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It’s flooring—and then some. Made for More.

We See Carbon as a Resource

Quantifying the Impact

We don’t merely talk the talk on sustainability—we walk the walk.

For detailed reporting on our progress, visit our investor site.

 

Check out our latest Impact Report here.

of energy used at owned manufacturing sites is renewable.

reduction of market-based GHG emissions at carpet manufacturing sites since 1996.

decline in waste sent to landfills from carpet manufacturing sites since 1996

of materials in the flooring products we sell are recycled or bio-based.

Sustainability in Action

The Beginning

The Epiphany

Starting the Journey

Entering the 21st Century

What’s Next

The Beginning

In 1973, Ray Anderson founded Interface in LaGrange, GA, bringing the concept of free lay carpet tile to America and beginning a revolution in commercial floorcovering. Our original carpet tile products were strong on technical benefits but weak on aesthetics. But that began to change in 1988 when Interface introduced Quantum—the first tufted loop carpet tile, altering the course of our business and design capabilities.

The Epiphany

1994: In the early ‘90s a customer asked, "What's your company doing for the environment?" When Ray realized he couldn't answer this question, he created a company task force to solve it. As he prepared a speech to the task force kick-off meeting, he read Paul Hawken’s “The Ecology of Commerce” and was deeply moved. He described the experience as an epiphany, his “spear in the chest” moment that changed his perspective on business and sustainability.

Starting the Journey

1994-1999: Ray formed the Eco Dream Team, which included the expertise of authors, activists, scientists, and entrepreneurs. Their progressive thinking helped Interface begin mapping the difficult journey that Ray later described as climbing “a mountain higher than Everest.” Interface initially identified seven key areas to achieve the vision of a company with no negative impacts on the environment. Then they set aggressive zero targets in many areas: zero waste to landfill, zero fossil fuel energy use, zero process water use, and zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Entering the 21st Century

2000-2009: With the introduction of Entropy® in 2000, Interface launched a new product category. That same year, Inteface released the first commercial carpet collection using recycled nylon in the face fibre and a 100% recycled content vinyl backing layer. Interface continued experimenting with renewable and recyclable materials, resulting in a glue-free installation system, TacTiles™. Meanwhile, Interface's Cool Blue™ process allowed Interface a wider range of materials for backings, reducing the company's need for oil. And Mission Zero® was established, giving a name to Interface's goal of zero environmental footprint, the journey that started in 1994.

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What’s Next

Over a 25-year plus sustainability journey, Interface has evolved both the thinking and approach. Originally, the focus was solely on reducing environmental impacts, but that evolved to include social impacts and new business models. With the success of programs like ReEntry™, Interface is proving that a circular economy is an attainable goal. With Mission Zero accomplished, the company now has sights on an even higher goal—Climate Take Back™.

Our Mission

Lessons for the Future

The most valuable thing you can learn from the past is what to do in the future.

Our first sustainability mission, Mission Zero® taught us about business models, moonshot aspirations and solving material challenges with science and imagination.

Read about our learnings from the past 25 years.

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