Flooring for Welfare

For our local organisation, it was an opportunity to put available material to good use. A total of 6,500 m² of our Luxury vinyl tiles Allura Click Flexcore flooring, originally set aside following a product testing phase, would otherwise have been recycled. Yet circularity is not only about recycling, it is about keeping products at their highest value for as long as possible. By donating the flooring to the affected communities and giving it a second life, we could meet an immediate local need delivering both social and environmental benefits.

Through our Flooring for Welfare programme, we provide free, high-quality flooring materials to selected community and welfare projects. Working with organisations dedicated to community well-being, the programme helps create safe, comfortable and functional spaces for people who need them most.

Following the storm, Allura Click Flexcore flooring was donated to local authorities across three affected areas of Portugal. The aim was to support the restoration of social housing and help families facing financial difficulties, alongside the recovery of spaces used by the wider community.

Among the projects supported were the dance studios of Sport Operário Marinhense, Vareda Auditorium and several homes belonging to local families affected by the storm.

Each space serves a different purpose, but all have a place in everyday life. Restoring a dance studio means making room for people to practise and come together again. Repairing an auditorium helps bring community activities back. For families, restoring a damaged home is a step towards regaining comfort and stability.

The donated flooring was supplied with technical installation guidance, including instructions explaining that the material needed to be glued down.

The recovery was a collective effort. Forbo’s contribution formed part of the work undertaken by local authorities, businesses, organisations, volunteers and residents to bring damaged spaces back into use.

By finding a useful destination for 6,500 m² [FM1] [WM2] of flooring, we extended the material’s life while supporting communities facing a difficult rebuilding process. It is a practical example of how responsible resource management and care for people can come together, giving available materials a new purpose where they can make a difference.