Sustainable Development Success Stories
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CSD-7: Sustainable Development Success Stories |
| Location | Kennesaw, GA, USA. |
| Responsible Organisation | Interface Inc. |
| Description | Interface is a resource-intensive company whose largest divisions are petroleum dependent. Its goal is to be the first name in commercial and institutional interiors and in industrial ecology - worldwide. What sets the Interface vision apart from other companies is that it has charted a course to become the first sustainable industrial enterprise in the world - that is, constantly striving to reduce its footprint and taking nothing from the Earth that is not renewable. To do so requires that this petro-dependent company examine every facet of its operations, from the shop floor to the boardroom, reinventing commerce in the process, completely changing relationships with employees, customers and suppliers. Interface has 7,400 employees, sales in approximately 110 countries and manufacturing facilities at 28 sites on four continents. Over 100 Interface management leaders are responsible for implementing sustainability within their local business or area units. This group meets every six months to share best practices and challenges. Action is taken on several fronts: eliminating wastes, using renewable energy, closing the loop through cyclical material flows, making transportation more resource efficient, redesigning marketing and service delivery, and "greening" its material supply chain and methods, and through environmental management. |
| Issues Addressed | Sustainable consumption and production patterns; technology tools. |
| Results Achieved | Three years ago, then 60-year-old Chairman and CEO Ray C. Anderson articulated what was a new and startling vision for the company, after running the company for more than 23 years with no thought to the environment beyond regulatory compliance. Sustainability is now perceived as a strategic commitment positioning Interface to compete in a global marketplace; an arena where companies will be forced to rely less on finite natural resources. Since 1994, the company has saved an estimated US $50 million and its stock value has quadrupled. |
| Lessons Learned | Anderson put his personal reputation and company's credibility on the line when he publicly committed to this ambitious course. However, the enormous strides the company made in the last few years have indeed proven that Interface is "doing well by doing good." |
| Contact | Dr. Michael
Bertolucci, 100 Chastain Center Blvd., Suite 165, Kennesaw, Georgia, USA. Tel: 1.770.421.9555; Fax: 1.770.424.1888 Email: Mike_Bertolucci@mail.ifsia.com Webpage: http://www.interfaceinc.com Initial information was provided by the United Nations Centre
for Human Settlements (HABITAT) |