The Impact of Floor Renovation

Floor owners and industry stakeholders often overlook renovation as a viable alternative to new flooring. Perfectly good floors are thrown out and replaced with new, sometimes inferior floors, resulting in waste of materials and resources. With growing resource scarcity and climate concerns, the full extent of the environmental consequences needs to be evaluated and taken into consideration.

The Impact of Floor Renovation

RENOVATION FOR BRIGHTER FLOOR FUTURE

Facts that strengthen our passion

For decades, Bona has championed floor renovation as a more responsible alternative to replacement. While practical experience has long supported this view, there was limited public research to quantify its environmental impact. In 2019, Bona partnered with the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute to compare the environmental impact of floor renovation versus replacement in Sweden, with clear results: renovation significantly reduces environmental impact.

Cost Savings

By renovating a floor rather than installing a new one, you save 97%* energy from production of raw materials, resources and travel.

Energy Savings

Plank-by-plank, a renovation of a wood floor works out to be at least 40%** less expensive compared to ripping out and installing a new floor.

Renovate, Don't Replace

The environmental impact of a refinished wooden floor is equivalent to 1.4 kg carbon dioxide per m2, compared to a newly installed floor, which has an average of 6.63 kg.

*IVL Report, Swedish Environmental Research Institute, 2025
**IVL Report, Swedish Environmental Research Institute, 2021

Energy for 9000 houses

By renovating a floor rather than installing a new one, the energy savings are as high as 95%. Let’s take Bona’s yearly production of floor finishes and calculate the square footage of floors they cover. If new floors were installed instead on same amount of floor surface, the energy use would have been 1.8 billion kWh more*! In comparison, these savings correspond to the yearly energy use of 9,000 households or a small Swedish town!

9600 flights around the globe

Floor renovation saves up to 90% in reduced carbon footprint vs installing a new floor. If we look at Bona’s yearly production of floor finishes and calculate the square footage of floors they cover, the carbon footprint reduction per m2 vs. new floors is 108,000 tonnes CO2. This is equal to CO2 emissions from 9,600 flights around the world.

Certified Low-Emission Adhesives for Indoor Air Quality

In 2020, Bona earned GREENGUARD GOLD Certification on our entire line of wood floor adhesives.

GREENGUARD GOLD Certification offers stricter certification criteria, considers safety factors to account for sensitive individuals, such as children and older adults, and ensures that a product is acceptable for use in environments such as schools and healthcare facilities. It is referenced by both The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Building Rating System.

The certification validates Bona’s longstanding commitment to sustainability and our mission to make all environments more livable.

Learn More Here

The Impact of Floor Renovation

The Impact of Floor Renovation

RENOVATION FOR BRIGHTER FLOOR FUTURE

Cost Savings

Energy Savings

Renovate, Don't Replace

*IVL Report, Swedish Environmental Research Institute, 2025 **IVL Report, Swedish Environmental Research Institute, 2021

Energy for 9000 houses

9600 flights around the globe

Certified Low-Emission Adhesives for Indoor Air Quality

*IVL Report, Swedish Environmental Research Institute, 2025
**IVL Report, Swedish Environmental Research Institute, 2021