Interface are true leaders in the field when it comes to restorative manufacturing. It was 1994, and Interface’s 22nd year of doing business, when the company’s founder Ray Anderson made a drastic change in the company. He shifted the focus from just manufacturing carpets, to manufacturing carpets in a truly sustainable fashion, with a mission of reducing the environmental footprint and increasing profits for the company. Often these two values are seen as polarising, opposites, but it’s companies like Interface that show the power business has to make change in the world.
Ray’s vision values both stakeholders and shareholders equally - an integral part of creating purpose driven businesses.
“Be the first company that, by its deeds, shows the entire world what sustainability is in all its dimensions: people, process, product, place and profits,” he says, “and in doing so, become restorative through the power of influence.”
At this time the company established Mission Zero, which was their promise to eliminate any negative impact they may have on the environment by 2020. Now there are multiple practices and initiatives in place at the company - check them out here. Sustainability became rooted in their company’s culture and two decades down the track, their impact is truly impressive.
We believe that change starts with us and is transforming Interface from a plunderer of the earth to an agent of its restoration. Through this process of redesigning ourselves, we hope to be a catalyst for the redesign of global industry. - Interface mission excerpt