Ray C. Anderson
Ray C. Anderson (1934-2011) was the CEO of Interface, the world’s largest commercial carpet manufacturer. In 1994, at the height of his success with Interface – a company he had built with enormous dedication – he was challenged with a question that would define the rest of his life: “What is your company doing for the environment?” He was asked to give a speech on the topic and he realized he did not know anything about the environment. In an effort to discover the answer to that question, he read the books The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken and Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.
A plundered of nature
The books made him aware for the first time that Interface was doing much more to harm the environment than to protect it. He realized that he was himself “a plunderer of nature.” The realization was like a “spear in the chest” and led to what Ray later called his Mid-Course Correction—the beginning of his quest to prove that sustainability was not just the right thing to do, it was the smart thing to do for business. He decided to convert Interface into a totally sustainable green corporation.
Anderson implemented a. number of projects in the company with these objectives in mind:
- Zero waste generation
- Minimum energy use
- Eventual zero use of fossil fuels
By 1999, the company had sharply reduced energy use and waste generation and saved US$100 million. Interface began leasing out carpets instead of selling them. For a monthly charge, the company would install, clean, and maintain the carpets. It would repair worn-out tiles and recycle old carpets into new ones.
The company also developed a new carpet material called Solenium, which could be completely recycled. Solenium required 40% less raw material and energy, generated very little waste, and lasted much longer. The company became a model to follow, because, even as it moved towards sustainability, it tripled its profits. It showed that green business could also be good business.
Anderson wrote two books on his ‘sustainability’ journey: Mid-Course Correction: Toward a Sustainable Enterprise: The Interface Model (1998) and Confessions of a Radical Industrialist: Profits, People, Purpose: Doing Business by Respecting the Earth (2009). Anderson was featured several documentaries, such as The Corporation (by Joel Bakan), The 11th Hour (by Leonardo DiCaprio), I Am (by Tom Shadyac) and Big Ideas for a Small Planet (Sundance Channel). The documentary So Right, So Smart focused on Anderson’s work.
For his work, Anderson received several awards and honours. He was the co-chair of the President’s Council on Sustainable Development in the Clinton administration. That led to him co-chair the Presidential Climate Action Plan in 2008 and present the Obama Administration with a 100-day action plan on climate.
By 2009, Anderson estimated that Interface was more than halfway towards the total sustainability and he was confident of reaching his goal by 2020. Tragically, however, Ray Anderson died of cancer in 2011 before achieving his full vision.
Ray was a gifted storyteller and inspirational catalyst who changed the way we think about consumerism and production. When asked how to overcome the challenges and complexities facing the world, his advice came in the words of a Sunday school hymn he learned while a child: “Brighten the corner where you are.” That is the theme running through many of the stories on this site.
Afterword: The Ray C. Anderson Foundation now continues the legacy that Anderson left behind. The Foundation’s mission is to promote and advance the concepts of sustainable production and consumption.
Anderson tells his story in this 2009 TED talk. Here is Anderson in the documentary The Corporation.
Where there is a will there is a way. It requires a great deal of sensitivity to understand and comprehend of what is going on around. Further, to be sensitive and to be willing to change. Knowing fully well that it is likely to harm his business interests if he were to change track, Anderson did find a way as he realised of he was contributing to a menace. Until one believes strongly and from within, it is difficult to bring about changes in ones way of living. It is now and here and it does not require great deal of planning to do something good.