Karl Borree on Making Sports Floors Smarter, Safer, and More Sustainable

The Green Building Matters Podcast with Charlie Cichetti

🎯 The Green Impact Report

Quick take:

This episode is a must-listen for architects, contractors, and LEED Pros looking to level up athletic spaces. Karl Borree shares how flooring can dramatically impact health, sustainability, and even climate goals — if you design it right.

🎓 Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion

Karl Borree is a veteran of the performance flooring industry and a passionate advocate for sustainable product innovation.

As a key voice at Action Floors, Karl works at the intersection of health, athletics, and material science — driving forward the only carbon-negative maple flooring solution on the market today.

With a background in coaching, economics, and rhetorical theory, he brings a unique human-centered lens to sustainable product strategy.

🌱 Breaking Ground on Better Building 💡 Key Insight #1: Flooring Isn't Just About Bounce — It's About Emissions, Safety, and Lifecycle

• The Challenge: Traditional gym floors often use PVC-based pads that off-gas and lose performance over time.
• The Solution: Action Floors uses natural rubber pads that don't off-gas, last longer, and offer superior restitution for athletes.
• ROI: Improved air quality, safer impact absorption, extended lifespan — with verified carbon-negative.

💡 Key Insight #2: One Size Doesn't Fit All — Design for the Athlete, Not Just the Space

• The Challenge: Many school districts default to "standard" flooring systems without considering age, activity, or use-case.
• The Solution: Action Floors offers 14+ custom subfloor systems tuned to the specific athlete profile — from preschoolers to pros.
• ROI: Reduced injuries, enhanced performance, and floors that align with building lifecycle and functional demands.

💡 Key Insight #3: Carbon-Negative Sports Flooring Exists — If You Know Where to Look

• The Challenge: Most stakeholders assume performance floors are carbon-intensive due to manufacturing and global shipping.
• The Solution: Action Floors sources maple from the UP of Michigan, leveraging cold climate slow-growth trees, and runs a verified carbon-negative operation.
• ROI: Global shipments with a smaller footprint than local competitors — backed by SGS-certified EPDs.

🎧 Sustainable Soundbite

"Follow your passion, not your pension — that'll bring you everything you really want."

– Karl Borree

🌍 Episode Overview

• Think sports flooring is just about looks or bounce? Think again. In this episode, Karl Borree of Action Floors pulls back the curtain on a massively underappreciated part of green building: what's under your feet. From carbon-negative maple to all-natural rubber pads engineered to reduce concussions, Karl shares how performance flooring is being reimagined with sustainability — and athletes — at the center.

✅ Your Green Building Action Plan

1. This Week:

• Ask your flooring vendor if they have an EPD — and what's under the surface.

1. This Quarter:

• If you're designing a space for athletes (of any age), evaluate whether your flooring supports performance and long-term health.

1. This Year:

• Shift from lowest-bid procurement to lifecycle-focused design — especially in public education and athletic facility projects.

🔗 Connect & Learn More

🌿 Access full episode resources: Green Building Matters Podcast

📄 Read the transcript: here

🔗 Connect with Karl Borree: [LinkedIn]

🏗️ Explore Action Floor Systems, LLC

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