Diane Martel For Vice President, Invironmental Planning and Strategy

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To further express its commitment to sustainability, Tarkett North America, provider of the world’s most integrated high-performance flooring systems, announced that Diane Martel has assumed the role of Vice President, Environmental Planning and Strategy.

The 22-year industry veteran is responsible for driving the company’s sustainable messaging, programs, education, training and industry awareness. Diane Martel appeared at the NeoCon® World’s Trade Fair 2010, held during June 14-16 in Chicago, and discussed the company’s sustainable initiatives, introduce new, environmentally friendly products from Johnsonite, a Tarkett company, and host an interactive design event benefiting Architecture for Humanity.

Diane Martel began with Tarkett in 1988, working in several facets of marketing. She has played an active role in the development and implementation of Tarkett’s sustainable initiatives since 2003. Using her wealth of knowledge and experience, Martel spearheaded the development of the company’s ReUse Reclamation program, designed to address the recycling of product samples, installation waste and installed flooring materials in the commercial market. As the company continued to expand upon the program, it became known as ReUse/reSTART™, which incorporated the Johnsonite and Azrock brands. Martel also worked with the company’s product development team to redesign existing products to reduce LLC and chemical use, as well as introduce new environmentally friendly products such as SpraySmart, a VOC-free adhesive that cuts installation time, and Smart Pad, created to decrease chemicals and help maintain floors while reducing the use of chemicals like polishes and strippers. Serving as an internal and external spokesperson, Martel is a member of the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) for Tarkett, as well as the NSF-332 committee for developing sustainable product standards and ASTM E-60 on sustainability.

“For more than 50 years, Tarkett has encouraged environmental stewardship across the industry – through our actions and our commitment to the broader sustainable picture. In 2009 we recycled 19 million pounds of material and we aim to double that number this year,” said Martel. “We are dedicated to addressing long-term sustainable issues to ensure ongoing improvements that meet current and future market needs. I am excited to be a part of the continuation and expansion of Tarkett’s environmental efforts and look forward to bringing even more programs, products, systems and solutions to the market in the future.”

As an industry leader in sustainable flooring, Tarkett considers all aspects of sustainability, including rapidly renewable materials, resource stewardship, recycling, and people-friendly spaces. Throughout NeoCon, Johnsonite®, a Tarkett company, will feature a collection of its products in its booth 8-4080, including an innovative eco-friendly product from its newly named Ecolibrium line. New products include the Ecolibrium rubber wall base, the Metallurgy collection and the Folio collection. The Ecolibrium rubber wall base is a significant innovation in the flooring industry that combines rubber, olefin and natural filler, and contains over five percent of its total weight in rapidly renewable materials along with pre-consumer recycled content. Ecolibrium rubber wall base is FloorScore® certified, contains no PVC or halogens, is flexible for installation ease and coordinates with all Johnsonite system solutions. Metallurgy is a new rubber flooring system that has the look of metal and is available in 12 color options ranging from gold and bronze to silver and more. The Folio collection features six rubber designs modeled after nature, helping bring the outdoors inside. Working alone, in pairs, or combined with solid tiles and other textures, Folio provides endless design possibilities.

Tarkett believes that sustainability extends beyond products and building practices, reaching into the communities those buildings serve. To demonstrate a commitment to the enrichment and betterment of worldwide communities,  Johnsonite held an interactive design event during NeoCon. Developed to create an opportunity for architects and designers to come together to embrace sustainability, Tarkett’s NeoCon event, “A Collage of Possibilities,” invited show attendees to come by the Johnsonite booth to pick up a piece of the company’s floor tile. Attendees will then be asked to place their piece on a larger canvas, ultimately uniting with their peers to create a larger picture of sustainability. For every tile placed, Johnsonite will donated five-square-feet of flooring product to Architecture for Humanity (up to 3,000-square-feet) for its efforts to rebuild in Haiti. Architecture for Humanity has significant experience in leading the reconstruction of transitional and permanent infrastructure in post-disaster contexts. Already working in Haiti prior to the earthquake, Architecture for Humanity has also been involved in rebuilding efforts post-Tsunami in India and Sri Lanka and in the Gulf Coast after hurricane Katrina.

For more information on Tarkett’s sustainable efforts, products and systems, please visit www.johnsoniteenvironment.com

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