Carpet Maker Pioneers Sustainable Manufacturing
Ray Anderson Proves That 'Going Green' Is Good Business
Oct 19, 2009
Environmentally-responsible manufacturing has gained InterfaceFLOR, U.S. producer of commercial carpets, significant recognition.
It is the first carpet company in North America to receive the Environmental Product Declaration verification from the International EPD Consortium, an independent assessment organization. EDC assesses products on their lifetime environmental impact, from raw materials and energy in manufacturing to recycling and disposal of product. Verification requires greater analysis, disclosure of information and transparency by the manufacturer than other “green-labeling” organizations.
The corporation has also been added to the “Honor Roll” of the Center for Companies That Care, a national, not-for-profit organization seeking to enhance well-being of employees and communities.
Sustainable Business Mission
The manufacturer’s environmental mission is driven by the dedication of its founder and chairman Ray Anderson. In the many speeches he gives internationally every year, he states that commerce and industry caused the destruction of the environment, and only commerce and industry have the power to repair it.
In 1994, his sales force began to hear what was to him “a strange new question from our customers. . . . ‘What is Interface doing for the environment?’” The corporation was beginning to receive requests for bids asking it to state environmental policies.
The sales force were “begging for answers.” Managers suggested Anderson set up a task force to assess the corporation’s environmental practices and frame some answers. He agreed but was stumped when asked to make a speech to launch task force.
A book landed on his desk that drew his attention, “The Ecology of Commerce,” by Paul Hawken. To read in it of species becoming extinct through human activity was, he says, “an epiphanal moment, a spear in the chest.”
He made his speech and challenged the task force to lead InterfaceFLOR to sustainability.
Steps to Sustainability
He devised seven steps of sustainability:
- Zero waste — to eliminate, not just reduce, wastage of materials in production and use of products;
- Benign emissions — to prevent toxic substances entering or leaving products, facilities and vehicles;
- Renewable energy — to cut use of fossil fuels to an irreducible minimum;
- Closing the loop — to use biologically-based materials that can be returned to the earth; “not to take another drop of oil from the earth” for oil-based synthetic materials;
- Resource-efficient transportation — to reduce emissions, improve trucking efficiency and compensate for greenhouse gas;
- Sensitivity hookup — to engage others in the quest for sustainability;
- Redesign commerce — to create sustainability-based business models.
Environmental Sustainability Achievements
A few of this corporation’s achievements are as follows.
- It avoided $372 million worth of waste in 12 years.
- It halved waste to landfills while increasing production, diverting more than one million pounds.
- By 2007, it was using recycled and bio-based materials for one quarter of the content of its carpets.
- It has reduced total energy by 45% since 1996. Seven manufacturing facilities operate with 100% electricity from renewable sources, including methane gas from landfill and photovoltaic solar.
- It has cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30%.
- Its water intake is down by 75% from 1996.
- It has offset the effect of 174,000,000 miles of business air travel by planting 87,000 trees.
- In one year, employees contributed more than $750,000 to external organizations and volunteered 15,000 hours of community activities.
- The corporation reclaims all types of residential and commercial carpet (not just its own product) and, using technology it has developed, separates any type of fiber or backing for recycling.
Sustainability Is Good For Business
A product that exemplifies sustainability is Entropy carpet tiles (displayed at the recent IIDEX/NeoCon exhibit in Toronto, Canada) made with reclaimed and recycled vinyl backing and designed to minimize wastage in laying the carpet. They have been the company’s fastest selling product, demonstrating that sustainability is good business.
For further reading on green subjects: Environmentally Sustainable Office Chairs; Urban Planning for a Sustainable Environment
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