Shaw Installing Solar Panels at Flooring Manufacturing Plant in Georgia

October 09, 2013

Shaw Installing Solar Panels at Flooring Manufacturing Plant in Georgia

System to generate 1.4 million kilowatt hours of power annually at Cartersville, Ga. carpet tile facility

Cartersville, Ga. – October 9, 2013 – Shaw Industries Group, Inc. (Shaw) is installing solar panels on the roof of its carpet tile manufacturing facility in Cartersville, Ga. Construction is expected to be completed – with the system fully operational – in October.

The installation is expected to produce approximately 1.4 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of power annually – enough to power approximately 100 homes in Georgia each year. Feeding into the Georgia Power electric grid, Shaw will use this renewable energy to help power its Plant 15 (also known as Plant X), a facility that produces carpet tile for the commercial market.

“Within Shaw’s holistic approach to sustainability, we continually explore opportunities to improve energy efficiency and employ renewable and alternative energy sources,” stated Paul Murray, vice president of sustainability and environmental affairs at Shaw. “Solar is a mature, reliable power source, and the economics made this a viable, long-term investment for this facility.”

In 2012, Shaw invested more than $5 million in energy efficiency and greenhouse gas improvements, and the company reduced its GHG emissions intensity by more than 17 percent from 2011 to 2012 (from 1.80 to 1.49 pounds of CO2 equivalents per pound of finished product).

Dedicated to creating a better future for its customers, its employees, the company and its communities, Shaw’s 2030 environmental goals include designing 100 percent of its products to Cradle to Cradle protocols, which includes a focus on renewable energy – as well as material health, material reutilization, water stewardship and social fairness.

About Shaw

The world’s largest carpet manufacturer and a leading floorcovering provider, Shaw Industries Group, Inc. is a vertically integrated manufacturer that supplies carpet, rugs, hardwood, laminate, resilient, tile & stone flooring products and synthetic turf to residential and commercial markets worldwide. A wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. with more than $4 billion (USD) in annual sales and 23,000 associates, Shaw is headquartered in Dalton, Georgia, with salespeople and/or offices located throughout the U.S., as well as Australia, Canada, China, India, Mexico, Singapore and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit http://shawfloors.com/about-shaw.