulted from the increasing flood of self-defined, and in some cases poorly constructed, multilayer flooring products entering the US marketplace. Said Harlan Stone, president of the MFA, “We are moving with a sense of urgency because there is such a strong need for this certification. Having completed the standard in one year, we are now in the pilot phase to get real world experience applying the standard and feedback from the pilot companies.”

The pilot period will last through the end of the year. The certification program will be officially launched in February 2019 and available to all companies meeting the standard.

The Standard Specification for Resilient Flooring in Modular Format with Rigid Polymeric Core (ASTM standard F3261-17) includes product attributes such as rigidity; surface wear layer; backing types; and performance requirements (e.g. chemical and indentation resistance, and squareness/thickness/flatness). “The standard is very progressive because it includes sustainability attributes along with performance,” said Rochelle Routman, chair of the transparency and sustainability committee of the MFA, whose team selected the baseline sustainability criteria ultimately incorporated into the standard. “This is very important for consumer confidence.”

MFA selected SCS to develop this pilot and manage the program. SCS leveraged all synergies to launch and scale the MFA program and collaborated with its members to evaluate and approve independent testing labs to be utilized by manufacturers. “SCS is thrilled to be moving the standard into an operational phase and working with the four early adopter companies,” said Stanley Mathuram, P.E., vice president of SCS.

SCS will promote and list all products in its Green Products Guide, ORIGIN (just recognized by USGBC as an open source platform) and Mindful Materials.