d36 SUSTAINABILITY / THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY MISSION ZERO


In 1994, Ray Anderson, founder of global commercial flooring company Interface, realised the necessity to move from a linear economic model to a circular one. From that point on, he made it his mission to turn a petroleum-intensive carpet manufacturer into the world’s first environmentally sustainable, and ultimately restorative, company.


This vision, which he called ‘Mission Zero’ was to “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, and in doing so, become restorative through the power of influence”. He pledged to eliminate any negative impact that Interface has on the environment by 2020. To do this he had to radically redesign the company, the products and the way that Interface does business.


Anderson and his team have made huge progress since they embarked on this mission. In 2017, the


company announced: n The average carbon footprint of Interface carpet


is down 66% since 1996; n Energy efficiency at manufacturing sites has


improved by 43% since 1996; n 88% of energy used at manufacturing sites is


from renewable sources; n 58% of raw materials in the products Interface sells are from recycled


or bio-based sources; n Total water intake intensity at manufacturing sites is


down 88% since 1996; n Diverted 5.9m kgs of post-consumer


carpet from landfills; n Waste sent to landfill is down 91% and total waste


disposal is down 49%; n Collected and shipped 74,000 kgs of fishing nets to yarn supplier Aquafil for recycling.


Regional Sustainability Manager, Jon Khoo, says: “Mission Zero was just the beginning and it provides a key lesson for any business wanting to imbed sustainability into its operations. Reassessing and resetting goals is just as important as creating them in the first place. So in 2016, Interface launched ‘Climate Take Back’. The aim was to take the company beyond eliminating its negative environmental impact, to helping to reverse climate change and inspiring other organisations to do the same.”


REASSESSING AND RESETTING GOALS IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS CREATING THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE


MAR 2015


JUN 2019


designer kitchen & bathroom designerkbmag.co.uk


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Above: All Interface carpet tile and LVT products are now carbon neutral across the entire product lifecycle Left: Jon Khoo,


Regional Sustainability Manager at Interface


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