Interface Inc., an Atlanta-based commercial interiors company widely recognized for its initiatives
to reduce its environmental footprint on the planet, has announced his company’s commitment to
becoming carbon-neutral by 2020 as part of its Mission Zero™ pledge to eliminate negative
environmental impacts by the company. Anderson made the announcement last week at the second annual
Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), a convocation of business, political, religious, academic,
scientific and nongovernmental-organization leaders for the purpose of addressing such global
issues as energy production and consumption, climate change, religious and ethnic conflict, health,
and poverty.
Since 1996, Interface reports it has reduced its total carbon dioxide emissions by 56
percent by improving energy efficiency, increasing the use of renewable energy resources and
offsetting carbon dioxide emissions through the use of landfill gas from the LaGrange, Ga.,
municipal landfill, near one of its manufacturing plants. The company also operates five facilities
solely using renewable energy such as solar, wind and biomass; and has begun purchasing renewable
energy at two additional facilities. In all, renewable energy comprises 28 percent of the company’s
total energy consumption, compared with global renewable energy usage at 13 percent of total usage.
“The industrialized world creates more harmful emissions than solid waste,” said Anderson,
who served as chair of the President’s Council on Sustainable Development during President Bill
Clinton’s second term. “The Clinton Foundation and CGI provide a platform for companies like
Interface to demonstrate a better way; a better way to what we believe will ultimately be a bigger
profit, for us and for mankind. Eliminating or offsetting greenhouse gas emissions is essential to
our effort to reduce our carbon footprint,” he continued, inviting other industrial enterprises to
join in the initiative.
In other news, InterfaceFLOR LLC, Interface’s LaGrange-based modular carpet manufacturing
operation, announced it has certified 94 percent of its InterfaceFLOR Commercial™ products to the
Sustainable Carpet Assessment Draft Standard – NSF 140, and all of its Interface FLOR Commercial
GlasBac® RE products to NSF 140 Platinum/EPP, the standard’s highest level. Emeryville,
Calif.-based Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) administers the SCS Sustainable Choice™
certification program. NSF 140 replaces the Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) Standard
previously used by InterfaceFLOR to certify its products.
September 26, 2006
