Just like their corporate clients who book meetings and business travel, hotels are increasingly preferring to partner with suppliers who help drive sustainability. In the area of property design, eco-conscious FF&E and materials vendors practice sustainability in both their operations and their product offerings, helping hotels meet their responsible sourcing goals.
Flooring is among the most ubiquitous design components and thus integral to the sustainability of the indoor environment. Incorporating sustainable flooring helps hoteliers meet brand ESG goals, the requirements of green building certifications like LEED and WELL, as well as the expectations of many guests. “Flooring is a visible, large-scope material, so it’s an easy place to make progress and tell a sustainability story. Guests, especially younger travelers, notice and value responsible choices,” observed Angie Law, marketing director, Signature Flooring.
Key Certifications and Features
A best practice for procuring sustainable flooring products is to “look for certifications such as FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) for responsible wood sourcing, GREENGUARD, or LEED,” advised Tim Colgan, technical director at Bjelin in the United States, adding, “Our products are GREENGUARD Gold Certified, the strictest standard for off-gassing of harmful chemicals.” Law recommended:
(1) utilizing industry sustainability frameworks like MindClick’s MSAP for hospitality, “which allow hotel brands to compare flooring options based on a broad set of environmental and social criteria”;
(2) looking for third-party performance and emissions standards, such as low-VOC certifications for indoor air quality; and
(3) checking “transparency documentation, such as Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs) and material ingredient disclosures, which provide data on impacts and chemistry and support ESG reporting.”
Signature Flooring products exemplify criteria (2) and (3) by meeting high-performance standards and providing transparency with EPDs, HPDs, low-VOC certifications, etc. “Every Signature product is tested against leading low-emitting material standards such as Green Label Plus and FloorScore,” said Law. “This ensures our flooring contributes to healthier indoor environments. We are also investing in Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and publishing EPDs for our key product lines to better understand and communicate the full environmental impact—from raw materials to end of life.”
The ROI Factor
Beyond the benefits for the environment, sustainable flooring tends to have other advantageous qualities. “Owner and asset managers focus on long-term value: Sustainable flooring is often synonymous with better-built flooring—higher durability, longer lifecycles, lower maintenance requirements, and fewer replacement cycles,” Law explained. “That resonates with owners looking at total cost of ownership, not just first cost.”
Moreover, the initial cost difference between sustainable flooring products and their less expensive, non-sustainable counterparts is narrowing. “In many cases, flooring products with strong sustainability attributes are priced competitively with traditional options—especially when you compare like-for-like performance,” Law said. “For many of our hospitality customers, the conversation has shifted from ‘What’s the cheapest square yard today?’ to ‘What’s the smartest lifecycle investment for this asset?’ This is where sustainable flooring solutions tend to win.” Of course, sustainable flooring isn’t always more durable, and buyers should be wary of “short-lived, ‘disposable’ solutions: Materials that look attractive up front but require frequent replacement or intensive maintenance,” she added.
Woodura flooring, also called hardened wood, is an example of a product that combines sustainability with durability. “Our flooring is made from FSC-certified European wood, utilizing Woodura technology to only use one tenth of the lumber, leaving trees behind in the forest,” explained Colgan. “We operate according to the whole-log-philosophy, to ensure no waste. We’ve developed a range of plank and herringbone sizes to maximize each log, and any leftover material is repurposed into wood powder for the Woodura production process or turned into pellets for heating.”
On the durability side, Colgan noted that Woodura technology “significantly increases the surface strength, making floors more resistant to dents and water, which is ideal for high-traffic hospitality environments. This lengthens the lifespan considerably.” In addition, the superior floor-locking technology “allows for quick removal and replacement of a damaged plank resulting in no loss of revenue for room rentals,” he said. “With a pro matte finish, the surface is resistant to stains and exceedingly easy to clean without harsh chemicals.”
Future Flooring
To support the various goals of hoteliers and other buyers of commercial flooring, many manufacturers are “moving toward circular economy principles, adhesive-free installations, and smarter solutions with low maintenance and a longer life,” according to Colgan. Circular economy principles call for practices like reclamation, recycling, and designing products with clearer end-of-life pathways. For example, Law noted that Signature is part of the Carpet Recovery America Effort (CARE).
To conclude, she highlighted several other directions the flooring industry is heading:
• Lower embodied carbon: Materials and constructions that reduce embodied carbon are being produced through “smarter design, more efficient manufacturing, and better material sourcing,” she explained.
• More intelligent, data-driven design: “Digital tools and even AI are helping us move faster from concept to product, test more design ideas, and tailor patterns and colorways more precisely to meet brand and property needs, while still maintaining performance and sustainability targets.”
• Multi-functional performance: “Future flooring will increasingly be expected to do more—support acoustics, contribute to wellness and biophilic design, withstand evolving cleaning protocols, and offer flexible installation and replacement options—without sacrificing design.”
These ambitious directions in product development are helping to ensure hoteliers can get the most out of their flooring in all areas of the property, from design, performance, and sustainability perspectives.
