LANCASTER, PA - ECORE International has earned FloorScore certification for its ECOsurfaces commercial flooring, Everlast sports surfacing, PlayGuard playground safety surfacing, and QT sound insulation products. The certification is given to products that meet stringent indoor air quality testing requirements for low-emitting building materials, and was developed by the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) in conjunction with Scientific Certification Systems (SCS).
"Maintaining the quality of the environment we live and work in has been a priority at ECORE since our inception, and indoor air quality is a key element of that interest," says Brad Drexler, chief marketing officer. "FloorScore certification clearly demonstrates our commitment to this critical issue and provides our customers the added confidence that using one of our products can help assure the overall indoor air quality of their building."
The FloorScore program complies with the IAQ performance requirements for low- emitting building materials as independently established by SCS-EC-10-2004.
The test requires both independent laboratory testing and third-party certification to demonstrate compliance with California Section 01350 VOC emissions limits and includes certified site audit and documented control system requirements. Floor coverings bearing the FloorScore label meet these VOC emissions requirements. These flooring products qualify for use in high performance schools and office buildings. Third-party certifier, SCS, reviews the results of VOC product emissions, as well as the raw materials and manufacturing processes.
Because of their positive environmental attributes, many of the building products ECORE produces, including ECOsurfaces commercial flooring, Everlast sports surfacing, PlayGuard playground safety surfacing, and QT sound insulation, to name a few, already have the potential to contribute points to the United States Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating SystemTM.
USGBC's LEED 2009 Rating System document, currently open for member ballot, gives further support to FloorScore in its EQ Credit 4.3, which, if adopted, would provide LEED credit for low-emitting flooring systems, including hard surface flooring certified under the FloorScore program. In addition, the California Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) officially recognizes products certified under FloorScore for low-emitting materials credit (EQ2.2) in the CHPS Criteria.
"FloorScore certification not only assures that our products are in compliance with current indoor air quality standards, but can potentially allow us to offer our customers additional benefits under the proposed LEED 2009 Rating System," adds Drexler.
The Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) is an industry trade association of North American manufacturers who produce resilient flooring products. More information on the FloorScore certification program can be found at www.rfci.com.
ECORE recycles 80 million pounds of scrap tire rubber each year, helping conserve more than 1 million barrels of oil in the process to convert pliable treads into durable products for the construction, consumer, commercial, industrial, and sports and leisure markets worldwide. Visit www.ecoreintl.com to learn more.