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Winner of the First Award (2001)
Ray Anderson, CEO Interface Inc.
Conclusion
While Interface, the largest commercial carpet manufacturer in the world,
is known worldwide for its commitment to high quality design and innovation,
the company is fast gaining a reputation as a corporation carrying the
banner for the environment. Inspired chiefly by Paul Hawken's book,
The Ecology of Commerce, Ray has heightened the company's awareness
and led changes in technology in an effort to become completely sustainable.
Admittedly, Interface is not there yet; however, the company is investing
in the processes and technologies to get it there. As an example, Interface
is learning to harness solar energy and provide raw material needs by
harvesting and recycling carpet and other petrochemical products, while
eliminating waste and harmful emissions from its operations. Ray believes
that if Interface can get it right, it will never need to take another
drop of oil from the earth. According to Ray, it's not only the right
thing to do, but the smart thing, too.
Background
Since the days after his graduation from Georgia Institute of Technology
as an industrial engineer, Ray Anderson has quietly gone about fostering
an entrepreneurial spirit that has resulted in his building one of the
world's largest commercial interior furnishings companies. After founding
Interface in 1973, Ray and his company have revolutionized the carpet
and floorcovering industry. Now, Ray has embarked on a mission to make
Interface a sustainable corporation by leading a worldwide war on waste
and pioneering the processes of sustainable development.
Ray learned the carpet trade through 14-plus years at various positions
at Deering-Milliken and Callaway Mills, and in 1973, set about founding
a company to produce the first free-lay carpet tiles in America. He
developed a partnership with Britain's Carpets International Plc. that
year, set up operations in LaGrange, Georgia, took over Carpets International
10 years later. Today, the company Ray founded is the world's largest
producer of commercial carpet.
From corporate offices in Atlanta, Ray oversees a global company whose
core business is still modular carpet. Named one of America's "100
Best Companies to Work For" in 1997 and 1998 by FORTUNE magazine,
Interface has diversified and globalized its businesses, with sales
in 110 countries and manufacturing facilities on four continents. In
addition to carpet tiles and broadloom carpet marketed under several
brands, Interface also manufactures and markets interior fabrics and
specialty products such as raised access flooring, as well as a variety
of adhesives and cleaning products used in commercial office installations.
Recent Publication
Ray C. Anderson: Mid-Course Correction: Toward A Sustainable Enterprise:
The Interface Model
Mid-Course Correction recounts Ray Anderson's awakening to the importance
of environmental issues and outlines the steps his company, Interface
Inc., is taking to become a sustainable enterprise.
 
About the Award
Sustainability Leaders & Pioneers
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