Circularity in buildings doesn’t stop at concrete or steel. Interior materials also play a key role. As a global manufacturer of flooring solutions, Tarkett is strongly committed to circular product development. The ambition is clear: to design healthy products that can go through multiple life cycles.
Sustainability Approach
We no longer talk about waste. We talk about raw materials for the next generation of buildings. The sustainability strategy is based on three main pillars. One of these is eco-design, the second is the circular economy, and the third is material health. By 2030, Tarkett’s goal is for 30% of our raw materials to consist of recycled material.
Three main pillars
At Tarkett, eco-design means that, during the design and development of a product, we ensure that the product can be dismantled, that it uses healthy materials, and that it can subsequently be recycled in a way that we actually describe as upcycling. So that we can turn it into a new product without compromising on quality.
The second pillar of Tarkett’s sustainability story is circularity. Circularity is embedded in our DNA, partly through ‘ReStart®’ and ‘ReUse’. ‘ReStart®’ is our take-back system for our flooring.
The third pillar at Tarkett is material health. We are a company firmly grounded in the cradle-to-cradle principle. We want to ensure our materials are sound, and that is actually our starting point.
Recovery of old flooring
We are here in the Proximus Towers, two buildings with around 30,000 square metres of flooring. This also fits in with Tarkett’s commitment to taking responsibility as a manufacturer and, in fact, to retrieving products we made 20 years ago from landfill or incinerators. This recovery of old flooring results in a CO₂ saving of approximately 300,000 kilograms of CO₂ and equivalent. Without a company such as De Meuter, for example, this would not be possible. They ensure the process is manageable: assembling carpet tiles, packing them, stacking them and then delivering them back to us.
Best practices
Organisations such as the Belgian Green Building Council play a key role here. They bring stakeholders together and establish concrete best practices. We no longer talk about waste. We talk about raw materials for the next generation of buildings.
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Joris Cox
Sustainability Ambassador Belux I Tarkett
With a history of more than 140 years, Tarkett is a worldwide leader in innovative and sustainable flooring solutions, generating turnover of € 3.4 billion in 2023. The Group has close to 12,000 employees, 23 R&D centers, 8 recycling centers and 34 production sites. Tarkett creates and manufactures solutions for hospitals, schools, housing, hotels, offices, stores and sports fields, serving customers in over 100 countries. We commit every day to the design of great spaces. For us, this means exceeding indoor air quality standards, instituting healthy material norms, reducing our carbon footprint and creating a Circular Economy supported by Cradle to Cradle® principles. Doing better, for people and planet.