Mohawk Industries Releases Fourth Annual Sustainability Report

CALHOUN, Georgia, June 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sustainability is about making good choices. Each day, Mohawk (NYSE: MHK) chooses to do the right thing for customers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment.

Mohawk's fourth annual sustainability report reinforces the Company's commitment in each of these areas while maintaining excellence in consistency, transparency and accuracy in reporting. Since the inception of its formal sustainability reports, Mohawk has adhered to Global Reporting Initiative guidelines and the Company's data has been verified by an independent auditing firm. For the second year in a row, the report meets GRI's requirement for a B+ application level, which places Mohawk among the leaders in transparency of reporting sustainable practices.

Mohawk's interactive report, available exclusively online at www.mohawksustainability.com, highlights the Company's good choices in 2012 and reaffirms its commitment to global stakeholders.

"Our success as a company is defined by the choices we make every day," said Jeff Lorberbaum, chairman and chief executive officer of Mohawk Industries. "As our global footprint continues to grow, we'll continue to make responsible choices that bring the most value to our stakeholders, our customers and our people."

"Across our entire organization, 2012 was a tremendous year of progress in employee wellness and safety as well as in energy, emission and water reduction," said William Kilbride, chief sustainability officer at Mohawk. "We continue to invest in our people, product innovation and process improvements to drive long-term value for our stakeholders and achieve our long-term business goals."

In 2012, Mohawk received recognition for its good choices from several regional and national organizations. Once again, Newsweek ranked Mohawk the highest among flooring manufacturers in its annual ranking of America's largest green companies, while the Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings placed the Company third among Georgia companies in their 2012 rankings. Additionally, Floor Covering Weekly, a leading trade publication, awarded Mohawk its GreenStep Award for its commitment to reducing its environmental impact.

"Our goals are aggressive and impactful," noted Kilbride, "and take substantial effort to achieve. As you'll see in our report, regardless of the challenges, we remain committed to making choices that will help us accomplish our 2020 goals so that all of our stakeholders win."

Mohawk remains dedicated to integrity and open communication with all stakeholders. For the fourth consecutive year, the Company has enlisted highly regarded FIRA as its report assurance provider. Headquartered in the Netherlands, FIRA is a global company that ensures that all sustainability data and claims are analyzed and validated.

Mohawk's report uses GRI standards to report progress made in each of the Company's sustainable practices. This ensures that the organization is measuring and documenting its practices in a manner consistent with global best practices.

Highlights from Mohawk's 2012 Sustainability Report:

-- Repurposed more than 29 million pounds of recycled crumb rubber - the equivalent of 1.45 million rubber tires - to create beautiful door mats

-- Recycled approximately 3 billion plastic soda bottles to manufacture EverStrand(TM) carpet

-- Wellness initiatives around nutrition and exercise saw a combined 8,500 pounds lost by participants

-- Earned a Top 5 designation in Training magazine's annual Top 125 rankings

-- Invested millions of dollars in our communities through employee and Company contributions to local and national charitable organizations

-- Diverted more than 1 billion pounds of foam trim from landfills since 2005 to create first quality carpet cushion

-- In 2012, recycled nearly 5 million pounds of glass into fashionable tile products

-- Reduced water usage by 30 percent, or nearly 1.3 billion gallons, since 2008

To access the fourth annual Mohawk Sustainability Report, please visit the following website: www.mohawksustainability.com.

About Mohawk Industries

Mohawk Industries is a leading global flooring manufacturer that creates products to enhance residential and commercial spaces around the world. Mohawk's vertically integrated manufacturing and distribution processes provide competitive advantages in the production of carpet, rugs, ceramic tile, laminate, wood, stone and vinyl flooring. Our industry-leading innovation has yielded products and technologies that differentiate our brands in the marketplace and satisfy all remodeling and new construction requirements. Our brands are among the most recognized in the industry and include American Olean, Bigelow, Daltile, Durkan, Karastan, Lees, Marazzi, Mohawk, Pergo, Unilin and Quick-Step. During the past decade, Mohawk has transformed its business from an American carpet manufacturer into the world's largest flooring company with operations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia and the United States.

SOURCE Mohawk Industries