Article Number: 5492
GreenWorks dealers find dividends in community support programs
By Liz Switzer
It’s not easy being green — as the saying goes — but dealers at the top of the sustainable learning curve are finding that environmental consciousness is worth the effort. It’s about sustaining everyone, and it’s about community. For Mohawk’s finalists in its 2008 GreenWorks Dealer of the Year competition, sustainability is clearly a better way of doing business.
Mohawk’s eco-friendly dealers have all developed their own environmental programs and are actively engaged in growing their sustainable efforts at all levels of their businesses. Today, that means a lot more than just conserving resources, reducing waste and selling environmentally friendly products — if that’s not enough.
BACK TO SCHOOL
Mike Hughes, owner of Kelly’s Carpet in Omaha, Neb., winner of the first annual Mohawk GreenWorks Dealer of the Year award, covers the green bases but takes it up a notch. Hughes believes the best eco-dealers are those who make a difference in their communities, and the best place to start is with education — green education. Hughes employs a full-time, credentialed teacher with a master’s degree in education to increase environmental awareness within the community and schools. On employee days, his work force brings their children to work — some 100 kids — and eco-classes are conducted for them as well.
“I’m a believer in education and basically we key in on younger children,” Hughes said. “Those are the people that will make a difference long term.”
So is Hughes running a flooring store or a kindergarten? And what does childhood education have to do with selling floors?
It’s all, well, elementary, Hughes said. What it comes down to is differentiating from the competition, and that’s a strategy to which any flooring dealer can readily relate. “It is amazing the people who are interested in recycling, people who want to do it but maybe just don’t know how,” he said. “Recycling is an important part of this community and we want to show them that we practice what we preach. We walk the walk, not just talk the talk.”
Kelly’s is also beginning a reach-out effort to the local architectural community, an initiative that fits right into the company’s record of building sustainable ideas into the dealership from the ground up. Kelly’s also diverts 84% of waste from landfills through internal programs and recycling residential and commercial flooring that gets replaced. Also, Hughes contributes all of the flooring to Project Night Lights, a program that designs custom rooms for children living with or recovering from serious conditions, and donates a portion of every dollar earned to local schools, community groups and non-profits.
‘IT’S GOOD BUSINESS’
Battle Creek, Mich., dealer Hans Stark, owner of Michigan Carpet and Tile, has put together a community pad recycling program — and even accepts materials from area competitors and home centers. This represents a financial loss but some of that is offset from what would be spent on landfill fees anyway, Stark said. Profits are donated to Habitat for Humanity.
Stark also recycles everything that comes into the store except carpet; there is no carpet recycling facility in the area. However, he does send back carpet tile to the supplier. Stark is also very active in his community and believes it is important for business to view sustainability from a community standpoint. He has done so most recently through donations for energy-efficient windows for a local Al-Anon facility.
“It has definitely helped our business to advertise that,” he said. “The green initiatives we take today are not necessarily because we are concerned about global warming or that we are tree-huggers. We do it because we feel it is the proper thing to do, yes, but our community in Battle Creek really embraces the whole scenario of sustainability and recycling. It’s good business.”
Stark has also purchased new, fuel-efficient fleet vehicles and maximizes in-store signage to actively promote environmentally preferred products. Company vehicles are used to pick up and deliver slightly used furniture and appliances to needy families within the community. Free flooring repair is provided for “Helping the Community” — a non-profit geared toward helping the homeless, and other non-profits use their showroom at no charge.
MORE THAN PURE PROFIT
Beth Hughes, owner of O’Brien’s Carpet One in Colorado Springs, Colo., also works hard to gain her customers’ respect with sustainable outreach, even though that’s not always the easiest path to take — or the most immediately rewarding in terms of cash flow. Hughes and her husband, co-owner John Hughes, have made a real effort to recycle carpet and padding, even through the outlet for those materials has been very slow lately. Mills have recently begun to accept recycled goods again, but the last few months have been a challenge for the Hughes because they bail and store the materials on their property — even when supply exceeds demand.
“It’s not something we do purely from a profit standpoint,” Beth Hughes said. “It has taken a real commitment.” The Hughes also donate flooring to a LEED store in town. “In the mountains here, people are much more inclined to be interested in recycling, and that is changing all the time with customers consistently wanting to know what is recyclable,” she added.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE AT ALL COSTS
Carpet Bonanza owner Dave Machiela of Zeeland, Mich., recycles 95% of the carpet he replaces, and does it at a loss — a “serious loss” — he said. “We have to pay to get rid of it,” Machiela said, “and that is costly but we are trying our best to make a difference. At some point soon I believe recycling will be a requirement. When that happens, I’m going to be ahead of the game.”
Since April 1, 2009, Carpet Bonanza has diverted more than 1 million pounds of carpet cushion from landfills, and 80 tons of carpet. Machiela also purchases supplies locally, is known as a local supporter of non-profit organizations and community festivals, and opens his showroomto design students.
It’s not easy being green — as the saying goes — but dealers at the top of the sustainable learning curve are finding that environmental consciousness is worth the effort. It’s about sustaining everyone, and it’s about community. For Mohawk’s finalists in its 2008 GreenWorks Dealer of the Year competition, sustainability is clearly a better way of doing business.
Mohawk’s eco-friendly dealers have all developed their own environmental programs and are actively engaged in growing their sustainable efforts at all levels of their businesses. Today, that means a lot more than just conserving resources, reducing waste and selling environmentally friendly products — if that’s not enough.
BACK TO SCHOOL
Mike Hughes, owner of Kelly’s Carpet in Omaha, Neb., winner of the first annual Mohawk GreenWorks Dealer of the Year award, covers the green bases but takes it up a notch. Hughes believes the best eco-dealers are those who make a difference in their communities, and the best place to start is with education — green education. Hughes employs a full-time, credentialed teacher with a master’s degree in education to increase environmental awareness within the community and schools. On employee days, his work force brings their children to work — some 100 kids — and eco-classes are conducted for them as well.
“I’m a believer in education and basically we key in on younger children,” Hughes said. “Those are the people that will make a difference long term.”
So is Hughes running a flooring store or a kindergarten? And what does childhood education have to do with selling floors?
It’s all, well, elementary, Hughes said. What it comes down to is differentiating from the competition, and that’s a strategy to which any flooring dealer can readily relate. “It is amazing the people who are interested in recycling, people who want to do it but maybe just don’t know how,” he said. “Recycling is an important part of this community and we want to show them that we practice what we preach. We walk the walk, not just talk the talk.”
Kelly’s is also beginning a reach-out effort to the local architectural community, an initiative that fits right into the company’s record of building sustainable ideas into the dealership from the ground up. Kelly’s also diverts 84% of waste from landfills through internal programs and recycling residential and commercial flooring that gets replaced. Also, Hughes contributes all of the flooring to Project Night Lights, a program that designs custom rooms for children living with or recovering from serious conditions, and donates a portion of every dollar earned to local schools, community groups and non-profits.
‘IT’S GOOD BUSINESS’
Battle Creek, Mich., dealer Hans Stark, owner of Michigan Carpet and Tile, has put together a community pad recycling program — and even accepts materials from area competitors and home centers. This represents a financial loss but some of that is offset from what would be spent on landfill fees anyway, Stark said. Profits are donated to Habitat for Humanity.
Stark also recycles everything that comes into the store except carpet; there is no carpet recycling facility in the area. However, he does send back carpet tile to the supplier. Stark is also very active in his community and believes it is important for business to view sustainability from a community standpoint. He has done so most recently through donations for energy-efficient windows for a local Al-Anon facility.
“It has definitely helped our business to advertise that,” he said. “The green initiatives we take today are not necessarily because we are concerned about global warming or that we are tree-huggers. We do it because we feel it is the proper thing to do, yes, but our community in Battle Creek really embraces the whole scenario of sustainability and recycling. It’s good business.”
Stark has also purchased new, fuel-efficient fleet vehicles and maximizes in-store signage to actively promote environmentally preferred products. Company vehicles are used to pick up and deliver slightly used furniture and appliances to needy families within the community. Free flooring repair is provided for “Helping the Community” — a non-profit geared toward helping the homeless, and other non-profits use their showroom at no charge.
MORE THAN PURE PROFIT
Beth Hughes, owner of O’Brien’s Carpet One in Colorado Springs, Colo., also works hard to gain her customers’ respect with sustainable outreach, even though that’s not always the easiest path to take — or the most immediately rewarding in terms of cash flow. Hughes and her husband, co-owner John Hughes, have made a real effort to recycle carpet and padding, even through the outlet for those materials has been very slow lately. Mills have recently begun to accept recycled goods again, but the last few months have been a challenge for the Hughes because they bail and store the materials on their property — even when supply exceeds demand.
“It’s not something we do purely from a profit standpoint,” Beth Hughes said. “It has taken a real commitment.” The Hughes also donate flooring to a LEED store in town. “In the mountains here, people are much more inclined to be interested in recycling, and that is changing all the time with customers consistently wanting to know what is recyclable,” she added.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE AT ALL COSTS
Carpet Bonanza owner Dave Machiela of Zeeland, Mich., recycles 95% of the carpet he replaces, and does it at a loss — a “serious loss” — he said. “We have to pay to get rid of it,” Machiela said, “and that is costly but we are trying our best to make a difference. At some point soon I believe recycling will be a requirement. When that happens, I’m going to be ahead of the game.”
Since April 1, 2009, Carpet Bonanza has diverted more than 1 million pounds of carpet cushion from landfills, and 80 tons of carpet. Machiela also purchases supplies locally, is known as a local supporter of non-profit organizations and community festivals, and opens his showroomto design students.
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