PARIS, Sept. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
During September 9-11, executives from Tarkett, a global leader in flooring and sports surfaces solutions, and Desso, a leading carpets and sport pitches company (part of Tarkett), will be joining in top level debates at the World Economic Forum's New Champions Summit in China on how the circular economy and business innovation can unleash new and sustainable economic growth for the long term.
The World Economic Forum is the international institution committed to improving the state of the world through public-private cooperation. At its summit in China, entitled "Charting a New Course for Growth"[1], leaders from industry, academia and government will explore new paths to prosperity based on innovation, collaboration and partnership.
Desso and Tarkett are supporters of the circular economy - the regenerative, sustainable model in which goods are designed to be recycled, reused or remanufactured in a closed loop system. Together, the companies are harnessing their combined experience and commitment to building a truly sustainable economic model that delivers innovation and added value to customers.
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the management consultants, McKinsey & Co., industry could save as much as a trillion dollars a year by 2025[2] through cost savings on materials as a result of going circular.
Desso is a steering group member of Project MainStream[3], a multi-industry and CEO-led global initiative to accelerate business-driven innovation and help scale up the circular economy. The initiative is organised by the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
During the summit, Tarkett and Desso will be taking part in two circular economy related sessions: a private session on Wednesday 9th September on 'Tackling a Sea of Plastic', and a public session on Friday 11th September focused on 'Mapping Solutions: Environment and Resource Security'.
"We are delighted to be taking part in such an important event and to be able to contribute with our thoughts on developing a positive way forward for sustainable economic growth, which is very much in line with our overall company goals," says Remco Teulings, President EMEA for Tarkett.
"At Desso, we have been on our Cradle to Cradle® journey since 2008 and that has provided us with valuable experience of the processes and challenges that need to be tackled. In Dalian, we will meet and engage with other leaders in science, business and government to share ideas on these crucial issues," says Roland Jonkhoff, Managing Director of Desso and Vice President Carpet EMEA for Tarkett.
About Tarkett
Tarkett is a global leader in innovative and sustainable solutions for flooring and sports surfaces. Offering a wide range of products including vinyl, linoleum, carpet, rubber, wood & laminate, synthetic turf and athletic tracks, the Group serves customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. With 12,000 employees and 34 industrial sites, Tarkett sells 1.3 million square meters of flooring every day, for hospitals, schools, housing, hotels, offices, stores and sports fields. Committed to sustainable development, the Group has implemented an eco-innovation strategy and promotes circular economy. Tarkett's net sales of 2.4 billion euros in 2014 are balanced between Europe, North America and the region comprising CIS countries, APAC & LATAM. Tarkett is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A, ticker TKTT, ISIN: FR0004188670). http://www.tarkett.com
About DESSO®
Desso, a Tarkett company, is a leading carpets, carpet tiles and sport pitches business, active in more than 100 countries. Its products are supplied to corporate offices, education, healthcare, government, homes and also hotels, cruise liners, airlines and premier football clubs. Desso's mission is to develop unique products that deliver a much improved indoor environment, helping to maximise people's health and wellbeing. This is driven by the company's innovation programme based on the three pillars of Creativity, Functionality and Cradle to Cradle® design which underpins the shift to the regenerative circular economy. http://www.desso.com
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1. http://www.weforum.org/events/annual-meeting-new-champions-2015
2. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ENV_TowardsCircularEconomy_Report_2014.pdf
3. http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/project-mainstream-launches-three-new-programmes
