Tarkett vs Interface and Shaw Contract: The EPD Tug-of-War
Bid chatter in corporate interiors is shifting from "What looks best?" to "Whose EPD lands in the Dropbox first?" Tarkett, Interface, and Shaw Contract now jostle for that first click. The numbers in EC3 show a surprising balance of power—one kilobyte can swing a spec.
Why Bid Lists Keep Shifting
Carbon accounting is no longer background noise. On large interiors packages, design firms are assigning up to 10 % weighting to product-specific EPDs during shortlisting (Gensler Research, 2024). Miss that box and price breaks rarely save the day.
Interface: One-Track Carpet Dominance, Lean on Resilient
Interface sits on 363 current EPDs, the biggest stack in commercial flooring. Ninety-five percent cover carpet tile, its heritage stronghold. Only 11 live declarations address resilient formats, leaving healthcare and education projects hunting elsewhere when sheet or rubber is mandatory. That single-lane focus still positions Interface as a low-carbon icon—especially since many of its carpet EPDs claim cradle-to-gate intensities under 3 kg CO₂-eq/m² (UL listings, 2025).
Shaw Contract: Solid Showing but Narrower Spread
Shaw Contract holds 110 active EPDs. Roughly one in five target resilient flooring, and none cover wall base or accessories. The portfolio stays fresh—most files refresh every four years—but the breadth lags peers, which quietly knocks Shaw off hybrid carpet-plus-LVT packages in higher education fits outs.
Tarkett’s Mixed Board: Breadth Over Sheer Volume
Tarkett publishes 254 current EPDs across six product families, the widest range in the trio. The carpet library beats Shaw on volume and nearly matches Interface on cradle-to-gate intensity for flagship nylon tile. More decisive is Tarkett’s edge in 35 resilient EPDs and eight wall-base sheets, coverage neither rival can match today. That breadth keeps Tarkett in the room when designers pivot from carpet to aseptic vinyl mid-brief.
Specifiers Notice Category Gaps, Not Just Totals
A New York interiors studio compared all three suppliers for a hospital tower last spring. Interface led on carpet metrics, yet its absence of sheet vinyl EPDs forced the team to split the award (Healthcare Design Study, 2025). Category coverage trumped headline counts. The lesson: an EPD library behaves like a chess set—missing knights cost more games than redundant pawns.
Carbon Math Meets Aesthetics in Final Selection
Design leads still open with texture, plank size, and colour story. Procurement then overlays carbon budgets. When declarations exist for every SKU in the design palette, decision cycles shrink by two to three weeks (Metropolis, 2024). Tarkett’s multi-category library currently unlocks that fast lane more often than Shaw, and only Interface’s carpet depth can rival its low-friction path.
Closing: Renew Fast, Protect the Lead
Tarkett enjoys the broadest EPD coverage of the three brands, yet half of its resilient files expire within 24 months. Quick, data-efficient renewals can keep the library live without draining plant engineering time. Modern platforms now reset a full slate of EPDs in six to eight weeks instead of the six-month consultant slog, at a cost cushioned by the bids they keep alive. Staying current seals the spec door before Interface widens into vinyl or Shaw tops up its accessories queue. Tarkett can hold the advantage—as long as paperwork velocity matches the design team’s imagination.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many current EPDs does Tarkett North America list compared with Interface and Shaw Contract?
Tarkett shows 254 current EPDs in EC3, Interface 363, and Shaw Contract 110 (EC3 export, 2025).
Which product categories does Tarkett cover that Interface does not?
Tarkett maintains live EPDs for resilient sheet, wall base, and wood flooring, while Interface lacks any current declarations in wall base and publishes only 11 in resilient formats.
Is volume or category spread more important when bidding on healthcare projects?
Category spread. Hospitals often specify both sheet vinyl and carpet tile; a supplier missing one format faces split awards despite high EPD counts in another category (Healthcare Design Study, 2025).
What is the typical renewal timeframe for modern EPD services?
High-efficiency partners now complete full EPD renewals in roughly 6–8 weeks, about 70 % faster than traditional consultant workflows (EPD International AB case notes, 2024).
Do older EPDs hurt bid chances if they are still within validity?
Not usually. Spec teams care more about whether an EPD exists than its exact age, unless expiration is looming within the next few months (UL Guidance, 2024).
About the Author
Walker Ryan is a climate-tech entrepreneur focused on driving industrial decarbonization through better data. As the founder and CEO of Parq, he helps manufacturers generate high-quality, third-party–verified carbon disclosures at scale—accelerating a traditionally slow and expensive process. Before starting Parq, Walker led over $200 million in sustainability-focused investments as VP of Strategy & Growth at ReStream Solutions, following earlier experience in investment banking at Deutsche Bank. He brings a rare mix of capital markets expertise and hands-on sustainability knowledge to tackling the infrastructure of industrial emissions.
