To (Mission) Zero and Beyond with Interface
Interface has some of the most ambitious climate goals in business, and is achieving them by deeply integrating purpose and sustainability throughout the organization. Erin Meezan, VP and Chief Sustainability Officer, joins us to talk about Interface’s ra
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Show Notes
Interface has some of the most ambitious climate goals in business, and is achieving them by deeply integrating purpose and sustainability throughout the organization. While Interface may not be a company you’ve heard of, you might step on its products every single day.
Founded by Ray C. Anderson in the 1970s, Interface designs and manufactures modular commercial flooring, including a revolutionary carbon-capturing carpet tile. Long before such innovative products, Interface was a “typical” company with a negative impact on the environment. In 1994, after a customer asked Anderson what his company was doing for the environment, the founder developed a task force to come up with the answer. Since then, Interface has achieved its “Mission Zero” commitment to be net zero by 2020 (and did so a year early) and has embarked on Climate Take Back, an initiative to create a climate “fit for life.”
To talk about Ray’s vision and Interface’s radical journey, we welcomed Erin Meezan, VP and Chief Sustainability Officer, to the show.
Listen for Erin’s insights on:
- How Interface operationalized Ray’s original vision into strategic initiatives that have transformed the way companies approach sustainability.
- Why and how Interface engages its supply chain partners in achieving sustainability goals.
- How purpose-driven products and services can mobilize customers under a shared mission.
- Transformational lessons learned along Interface’s sustainability journey.
Links & Notes
- Erin Meezan on LinkedIn
- About Interface
- Ray Anderson Obituary
- Ray Anderson’s Author Page
- Interface’s Lessons for the Future
- New York Times | “Has the Carbontech Revolution Begun?”
- Interface’s Sustainability History
- Climate Take Back Video
- The Four Pillars of Climate Take Back
- Carbon Neutral Floors
- (00:00) - Welcome to Purpose 360
- (01:01) - Intro to Erin Meezan at Interface
- (04:35) - The Numbers
- (05:05) - Erin's Background
- (07:13) - Impressions of Ray
- (08:43) - Interface's Journey
- (13:42) - Stories About Ray
- (20:24) - Mission Zero
- (24:29) - Climate Takeback
- (26:22) - Four Goals
- (28:33) - Deeply De-Carbonizing
- (30:33) - Customer Response
- (34:45) - Sales Team Response
- (36:54) - HR and Turnover
- (38:18) - Measurement
- (41:23) - Climate Week
- (43:09) - Advice for Future CSOs
- (45:31) - Insights
- (53:27) - Last Words
- (55:10) - Wrapping Up
- (56:10) - Ray Anderson Interview Clip