THE NEED TO CHANGE

It all started in Atlanta, Georgia at 10:15 a.m. on August 31, 1994. The day could have been just like any other workday, but for Jim Hartzfeld, the Vice President of Research and Development, it was the dawn of a fundamentally new mindset. Kicking off the task force that Jim led, Ray Anderson, Interface Founder and Chairman, delivered a speech that would change his life and the life of his company. As he listened, it became crystal clear to Jim: it all had to change.

Since that day, Ray, Jim and many other colleagues within Interface set out to climb what has become known as "Mount Sustainability" - to become the first name in industrial ecology worldwide, and to convert Interface into a restorative enterprise. As a first step it meant addressing Interface's own business practices - changing its culture, operations and business model to achieve its Mission Zero® goal. Along the way they embraced sustainability as a way of life, and a way to build a smarter, better business.

To become truly restorative, however, Interface ultimately needed to return more than it takes. One way to achieve that higher goal was to leverage the power of influence, and to help other organizations on their sustainability journey.

CREATION OF INTERFACERAISE

By the mid-2000's, many companies – including executives from Walmart – were approaching Interface to learn how it had applied sustainability as a growth platform in an intensely competitive industry. As its Managing Director, Jim launched InterfaceRAISE in response to those inquiries, with a mission to help others develop and implement their own value-added sustainability strategy.

The name RAISE represents many things: to raise awareness, to raise prosperity, to raise customer value, to raise opportunity, to raise purpose, to raise profit, to raise responsibility, and to raise our children. The name, like sustainability, resonates in a deeply personal, yet different way for everyone, but is intended to invoke a sense of positive change, at an individual and organizational level.

INTERFACE, INC.

As the number of companies embracing sustainability rises, Interface remains an early and distinguished leader. We are proud of the distinction and recognition our history of sustainable leadership has brought, but we are prouder still of what we have accomplished. In recent years, many companies have developed green stories or green initiatives, and we applaud this growing momentum. For Interface, however, "green" is just the beginning. Ours is a long term commitment to sustainability, a systems-based perspective that continues to fundamentally transform our company. It touches operations and manufacturing, it guides senior management and our associates' decision-making, and it influences our relationships with customers, suppliers and the entire web of commerce in which we conduct business. Sustainability is part of Interface's DNA.

We are passionate and dedicated to sustainability, but it is not an easy journey. Every Interface associate contributes to sustainability in the course of their work and we have a dedicated team focused solely on driving, sustaining and measuring our progress.

While recognizing that we are still climbing Mt. Sustainability, our success to-date proves that transformative change is not only possible, but it can be inspiring and profitable for any organization willing to start an authentic journey.

Visit the Interface, Inc. website for more information on Interface's sustainability journey, and its Mission Zero® goal.

JOIN THE MISSION

Building on Interface's own Mission Zero promise, MissionZero.org is an online community proudly sponsored by Interface, Inc. Mainly, it's all about enlisting the support and energy of millions of people who can help correct the world's environmental course.

It's about a big goal of zero environmental impact that is achieved through small actions that make a big difference, and big ideas that can transform society. It's about hope and commitment. It's about challenging ourselves to greatness. It's about collective action.