Ray Anderson

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Ray Anderson is founder and chairman of Interface Inc the worlds largest manufacturer of modular carpet for commercial and residential applications and a leading producer of commercial broadloom and commercial fabrics He is known in environmental circles for his advanced and progressive stance on industrial ecology and sustainabilitySince 1995 he has reduced Interfaces waste by a third and plans to make the company sustainable by 2020 He defines sustainability as taking nothing from the earth that is not rapidly and naturally renewable and doing no harm to the biosphere For instance under his leadership Interface seeks to reduce and then eliminate petroleum from its manufacturing processes He is pioneering recycling efforts with nylon and polyester which is recyclable leading to more closed loop technologies for the future However Anderson wasnt always a friend of the environment He had his epiphany in 1994 when he read The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken who argues that the industrial system is destroying the planet and only industry leaders are powerful enough to stop it Anderson is featured in the documentaries The Corporation and The 11th Hour as well as an interview in The Day After Peace in an episode of David Suzukis CBC Television series The Nature of Things Biomimicry Parts 1 and 2 and in the episode of Ethical Markets TV Series Redefining Success He is also a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council Ray Anderson is the author of MidCourse Correction Toward a Sustainable Enterprise The Interface Model Inspired by Daniel Quinns novel Ishmael Paul Hawkens The Ecology of Commerce and many others Ray Anderson has successfully composed a piece that covers his personal journey towards sustainability in his work His 2009 book is Confessions of a Radical Industrialist Profits People Purpose Doing Business by Respecting the Earth ISBN 9780312543495 Description above from the Wikipedia article Ray Anderson entrepreneur licensed under CCBYSAfull list of contributors on Wikipedia