Contract - September 2011 - (Page 14)

industry news Remembering Ray Anderson Ray C. Anderson, the founder and chairman of Interface, Inc., and a visionary who implemented radically new processes for the manufacture of carpet to be more sustainable and healthful, died of cancer on Monday, August 8. He was 77. Anderson founded Interface in 1973 to produce the first free-lay carpet tiles in the United States, and the company grew to be the world’s largest producer of modular commercial floor coverings. Anderson’s leadership transformed Interface, the carpet industry overall, and the design professions in general. The moment that changed Anderson came in 1994, when he read Paul Hawken’s The Ecology of Commerce. Hawken’s text inspired Anderson to transform Interface and to develop its Mission Zero plan, which is Interface’s strategic roadmap to eliminate any negative impact it may have on the environment by 2020. He was co-chair of the President’s Council on Sustainable Development during the Clinton administration, and he co-chaired the Presidential Climate Action Project National Advisory Committee from 2007 to 2011. Anderson authored two books, Mid-Course Correction (1998) and Confessions of a Radical Industrialist (2009). A 1956 industrial engineering graduate of Georgia Tech, Anderson, in partnership with Interface, established the Anderson-Interface Chair in Natural Systems at the Georgia Institute of Technology. For more about Ray Anderson, visit www.contractdesign.com/anderson. —John Czarnecki also been adopted by organizations across industries. Companies now look at their footprints and want to understand the impacts of their products. They look to avoid putting products in landfill, to use less water, to use more green energy, to influence their suppliers, and more. We are all moving faster and pushing harder for sustainability because of Ray.” —Dan Hendrix, president and CEO, Interface, Inc. “Ray Anderson’s inspirational life story lives on as a beacon of leadership. He was a quintessential human being, who generously and humbly shared his insights, experiences, successes, and challenges as he set out on his Mission Zero journey. With a gift to always look ahead for what can be done, Ray’s legacy sets the bar for this and future generations’ aspirations to embrace the collective capacity and collective imperative to realize a sustainable future for all.” —Gail Vittori, co-director of Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems and past chair of U.S. Green Building Council “Ray Anderson taught us how to tap into our better selves―to find our inner angels. He exemplified the soul of environmental stewardship and he did so in a way that was both genuine and contagious. I met Ray Anderson in the late 1990s; advocating for sustainability was not in the mainstream then. Nevertheless, Ray was so passionate. What made Ray stand out were his strategies, his understanding, and his self-awareness of what was required to claim a better future. Ray not only built bridges but he crossed them and brought the rest of us along with him. He was a giant. Ray Anderson showed us that true leadership comes not from exploiting our natural resources but by bringing health, vision, and responsibility for the environment to future generations.” —James P. Cramer, chairman and principal, Greenway Group www.contractdesign.com Contract asked key industry leaders for their thoughts on Anderson and his legacy: “If there was a dictionary of green building, Ray Anderson’s picture would probably be seen alongside the word ‘leader.’ Ray’s leadership was so important and so effective in the way he completely negated the argument that environmental sustainability can only be had at the expense of economic prosperity. Interface’s remarkable success under Anderson―and the positive business impact that has come as a result of its reputation as a sustainability pioneer―stands as a strong example that a strong triple bottom line is essential. Ray will be tremendously missed; he is a personal hero of mine and a man who truly changed the world.” —Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO, and founding chair, U.S. Green Building Council “Ray was ahead of his time when he had his ‘spear in the chest’ epiphany in the mid-1990s. He would say, as a company, if one were not moving toward sustainability by the 21st century, it would not survive very long. His revelation continues to be a challenge embraced by Interface—striving for sustainability is in our DNA. The vision has 14 contract september 2011 Photo by Brooks Kraft/Corbis http://www.contractdesign.com/anderson http://www.contractdesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - September 2011

Contract - September 2011
Contents
Editorial
Industry News
Product Briefs: Sustainable
Product Focus: Here Comes the Sun
Product Focus: Cream of the Crop
Memory Museum
Triple Threat
Mission Sustainable
Model of Sustainability
Desert Oasis
LEED by Example
Cooking Light
Trends: The Resilient Workplace
Ideas: Chair History
Designers Select: Boardroom Furnishings
Sources
Ad Index
Perspectives: Steven M. Davis, Faia, Aedas

Contract - September 2011