Jessica Cheam, Straits Times 15 Sep 08;
SOME 14 years ago - long before 'sustainability' became a buzz-word in the corporate world - one entrepreneur had an epiphany which he described as a 'spear in the chest'.
He decided that his fossil fuel-intensive business will become the world's greenest company. He was told by his peers then that he was 'crazy and had 'gone round the bend'.
But today, Mr Ray Anderson's firm Interface Inc has silenced its sceptics.
The Atlanta-based company, one of the world's largest carpet manufacturers, was listed as world No. 1 for corporate sustainability by polling firm GlobeScan in 2006. Interface also generates annual revenues of US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion), thanks to its green business model, said Mr Anderson.
By pumping money into research and development, Interface pioneered technologies that enabled it to recycle material and manufacture carpets efficiently. In that period, it has avoided cumulative waste costs amounting to some US$353 million.
And from 1996, its greenhouse gas emissions went down a staggering 82 per cent while total energy intensity fell 45 per cent. All the while, total global sales of Interface's products jumped 49 per cent.
For his drive and vision, Mr Anderson was voted as one of Time Magazine's Heroes of the Environment last year. He shared his experience with local business leaders last Monday at an event by Singapore's American Chamber of Commerce.
The firm has had a Singapore office for 30 years, and its customers here include HSBC Bank and and Singapore Management University.
'In the 21st century, the most resource-efficient firms will win,' he told a 190-strong audience.
He sticks by the philosophy of 'doing well by doing good' - Interface's success was built on its sustainability journey, he said.
The Nasdaq-listed firm has a target which he calls 'Mission Zero' - to have a zero carbon footprint by 2020. He said Interface is 'more than halfway there now'.
Mr Anderson spoke of how his life changed when he was given a copy of US environmentalist and author's Paul Hawken's Ecology of Commerce.
'Suddenly, I began realising what we were doing to the earth,' he said. The book talked about the 'death of birth' - how species were becoming extinct, never to be born again. And that was when he decided to revolutionise his fossil fuel-reliant carpet business.
Mr Anderson instructed his managers to find out what impact Interface's business had on the environment.
'What I saw made me want to throw up,' he said. And that was the beginning of his climb on 'Mount Sustainability' as he calls it.
Interface started revamping its operations by eliminating waste, enhancing energy efficiency and offsetting transport emissions.
It also began tracking energy and water intake, waste streams, greenhouse gas emissions and raw materials streams, to evaluate its progress towards sustainability.
Today, up to 25 per cent of raw materials used is recycled. Last year, Interface sold a record 22 million sq m of third-party verified 'climate neutral' carpet.
The carpet was made climate neutral through the purchase of 390,000 tonnes of verified carbon credits to offset the entire life cycle of the products sold. It also offsets its land and air transport costs by planting trees and using carbon credits. His advice to firms in Singapore: The first step is find out what impact your business has on the environment.
'Then try to minimise this. You'll find that costs of your business will go down.'
He draws the line, however, at sharing his technology with competitors.
'Our sustainability is our advantage... If we can do it, anybody can. And if anybody can, then everybody can.'
