Ray Anderson: Confessions of a Radical Industrialist

 

Ray Anderson may not currently be a household name in your home, but he is in mine, and he should be in yours.  Anderson, the 75-year old visionary that leads Interface (the world's largest carpet tile manufacturer), has become the design industry's foremost steward of sustainability and an example for corporate leaders the world over.  When I first met Anderson many years ago at Interface's Chicago showroom, he proudly announced "Now Royce, that's some happy carpet!".  I never forgot his enthusiasm and passion for his company's product and the sustainable message he always strives to convey - however Anderson's involvement doesn't stop just there. Devoted to the carpet industry and the LaGrange, Georgia economy in which he helped build, Anderson wasn't always committed to environmentalism. But an introduction in 1994 to Paul Hawken's book "The Ecology of Commerce" was followed by a life-altering epiphany -  Manufacturers like Interface can not only change their business practices to end pollution and waste, but can also be a model for true sustainability.  Today Interface is leading by example; their Mission Zero campaign is a promise to be a closed loop, negative impact manufacturer by the year 2020.  Since '94 Anderson has become a spokesman for green manufacturing, and has appeared in films such as "The Corporation" and "The 11th Hour" and programs on Sundance in order to share Interface's incredible story of transformation, and more importantly to inspire individuals to the call to activism. Now Anderson has his own platform, the recently released book "Confessions of a Radical Industrialist - Profits, People, Purpose -Doing Business by Respecting the Earth" (St. Martin's Press).  (Of course Anderson's latest book is printed with sustainability in mind - post-consumer recycled content paper, soy based inks, and efficient use of paper sizes).  The book challenges all industries to share his vision of  zero-impact manufacturing of goods while showing that companies can still be viable and profitable.  By using his own company as the example, Anderson shows how Interface managed to cut consumption, waste, emissions, and water usage all while inventing new technologies, increasing sales, and creating a better brand.  This book follows Anderson's first book from 1999, "Mid Course Correction", which chronicled his personal decisions and challenges in turning Interface's carpet products from petroleum dependent to finding alternative green solutions.  

Here's a video clip of Ray Anderson discussing his new book, which no doubt will inspire the next generation of business leaders and manufacturers: