2024 End of Year Wrap Up

2024 End of Year Wrap Up

By Michelle Ko

We're proud to celebrate a year of groundbreaking achievements across Carnegie and our family brands of Xorel, Xorel Artform, and Kirei. With sustainability, innovation, and design excellence at the forefront, here's a look back at some of the highlights that defined the past year:

10 Years of Biobased Xorel

We celebrated a decade of Biobased Xorel®, reinforcing our commitment to sustainable innovation with a refreshed palette for our legendary Xorel classics, Dash and Strie. This milestone also marked a major achievement in sustainable design: the announcement of Biobased Xorel C2C Gold, now with a third-party verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) in accordance with the international EPD system. With an embodied carbon footprint of just 1.12 kg CO2 per yard, we were thrilled to share this data after years of rigorous analysis, providing those with a scientific metric to earn credits for green building certifications. As the industry continues to prioritize healthier building materials and embodied carbon, we are proud to be part of the movement. And while we've celebrated ten years, this is just the beginning. We will never settle in our quest to create materials that are even more beautiful, durable, and sustainable—materials that matter.

Leading the PVC-Free Movement

PVC is often regarded as an affordable building material, but its environmental and health impacts reveal a much higher hidden cost. From wall coverings and windowpanes to upholstery and flooring, the gradual shift to replace PVC with sustainable alternatives is gaining traction among environmentally conscious architects, designers, and manufacturers. Carnegie has been at the forefront of this movement, exemplified by the launch of Carnegie Siltech, a sustainable, silicone-based coated upholstery brand that delivers high-performance free of finishes, PVC, and PFAS. Carnegie CEO Gordon Boggis and Jonce Walker, HLW's Global Director of Sustainability and Wellness, furthered the conversation on the "I Hear Design" podcast, exploring the challenges of vinyl, the rise of alternatives, and the industry's transition toward a PVC-free future. Discover 7 PVC-free solutions that are advancing sustainable design practices in this Fast Company article.

Fast Company's Impact Council

In July 2024, Carnegie CEO Gordon Boggis was named to Fast Company's Impact Council, joining influential leaders from top companies like Apple and Deloitte. The council focuses on driving positive change through sustainable and innovative practices. Boggis' inclusion underscores his commitment to sustainability, as demonstrated by Carnegie's development of Biobased Xorel. The Impact Council represents the ideal vision of Fast Company's readers—creative, mission-driven leaders in business—making it a great honor for Carnegie's leadership to be recognized and included in this esteemed community.

“I am honored to join Fast Company’s Impact Council, a unique forum that brings together visionary leaders dedicated to addressing some of the world’s most critical challenges through innovation and collaboration.” 
- Gordon Boggis

The Launch of New Acoustic Solutions

After the acquisition of Kirei in 2022, the Carnegie team worked tirelessly to develop a new acoustic solutions division that brought together both the Kirei and Xorel Artform brands. In 2024, we introduced two brand new collections of fully customizable, sustainable acoustic products designed to balance collaboration with personal space in open-plan interiors. Our inaugural launch, Hyper Sonic, saw the first new Xorel Artform products in three years, offering dynamic new shapes and texture, while the second, Tuned, showed how Kirei and Xorel Artform products could work together to inspire and create acoustically healthy spaces. 

Acoustic Design with Purpose

Whether partnering with ArtLifting, a for-profit public benefit corporation committed to building financial resilience for artists with disabilities , or expanding our portfolio with new acoustic innovations, Carnegie has made it its mission to design beautiful acoustic products with purpose. Designers deserve acoustic solutions that are not only visually stunning but also environmentally friendly, sustainably sourced, and thoughtfully developed to build healthier, more comfortable spaces.

Looking Ahead

As we look back on 2024, we remain steadfast in our commitment to transforming spaces with sustainable, innovative solutions that help our clients create beautiful, lasting commercial environments that are healthy for both people and the planet. Through design, education, and service, we are proud to be part of this journey. Thank you for being with us every step of the way. Together, we continue to inspire a brighter, more sustainable future for generations to come.

Check out our latest collection of the new year: An Ode to Textiles.

About the Author

Michelle Ko is the Marketing Manager at Carnegie. With a natural curiosity and a deep appreciation for beautiful design, Michelle enjoys writing stories about creativity and the people behind it.