Flooring Sustainability Summit honors 2026 award winners

Washington, D.C.—The Flooring Sustainability Summit honored 2026 award winners at its 2026 Architecture and Design Awards ceremony.

Sponsored by Ecomedes, the awards were presented at the AIA Global Campus for Architecture and Design following opening remarks from Andrew Flank of the American Institute of Architects and Hon. Stephen Ayers, the Green Building Initiative’s chief executive officer and the 11th architect of the Capitol.

The annual awards recognize architects, designers and industry professionals whose work demonstrates environmental impact, innovation and leadership in sustainable flooring. An independent panel representing architecture, design, manufacturing and sustainability evaluated the entries.

“The projects and professionals recognized this year exemplify that sustainable flooring solutions can elevate design while delivering significant environmental benefits,” said Bill Griese, summit chair. “Spanning healthcare, education, workplaces, public spaces and recreation, these projects showcase the broad impact sustainable flooring can have across the built environment.”

2026 Architecture and Design Award winners

Public/Community Project of the Year
Valley of Fire State Park Visitor’s Center
Firm: LGA Architecture

The project earned recognition for its terrazzo flooring and sustainable material selection. Judges cited its use of Red List Free and bio-based materials with lower global warming potential, along with an emphasis on material transparency, durability and design inspired by the Mojave Desert.

Office/Workplace Project of the Year
Commercial Flooring Recovery Partnership
Company: ReCover Recycling Program

The project recycled nearly 94,000 square feet of existing carpet into new flooring products. It also prioritized recycled-content materials, product transparency and low-emitting finishes to reduce waste and support healthier interior spaces.

Education Project of the Year
Warren Elementary School
Firm/Company: Sherman Carter Barnhart and Warren County Public Schools
Recognized Individuals: Jennifer Cash and Chris McIntyre

The school incorporated hemp wood flooring, rapidly renewable materials manufactured using solar energy and zero-VOC, low-emitting products. The project supports the district’s broader net-zero and sustainability goals.

Recreation/Athletic Project of the Year
Creighton University Volleyball Court
Firm: GLGR
Recognized Individuals: Tim Gallagher, Sam Grunseth, Huson Miller and Monica Cullen

Rather than sending the existing competition floor to a landfill, the project reused it in Creighton’s practice facility. Judges recognized the project for demonstrating circularity and long-term material stewardship.

Healthcare/Institutional Project of the Year
University of Michigan Health, Michigan Medicine
Firm: HOK
Recognized Individuals: Paul Strohm, William Wahle, Mark Banholzer and Alison Giometti

The LEED Platinum-certified project uses ceramic tile and advanced installation systems to improve long-term performance. It also reduces material waste through prefabrication while improving indoor environmental quality with low-emitting materials.

Person of the Year

The Flooring Sustainability Summit named Edwin Lingg, founder and owner of LICO, its 2026 Person of the Year. The award recognizes his contributions to advancing sustainability in the flooring industry.

“Edwin’s commitment to innovation and sustainability has had a lasting impact on the flooring industry,” Griese said. “His leadership exemplifies the type of forward-thinking vision this award was created to recognize.”

The award recognizes leadership, innovation, advocacy and measurable environmental impact that advance sustainable flooring practices.

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WFCA Step Up Tour spotlights first three member businesses

Dalton—The World Floor Covering Association’s (WFCA) Step Up Tour has completed its first three stops, highlighting member businesses recognized for leadership, innovation and commitment to the flooring industry.

“The flooring industry has always been strongest when professionals are willing to share what they’ve learned,” said Scott Humphrey, CEO of WFCA. “The Step Up Tour gives us the opportunity to recognize businesses making a difference, celebrate the people behind their success and share ideas that help strengthen our industry.”

The tour visited Sunshine Interiors in Lakeland, Fla., Jabara’s Home Services in Wichita, Kan. and Carpet Exchange in Denver. According to WFCA, the companies represent different business models while sharing a commitment to customer service, community involvement and professional development.

Created to spotlight outstanding WFCA member businesses, the Step Up Tour goes beyond the showroom to meet with owners, employees, manufacturing partners, customers and community organizations. The association shares those stories through articles, videos, photography, podcasts and other digital content.

The stops

Each stop highlights a different leadership approach.

• Sunshine Interiors, led by President Darren Harrison, demonstrates how purpose-driven leadership shapes company culture, decision-making and community engagement.
• Under President Jason Jabara, Jabara’s Home Services reflects four generations of family leadership built on customer relationships and adaptability.
• At Carpet Exchange, President Bruce Odette emphasizes operational excellence while investing in employee development to build long-term success.

According to WFCA, all three companies also share a commitment to remaining active in the association and supporting the flooring industry through professional education and participation in WFCA initiatives.

“The most valuable part of every Step Up Tour visit isn’t simply telling a company’s story—it’s sharing ideas that can inspire another business,” said Freida Staten, chief marketing and strategy officer for WFCA. “Every stop reminds us that our industry is filled with leaders willing to share their experiences so others can grow, innovate and succeed.”

WFCA plans to continue the Step Up Tour through 2027, featuring additional member businesses across North America.

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Retailers React: What is your favorite motto/ saying?

Every two weeks, FCNews seeks out flooring retailers across the country to offer their advice on hot topics of the day. What is your favorite motto/ saying?

Here are their responses:

“Success isn’t built on motivation; it’s built on the discipline to do the work every single day.” Motivation is an emotion. Discipline is a habit. That’s why discipline is far more powerful. Motivation is fleeting and comes and goes based on your mood, energy level or circumstances. If you only act when you feel motivated, your progress will always be inconsistent. Discipline, however, is a commitment to doing what needs to be done.”

—Tom Norris

ProSource Wholesale

Pittsburgh, Pa.

““You are only one decision away from a different life.” A career decision based only on money and not on love of the work—or a desire to make a difference—is a recipe for unhappiness.”

—Typhannie Harker

Carpeting by Mike

Somerset, Wis.

“Always do what is right and you will succeed.” The flooring world isn’t perfect, and we run into issues at times. Even when claims aren’t approved by manufacturers, there is a good chance we are replacing the floor. We will always take care of the issue at our expense.”

—Ryan Boender

Sackett’s Flooring

Kalamazoo, Mich.

““It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent—it is the one most adaptable to change.” It crosses both the personal and professional realm, and it reminds us that being able to pivot is what makes us and keeps us great.”

—Elise Lefebvre

ProSource Wholesale

Tempe, Ariz.

“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” This applies perfectly to our industry. As retailers we are only successful because of the whole process. From sales to installers, they make the team that makes every job successful. Without them we wouldn’t be what we are.”

—Joe Elder

Hiller’s Flooring America

Rochester, Minn.

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Portobello America debuts Loom collection

Baxter, Tenn.—Portobello America has expanded its “Living Home” portfolio with the introduction of the Loom collection, a ceramic surface series that combines woven-inspired textures with rich, earth-toned colors for residential and commercial interiors.

The collection draws on global design trends to create surfaces that deliver both visual appeal and tactile depth.

Woven-inspired texture

The Loom collection features a dimensional surface with a matte finish and woven-inspired texture designed to add warmth and depth to interior spaces.

Loom Warp complements the collection with a more subtle, plain surface that balances architectural compositions while allowing Loom’s textured designs to stand out. Together, the two styles create contrast, rhythm and layered surface compositions.

Earth-inspired color palette

The collection is available in a range of earthy colors, including deep burgundy, mossy greens, warm taupes, cool grays and soft cream. The combination of texture and color gives the collection a handcrafted appearance suited for both residential and commercial environments.

Flexible formats

Designed to coordinate with the broader Portobello America portfolio, Loom is available in 6 x 6 and 2 x 10 formats. Loom Warp is offered exclusively in a 2 x 10 format.

The company said the range of sizes allows designers to create a variety of installation patterns while introducing movement, contrast and texture into interior spaces.

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4 factors driving interest in hardwood today

Despite the tremendous competition facing the hardwood flooring category, there are still those traditionalists who would accept nothing other than the real thing—and for good reason. After all, hardwood remains the most aspirational flooring category, and it provides the highest return on investment of any competing category. Even as housing turnover fluctuates and competing resilient flooring categories expand their share of new construction and renovation projects, there always seems to be a viable market for hardwood, particularly the higher-end product offerings.

But to truly capitalize on hardwood’s well-earned reputation, it’s important to understand the key factors driving consumption. Following are the primary trends shaping hardwood flooring demand today:

1. White oak reigns supreme

White oak remains the predominant species in contemporary hardwood flooring design. Its signature grain characteristics, understated character and neutral undertones make it uniquely adaptable across a wide range of interior styles. Designers also point out that white oak’s adaptability to both warm and cool stain palettes allows homeowners to evolve their interiors over time without replacing flooring.

White oak’s continued dominance is evident across this year’s new product introductions, including the eye-catching First Press line of hardwood from Cali. Mike Belprez, vice president of marketing, called the new collection the “finest expression of the European white oak,” drawing comparisons to the first press of a specific kind of grape in the wine-making industry.

2. Wide/long still strong

Another defining trend that continues to fuel hardwood consumption is the ongoing popularity of wider and longer plank formats. Traditional strip flooring—while still consumed in some niche markets—has steadily given way to planks typically measuring between 5 and 10 inches in width (and even a few inches wider in some limited cases). Combined with extended lengths, these boards convey a dramatic presence.

A prime example is the Timbertop collection from Urbanfloor. The product boasts oversized plank formats, featuring European oak in extra-wide 15 3 /4-inch planks up to 13 inches long. The wide-plank SKUs are also available in coordinating herringbone patterns for a custom look. “The result is a floor that feels both timeless and luxurious while delivering the craftsmanship and visual impact today’s homeowners and designers are looking for,” said Yvette Shroyer, director of marketing.

3. Matte finishes remain in style

High-gloss hardwood finishes, once associated with luxury interiors, have largely been replaced by matte and low-sheen alternatives. This shift, observers say, reflects a broader cultural preference for authenticity and plays to wood’s strengths—natural variations and oneof-a-kind grains and patterns. Moreover, textured, low-gloss surfaces are more forgiving in everyday living environments, helping conceal scratches, dust and wear patterns.

No surprise, then, that more manufacturers are developing finishes that deliver the performance that today’s consumers expect while still allowing the natural beauty of the wood to “shine” through. One such innovation is the new livUp finish from Mercier. The coating was engineered to provide 10X the scratch resistance of traditional finishes while offering the clarity that consumers crave.

4. Gray gives way to warm, neutral tones

After nearly a decade of gray flooring dominance, the U.S. market has transitioned decisively toward warmer neutral tones. Beige, honey, soft brown, wheat and natural oak finishes are now replacing cooler gray-washed stains. This evolution aligns with broader interior design movements emphasizing comfort, warmth and brining the outdoors inside.

The shift in color preference is reflected in many of the introductions hitting the U.S. market today. This includes the Bluum collection from Mirage, which was expanded earlier this year to include five new trendy colors. “The new Bluum collection brings nature’s wonders into bloom in the home,” said Jerome Goulet, vice president of marketing.

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Tarkett expands Johnsonite wall base portfolio

Solon, Ohio—Tarkett expanded its Johnsonite wall base portfolio with the addition of six of its most popular Millwork Wall Base profiles in the company’s non-PVC Baseworks thermoset rubber formulation.

The new Baseworks Millwork collection delivers the architectural appearance of Millwork Wall Base while providing a Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver solution.

“For customers who prefer non-PVC solutions, Baseworks Millwork Wall Base achieves the look of finely milled wood, while preserving forestry and conserving installation and maintenance costs over the life of the product,” said Michael Mathews, senior vice president of commercial strategy for Tarkett.

Baseworks Millwork installs easily and requires no touchups or repainting. Johnsonite’s thermoset rubber material flexes for standard, curved and column installations while resisting fading, cracking and shrinking.

The collection includes six profiles—Reveal, Stance, Inflection, Mandalay, Monument and Equinox—in heights from 4 inches to 5.25 inches. Each profile comes in 10 Johnsonite colors manufactured without dye lots, including: Black, Burnt Umber, Charcoal, Pebble, Moon Rock, Grey, Silver Grey, White, Brown and Fawn.

Tarkett said the collection expands Johnsonite’s portfolio with additional colors, profiles and non-PVC options.

Like all Johnsonite products, Baseworks Millwork is made in America, FloorScore Certified and part of Tarkett’s ReStart take-back and recycling program.

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Mohawk Industries releases 17th annual Impact Report

Calhoun, Ga.—Mohawk Industries published its 17th annual impact report. Titled “Designed for Impact,” the 2025 report highlights Mohawk’s accelerated progress toward its key goals while highlighting the stories of how the company’s people, processes and products are making a difference in all areas of sustainability.

“Each year, we share our impact report as both a candid appraisal of where we stand on our sustainability journey and as a means of acknowledging the important work of more than 40,000 associates around the globe who are helping us meet or exceed our goals,” said Malisa Maynard, Mohawk’s chief sustainability officer. “This year, our team reflected on feedback we received about past reports and streamlined the content to create a more reader-friendly document without sacrificing transparency or data. In many instances, we used links to content housed on our sustainability hub so that readers can focus their time on their areas of interest.”

Mohawk is the world’s largest flooring manufacturer with leading market positions on four continents. The company aligns its business and sustainability strategies to deliver innovative building product solutions grounded in product circularity while lowering costs by effectively managing its supply chain, reducing its consumption of natural resources, delivering ongoing productivity gain and investing in advanced technologies, including renewable energy.

“Because we offer an expansive product portfolio that varies between regions, we use our annual impact report to detail local product innovation and process improvements while assessing our sustainability progress through enterprise-wide goals,” Maynard said.

The report also spotlights product-level circularity gains:

• For the year, the company reclaimed more than 49 million pounds of end-of-life products.
• In the U.S., over 99% of Daltile’s manufactured tile collections contain recycled or reclaimed materials, with more than 300 million pounds of material recovered and reused each year.
• Mohawk’s popular PureTech waterproof resilient flooring features an 80% organic, renewable polymer core and PVC-free construction. PureTech is composed of 70% recycled materials overall.
• Across regions, the company’s laminated wood flooring collections minimize harvesting of trees by processing recycled or reclaimed wood, which keeps stored carbon sequestered by extending the useful life of the material.
• The company’s U.S. ReCover carpet recycling program grew material recovery by 133% year-over-year through an expanded retailer pilot. ReCover is expanding to include additional flooring categories.
• Unilin Panels’ patented new Osiris technology recovers and reintegrates wood fiber from waste
• MDF/HDF and laminate boards, which has made the company the first to recycle this material into new products.

Mohawk celebrated exceeding its sustainability goals in 2025. The company cut its Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity by 31% against its original baseline, surpassing the 25% target, and set a new 20% reduction goal in absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from a 2021 baseline.

Mohawk also cut its manufacturing waste-to-landfill intensity by 55% against its baseline, outpacing its 30% target and set a new goal of repurposing 85% of manufacturing waste into productive value streams by 2035.

Water withdrawal intensity fell 50%, also beating the 30% reduction target, and Mohawk continues to prioritize responsible water stewardship across its global operations. Mohawk’s wood sourcing for flooring, boards and panels reached a 99.5% responsible-sourcing verification rate in 2025, keeping the company on track toward its 2030 goal of 100% verification.

Mohawk partnered with its global workforce to improve safety year over year as the 2025 global recordable injury rate (RIR) dropped to 1.17, down 37%, as the company continues working toward its 2030 goal of a world-class rate below 1.0.

As part of its efforts to highlight the importance of sustainability across the industry, from July 15 – 17, Mohawk will sponsor and participate in the third annual Flooring Sustainability Summit in Washington, D.C., which convenes sustainability experts representing the manufacturing, architecture, interior design and green building community. This unique event facilitates productive and insightful discussion of sustainability and green building practices and is hosted by the nation’s leading flooring trade associations across all product categories.

“As our impact report will attest, Mohawk’s associates, customers and suppliers work together to pursue lasting, positive impact for people, for business and for the planet,” Maynard said. “Events like the Flooring Sustainability Summit foster collaboration across the industry as we share what we have learned and build on one another’s progress to benefit our customers and consumers.”

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