As one of the central management agencies in the federal government, the GSA must meet the guidelines in the Federal Acquisition Regulation Section 23.704, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Section 6002, and Presidential Executive Order 13101. These guidelines require federally funded agencies to promote cost-effective waste reduction, including the purchase of environmentally preferable and recycled-content products. In addition, every federal agency is required to incorporate waste prevention and recycling into its daily operations.

DuPont Flooring Systems, a flooring service branch of DuPont Textiles & Interiors, helps GSA meet these federal guidelines by providing carpet of Environmentally Preferable Product-certified Antron® nylon, proper installation and maintenance services, and the DuPont™ Carpet Reclamation® program. These products and services support the GSA’s goal of carrying out social and environmental responsibilities that save taxpayer dollars by using natural resources efficiently and preventing pollution, as well as maintaining environmental health and safety for associates, clients and neighboring communities.

Antron is the first and only carpet fiber to be certified as an Environmentally Preferable Product by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS). The SCS Environmentally Preferable Product Certification Program is built upon ISO-14000 standards including the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) approach as defined in ISO 14042 and the August 1999 EPA Environmental Preferable Purchasing Guidance document. All Antron BCF fibers, manufactured in North America, meet Environmentally Preferable Product guidelines due to several key factors:

* product performance significantly better than what is typical of commercial carpet fibers;
* product manufacturing with a significantly smaller total
environmental impact;
* use of significantly more “green energy;”
* documentation of significant efforts toward protecting the health, safety and the environment; and
* end-of-life responsibility.

In addition, DuPont Flooring Systems installs carpet properly, ensuring that the carpet will not have to be replaced due to improper installation. The company also promotes carpet maintenance; championing the idea that carpet that does not look dirty or old is not likely to be replaced as often, reducing waste. Finally, DuPont Flooring Systems operates the DuPont Carpet Reclamation program, which recycles all types of used carpet and backing, and has kept more than 87 million pounds of carpet out of U.S. landfills during its existence.