Interface Carpet Company Ray Anderson

Ray anderson founder of interface and green business pioneer died monday from cancer at the age of 77 leaving an important legacy.

Interface carpet company ray anderson.

Mission zero a commitment to eliminate any environmental impacts by the. He proved to the world that swinging for the sustainability. Ray anderson founds interface as a joint venture with carpets international plc a british company to enter the emerging carpet tile market emptying his personal savings accounts and drawing investments from friends. In a gentle understated way he shares a powerful vision for sustainable commerce.

He was known in environmental circles for his advanced and progressive stance on industrial ecology and sustainability. Anderson founder and former chairman of interface inc. At his carpet company ray anderson has increased sales and doubled profits while turning the traditional take make waste industrial system on its head. Interface was founded in 1973 by ray anderson whose decade and a half in the carpet trade had led him to create one of the first u s.

Anderson july 28 1934 august 8 2011 was founder and chairman of interface inc one of the world s largest manufacturers of modular carpet for commercial and residential applications and a leading producer of commercial broadloom and commercial fabrics. When reading greenbiz or any of the other numerous media channels that cater to the field of sustainable business it s easy to forget that such a notion scarcely existed 20 years ago. Manufacturers of carpet tiles also known as modular carpet or carpet. It awakened him to the urgent need to set a new course for interface.

In 1994 our founder and visionary ray c. Twenty years ago last week interface founder and ceo ray anderson spoke the word sustainability for the first time. Anderson who founded the carpet company interface died on monday. We remember this week ray anderson one of the earliest and biggest voices for the role that business must play in sustainability efforts.

The company has one plant and 15 employees. He shook the foundations of the petroleum intensive carpet manufacturing industry by declaring that interface was committed to becoming the world s first environmentally sustainable and ultimately restorative company. Anderson set our company and our people on a path to mission zero with a pledge to reduce our negative impact on the environment and live zero every day. As the father of two daughters he says this was my third child 1978.