Design 21: Social Design Network

Programs

Interface's Commitments

No individual and no company is truly "sustainable" yet. Sustainability cannot be reached by concentrating on just one or two of the three elements: economic, social and environmental. It takes all three to reach sustainability. That is why so many corporations and individuals are still searching.

Sustainability is not so much about what you "do" as it is reflective of "thinking about what you do before you do it." The heart of sustainability is found by making informed choices on all three fronts, and gaining the knowledge to act in a way that doesn't jeopardize the future.

Sustainability is hard work. Becoming a sustainable enterprise is like climbing a mountain that is "higher than Everest." For many companies, the first and most difficult step on that climb is not on the mountain itself, but rather admitting that the mountain exists.

We see the mountain and we're climbing it. We have laid out a path to sustainability on Seven Fronts, you might say the seven faces of the mountain.

Seven Fronts

1. Eliminate Waste: Eliminating all forms of waste in every area of business;

2. Benign Emissions: Eliminating toxic substances from products, vehicles and facilities;

3. Renewable Energy: Operating facilities with renewable energy sources – solar, wind, landfill gas, biomass and low impact hydroelectric;

4. Closing the Loop: Redesigning processes and products to close the technical loop using recovered and bio-based materials;

5. Resource-Efficient Transportation: Transporting people and products efficiently to reduce waste and emissions;

6. Sensitizing Stakeholders: Creating a culture that integrates sustainability principles and improves people’s lives and livelihoods;

7. Redesign Commerce: Creating a new business model that demonstrates and supports the value of sustainability-based commerce;

We've created this ourselves, and it hasn't been easy. Sustainability is complex. It involves the thousands of ways our company connects to society and the natural world.

Our largest and most difficult problem to overcome has been the existing laws and regulations governing commerce. The current infrastructure subsidizes unsustainable industrial processes. To make significant progress, we will need the cooperation of government and other industrial partners to shift taxation away from economic and social benefits, (labor, income and investment) to detriments, (pollution, waste, and the loss of primary resources).

Won't you join us in our journey

History

Interface was founded in 1973 by our Chairman, Ray Anderson. We were pioneers from the start-the trailblazers of the modular carpet industry in the United States. A generation later, we're pioneering a better way to a bigger profit.