Another set of slides I use in class - this time to teach the students about Sustainability. I use Interface as a case study and cover the 7 fronts of Mount Sustainability.

1. Sustainability

2. FINANCIAL ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIAL

3. “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”
Our Common Future - Brundtland Commission Report

4. IN 2009 THE SLOAN
MANAGEMENT
REVIEW SURVEYED
MORE THAN 1,500
EXECUTIVES AND
MANAGERS ON
CORPORATE
SUSTAINABILITY

5. 92 PERCENT OF
RESPONDENTS 92%
SAID THEIR
COMPANY WAS
8%
ADDRESSING
SUSTAINABILITY
IN SOME WAY

6. BUT MORE THAN
70 PERCENT SAID 30%
THEIR COMPANY
HAS NOT
DEVELOPED A 70%
CLEAR BUSINESS
CASE FOR
SUSTAINABILITY

7. According to the
authors of the report:
“Most of these
companies appeared to
lack an overall plan for
attacking sustainability
and delivering results”

8. SO WHO DOES HAVE A
PLAN
FOR ATTACKING
SUSTAINABILITY
AND DELIVERING RESULTS?

9. Interface
✓ Founded in 1973 in Georgia USA and is the world’s
largest manufacturer of modular carpet for commercial
and residential applications.
✓ Began to focus on environmental sustainability in 1994
✓ In 2006 announced a program called Mission Zero with
a goal of eliminating any negative impact the company
may have on the environment by 2020.
Source: www.interfaceglobal.com

10. The Interface Vision
“Every

11. creative,

12. manufacturing

13. and

14.
building

15. decision

16. we

17. make

18. will

19. move

20. us

21.
closer

22. to

23. our

24. goal

25. of

26. eliminating

27. any

28.
negative

29. impact

30. our

31. companies

32. may

33. have

34.
on

35. the

36. environment

37. by

38. the

39. year

40. 2020”
Source: www.interfaceglobal.com

41. BUT HOW DO THEY
DO THAT?

42. Source: www.interfaceglobal.com

43. The Seven Fronts of Mount Sustainability
Eliminate Waste
Eliminate all forms of waste in every area of business.
For Interface, this means redesigning products and
processes to reduce and simplify the amount of
resources used, so that material waste will no longer
be waste but instead will be remanufactured into
new resources.

44. The Seven Fronts of Mount Sustainability
Benign Emissions
Eliminate toxic substances from products, vehicles and
facilities. Interface has moved aggressively toward
eliminating all emissions into the ecosphere; striving to
create factories with no smokestacks, effluent pipes or
hazardous waste generated.

45. The Seven Fronts of Mount Sustainability
Renewable Energy
Operate facilities with renewable energy sources –
solar, wind, landfill gas, biomass, geothermal etc.
Interface seeks to ensure that by 2020, all fuels and
electricity to operate manufacturing, sales and office
facilities will be from renewable sources.

46. The Seven Fronts of Mount Sustainability
Closing the Loop
Redesign processes and products to use recovered
and bio-based materials. Interface is redesigning its
processes and products to recycle synthetic materials
and convert waste into valuable raw materials.

47. The Seven Fronts of Mount Sustainability
Resource-Efficient Transportation
Transport people and products efficiently to eliminate
waste and emissions. Interface is also participating in
partnerships focused on reducing pollution and
greenhouse gas emissions and offsetting the carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with travel,
including employee commutes.

48. The Seven Fronts of Mount Sustainability
Sensitising Stakeholders
Create a culture that uses sustainability principles to
improve the lives and livelihoods of all stakeholders.
Interface believes that when stakeholders fully
understand sustainability and the challenges that lie
ahead, they will come together into a community of
shared environmental and social goals.

49. The Seven Fronts of Mount Sustainability
Redesign Commerce
Create a new business model that demonstrates and supports
the value of sustainability-based commerce. Interface is creating
new methods of delivering value to customers, changing its
purchasing practices, and supporting initiatives to bring about
market-based incentives for sustainable commerce, and has
developed a model for other companies to chart their own
evolution to a 21st Century sustainable business.

50. Source: www.interfaceglobal.com

51. WHAT ARE THE
BENEFITS
FROM DOING ALL THIS?

52. According to Ray Anderson, the founder of Interface:
“Costs

53. are

54. down,

55. not

56. up,

57. dispelling

58. a

59. myth

60. and

61.
exposing

62. the

63. false

64. choice

65. between

66. the

67. economy

68. and

69.
the

70. environment,

71. products

72. are

73. the

74. best

75. they

76. have

77.
ever

78. been,

79. because

80. sustainable

81. design

82. has

83. provided

84.
an

85. unexpected

86. wellspring

87. of

88. innovation....

89. the

90.
goodwill

91. in

92. the

93. marketplace

94. generated

95. by

96. our

97. focus

98.
on

99. sustainability

100. far

101. exceeds

102. that

103. which

104. any

105.
amount

106. of

107. advertising

108. or

109. marketing

110. expenditure

111.
could

112. have

113. generated

114. ­–

115. this

116. company

117. believes

118. it

119. has

120.
found

121. a

122. better

123. way

124. to

125. a

126. bigger

127. and

128. more

129.
legitimate

130. profit

131. ­–

132. a

133. better

134. business

135. model.”

136. Since 1996, waste sent to landfills from manufacturing has decreased by 80%
Source: www.interfaceglobal.com

137. Avoided costs from waste elimination activities since 1995 is over $433 million
Source: www.interfaceglobal.com

138. 30% of total energy use comes from renewable sources
Source: www.interfaceglobal.com

139. Energy Consumption Profile
Source: www.interfaceglobal.com

140. Water intake per production unit is down 77% in modular carpet facilities
Source: www.interfaceglobal.com

141. Frequency of injuries has also been reduced by 63% since 1999
Source: www.interfaceglobal.com

142. So Interface clearly has a vision for sustainability, and is
reaping significant benefits from that vision.

143. BUT WHAT CAN WE
LEARN FROM THEM
AND APPLY TO
OUR BUSINESS?

144. THE END
THANKS