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Monday, 23 November 2009
Interface's socially sustainable product
I had a great interview with Nigel Stansfield of Interface on Friday. I met Nigel in 2002 on Schumacher College's now sadly defunct Business & Sustainability course*, but I didn't realise at the time that he had been given two year's (nearly) complete freedom to explore and understand sustainability. Nigel's role is Senior Director of new product development - covering both incremental improvements to existing products and big step changes in product/service concepts. Note that the word sustainability doesn't feature in his job title - it is a core role of everyone at Interface.Interface's commitment to sustainability is astonishing - they have the corporate goal of a zero footprint by 2020. They have recently started to get stuck into the social side, developing a new product made from sustainable materials in India where all the actors in the supply chain are assured a fair price - it would be a FairTrade product if FairTrade had a protocol for floor coverings - it really is that cutting edge. The video below describes it better than I ever could!
* I am developing plans for a similar intensive residential course for senior sustainability practitioners, but with an emphasis on sharing experience rather than being lectured by a guru - if you would be interested in such a thing, get in touch and let me know what you would like out of it.
Labels: corporate social responsibility, fairtrade, interface
# posted by Gareth Kane : 07:00
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Friday, 20 November 2009
Interface interface?
I’m back on the train again, this time to Halifax to interview Nigel Stansfield of Interface for The Green Executive. Interface is definitely one of the greenest companies on the planet – and it is the biggest producer of modular carpet in the world. The company's Chairman Ray Anderson is truly a green business pioneer and has written several books on the subject. I saw him speak a few years ago and he was inspirational. He's on my list as a future entry on Green Gurus.It's been a busy week. I signed off the final proofs of The Three Secrets of Green Business (gulp!) and had to do four press interviews yesterday as Newcastle upon Tyne was declared to be the most sustainable city in the UK by Forum for the Future - when I've got my political hat on, I'm second in command of all things sustainable for the Council. A good day with some excellent press coverage. On top of that I'm scoping out new business opportunities for one client, developing another project around rural sustainability and working on The Green Executive. The new baby is invading my favoured 6am slot for this - normally the house is silent, but now I have to, sometimes literally, muck in with the little'un.
It's all great fun!
Labels: green executive, interface, terra infirma
# posted by Gareth Kane : 10:52
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Friday, 12 June 2009
Ray Anderson, Interface
Interface is one of the world's leaders in green business in the rather unsexy field of carpet - they also happen to be the biggest producer of modular carpet in the world. CEO Ray Anderson is not the greatest public speaker in the world, but his message is compelling.
Labels: interface, ray anderson, ted
# posted by Gareth Kane : 07:00
1 Comments
A highly accessible, practical guide to those who want to introduce sustainability into their business or organization quickly and effectively.
