Creators of custom-designed carpets, Dansk Wilton has quickly become a prominent name within the cruise interiors community. The first company in the world to deliver the Cradle to Cradle certified Colortec carpet solution, Dansk Wilton is known for its commitment to sustainability and creating “green” interiors, which is why the company’s marketing manager Lone Ditmer, will be taking to the stage on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, for the session ‘Sustainability in Design & Operations‘.
Ahead of her session – where Lone will cover key topics surrounding sustainability in design alongside panellists from BG Studio and Tillberg Design of Sweden – we caught up with Lone to find out what to expect on the day.
Hi Lone. Thanks for speaking with us today! You joined Dansk Wilton in 2014, can you tell us about your role and journey within the company known for its custom-designed carpets since then?
It’s my pleasure! Yes, I joined Dansk Wilton at the beginning of 2014. The position was, at that time, partly back office project management and partly marketing activities. In 2016, my full time was devoted to our marketing activities as marketing manager, as well as sustainable business development projects. I am also part of our management team here at Dansk Wilton.
We can also see a rising focus on sustainability within the hospitality industry, especially within the cruise segment. This rising awareness and all the talk about sustainability, however, also demands documentation and transparency.
Dansk Wilton recently launched the Colortec RE:THINK carpet solution in an effort to contribute to the development of environmentally friendly solutions in the hospitality industry. Can you tell us a bit more about this project?
With all production located in Denmark, consideration for the environment and social responsibility are natural elements in the way we run our business. However, we also believe that we can always do better and we saw a need and an opportunity to develop even more strongly in the right direction. With a growing world population and a growing middle class globally, our planet is under pressure, so we really need to rethink what we do and how we do it; especially within production and consumption!
We can also see a rising focus on sustainability within the hospitality industry, especially within the cruise segment. This rising awareness and all the talk about sustainability, however, also demands documentation and transparency. We want to prevent “greenwashing” by documenting our efforts and action through a third party.
We believe that the Cradle to Cradle certification is one of the most renowned in the field and we like the holistic approach dealing with not less than five focus areas: Material Health, Material Reutilization, Renewable Energy, Water Stewardship, and Social Fairness. The Cradle to Cradle philosophy has at the same time become our strategic management tool for our sustainable business development.
A very important expression working with sustainability is “perfection should not stand in the way of good”.
At the inaugural Cruise Ship Interiors Expo, you’ll be presenting on Dansk Wilton’s Cradle to Cradle solutions and sustainability philosophy. Without giving too much away, what can we expect from your talk and what’s the main message you’re hoping to translate to CSIE attendees?
I will be presenting how we use the Cradle to Cradle certification and philosophy as a strategic tool and guideline for our sustainable business development. I am also going to stress the importance of setting ambitious goals, but at the same time working out a more detailed roadmap with different milestones that have to be reached on the way. A very important expression working with sustainability is “perfection should not stand in the way of good”. Talking about sustainability, taking responsibility in the value chain and forming partnerships is also of major importance.
In short, I hope to fill the 15 minutes sharing our experiences, giving inspiration, and calling for action!
What does sustainability, or the green movement, mean to you?
As I said earlier, I truly believe that we need to take action and rethink what we do. We need to be honest and discuss the challenges that we are, and will be, facing. At the same time, I see major opportunities to make new product innovations and new business models based on sustainable business development.
I believe that not only politicians but also organizations and the individual consumer all have a huge responsibility choosing the right materials, products and suppliers. It is not about consuming less but consuming right.
I believe that we will experience travellers choosing sustainable operators more and more; operators who combine luxury with sustainability and responsibility.
At Dansk Wilton, you’re creating tangible solutions to combat issues surrounding sustainability with your Cradle to Cradle approach. What role do you think Dansk Wilton will be playing in the movement towards sustainability over the next five, 10, or even 15 years?
Dansk Wilton is a small player in this business; however, I believe that we can help push the sustainability movement in the right direction. Supplying Cradle to Cradle carpet solutions to the industry and spreading the message will hopefully bring even more attention to this topic.
We expect to see CSR as a mindset and as being an integrated part of the core business in the organizations in this industry and not as a department. However, it is difficult to be looking 5, 10 or even 15 years into the future. Right now, we are focusing on our short term goals. Nevertheless, I do believe that we will be seeing new business models, new partnerships and experience organizations taking more responsibility in the value chain.
In three words, how would you describe the cruise interiors industry today?
Challenging, customised, varied.
Finally, what are you looking forward to at Cruise Ship Interiors Expo Miami? Is there anything you’re particularly excited to see?
I am excited to see how many sustainable product innovations are there!