Shaw Industries Group, Inc. has promoted Kellie Ballew to vice president of global sustainability.
A 25-year company veteran, Ms. Ballew has a long history of partnering with Shaw leaders to leverage market insights and technical expertise to inform, influence and support business decisions. Most recently serving as director of sustainability, Ms. Ballew has been focused on Shaw’s commercial business for the past two years, ensuring that the company’s sustainability strategy and execution help create a competitive advantage for Shaw and its brands. Ms.
Ballew will expand that role of internal consultant and subject matter expert to the enterprise -- driving continued sustainability innovation and operational excellence.
“Kellie has an innate ability to navigate the complex, interdependent opportunities and challenges within sustainability. Her leadership will ensure we continue to enhance the value Shaw brings to its wide range of customers,” said Susan Farris, vice president of corporate communications and sustainability.
Ms. Ballew looks to build upon Shaw’s sustainability leadership, which includes:
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Almost 90 percent of the products the company manufactures being Cradle to Cradle CertifiedTM;
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Assessing more than 1.6 billion pounds of raw material used in its operations for material health last year (2019);
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Reducing the enterprise’s carbon footprint by more than 50 percent since 2010 and achieving carbon neutrality in its commercial operations in 2018; and
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Reclaiming and recycling almost 1 billion pounds of carpet since 2006 through the company’s re[TURN] Reclamation Program.
“People are at the heart of Shaw’s sustainability efforts. It’s what we call sustain[HUMAN]ability,” said Ms. Ballew. “That’s why we are intently focused on the ingredients that go into our products and the impacts of sound, moisture, cleanability and other design elements on people, in addition to global challenges like climate change and ocean plastics. It’s about people and the planet.”
A recognized leader within Shaw, Ms. Ballew has also been recognized locally and nationally for her contributions, including being a 2015 Manufacturing Institute STEP Ahead award winner and a member of the 2020 class of the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership.
In addition to the more than six years that Ms. Ballew has been a member of Shaw’s sustainability team, she has played roles in Shaw’s industrial engineering, financial systems and in commercial technical development teams. "Her early involvement with EcoWorx carpet tile and Cradle to Cradle design philosophies provide her with deep knowledge and illustrate her ongoing commitment to innovation," officials said.