Dal Tile Greenworks Programs
Projects Earn Leeds Credits
More importantly, both Greenworks programs strive to serve as resources to architects, designers and builders researching eco-friendly attributes of each brands' manufactured products, as well as important data necessary for achieving green credits and building certifications, such as LEED, for their projects.
"Creating specific green tiles simply isn't enough anymore. Architects, designers and builders want a complete picture of how the tile manufacturer runs its business and how sustainable all of its products, not just a select few, are," said Bob Hurt, director of environmental heath and safety for Dal-Tile. "With the Dal-Tile's Greenworks programs, we want to help architects, designers and builders understand how our products can help them meet the certifications of the building programs of their choice."
Perhaps the most visible and useful Greenworks elements for architects, designers and builders are found online ( http://www.daltileproducts.com/leed, http://www.americanolean.com/leed ) where they can research and download detailed, real-time product information, including recycled materials content (RMC), distance from the manufacturing location to the jobsite and other key pieces of data useful when complying with the green building programs of their choice.
On each brand's site, visitors can obtain real-time RMC information for any Daltile or American Olean product. The information can be found by either searching by collection name or by entering bar code information from previously purchased tile boxes to learn the RMC for those specific tile pieces.
Additionally, visitors who may not have a particular collection in mind can sort Daltile's and American Olean's entire catalog of manufactured tiles by multiple RMC ranges, as well as by which types of recycled materials (pre- and post-consumer) are used, to pinpoint products that meet their desired criteria.
Once a product collection is selected, visitors to the website can easily download Product Specification & Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), LEED Certification Letters and support documents for the California Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) program.
"By design, many Daltile and American Olean products can help projects earn LEED credits in the Materials and Resources and Indoor Environmental Quality requirements. For instance, more than 97 percent of our manufactured products contain pre-consumer recycled materials," Hurt said. "Additionally, our multiple manufacturing facilities in the United States and Mexico put us close to both raw materials and many jobsites, conserving fossil fuels required for transportation. Sourcing locally produced products is one element of the LEED rating system." In addition to providing online resources with product information for architects, designers and builders, the Greenworks programs also discuss the changes made to Dal-Tile's processes that dramatically reduce the company's environmental impact and improve the efficiency in which raw materials are used.
In fact, Dal-Tile diverts approximately 200 million pounds of solid waste from landfills each year through the company's recycling efforts, which minimizes the use of virgin raw materials to the greatest extent possible.
These recycled materials come from a variety of sources, including reusing wastes from Dal-Tile's own manufacturing processes, as well as those of other companies. For example, Dal-Tile recovers and reuses its own fired tile wastes from its wall tile production processes allowing the company to divert an average of 35 million pounds of solid waste from landfills each year.
Dal-Tile is also able to reuse wastes from other companies' manufacturing processes. For instance, a major component of many of the company's floor tiles is a byproduct from 3M's roofing materials manufacturing process that was previously disposed of as waste. Over the last three years, Dal-Tile has used an average of 188 million pounds of waste each year that were obtained from other manufacturing processes and were formerly sent to landfills.
Additionally, more than 48 million pounds of tile wastes that cannot be reused in other Dal-Tile products have been recycled through state-approved beneficial reuse programs such as land reclamation, road construction and cement and brick manufacturing.
"Another major recycling initiative at Dal-Tile's manufacturing plants has resulted in the recovery and reuse of more than 60 million gallons of wastewater each year," Hurt added. "In fact, three of our plants recycle and reuse 100 percent of the wastewater generated by the manufacturing process. On average, Dal-Tile discharges less than one pint of wastewater for every square foot of tile we produce -- with a goal to reduce that to zero through future modifications and technology upgrades."
Recycling its waste materials and those of other companies is not the only way that Dal-Tile is reducing its environmental impact. The company's products are manufactured in facilities that utilize natural gas for energy to fire the kilns. No fuel oils or coals are utilized in the process, helping to minimize air pollution emissions. Through a variety of operational refinements, including modifications to equipment, the manufacturing plants are minimizing their energy use and have reduced their overall natural gas consumption by more than 8 percent over the past two years.
Lighting retrofits and modifications to air compressor systems at the plants have also resulted in reduced electricity consumption of more than 17.5 million kilowatt-hours per year. An energy conservation program utilizing T-5 florescent lighting is being piloted for implementation in all company-owned Sales Service Center facilities. These lighting retrofits are estimated to reduce overall energy usage by 40-50 percent at each facility.
Additionally, fuel-saving devices are being installed to fuel lines of all Daltile company-operated SSC delivery vehicles. These devices improve emissions by an average of 50 percent and reduce fuel consumption by 10-20 percent.
Overall, Dal-Tile's reduced energy usage is enough to provide natural gas to more than 6,000 homes and electricity to more than 1,700 homes for an entire year.
"By helping architects, designers and builders make sustainable choices for their projects and by aggressively recycling and conserving natural resources," Hurt said, "we hope that our Greenworks programs create new transparency and leadership in the building products industry."
To learn more about the DaltileGreenworks program or to get detailed, real-time information on how Daltile's products can help earn credits toward green building certifications, visit http://www.DaltileGreenworks.com and http://www.AOGreenworks.com .
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