
Interface, the world’s largest modular flooring producer, achieved its Mission Zero sustainability target in December last year – several months ahead of its original 2020 target.
KBAC Flooring is the sole South African distributor of the respected flooring company specialising in carbon neutral carpet tile and resilient flooring, including luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and rubber flooring.
Interface has over the past 25 years introduced significant improvements across all key sustainability metrics internally and throughout its supply chain to help meet its own objectives while encouraging associates to also implement more sustainable business practices. This influence has helped countless others reduce their environmental footprint and work toward net zero impact within their own organisations.
Based on 25 years of effort and commitment in pursuit of sustainability, Interface has produced a roadmap for other companies to follow in its recent “Lessons for the Future” report*, which also provides a path to the future for the company’s next sustainability target: “Climate Take Back”.
The company created aggressive sustainability targets after the company’s founder, Ray Anderson launched the Interface Mission Zero programme to reduce the company’s impact on the environment. Interface focused on reducing its impact in three key areas of the business – its factories, products and suppliers- and has made remarkable progress in these areas over the last 25 years, greatly reducing its footprint in nearly every capacity, including the following successes:
- 69% reduction in carbon footprint of Interface carpet tile products.
- 96% reduction in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions globally.
- 89% renewable energy use across its factories globally, with 100% renewable electricity.
- 99% renewable energy use in U.S. and European manufacturing sites.
- 46% reduction in energy use per unit of production to make products globally.
- 89% water use reduction per unit of production in factories globally.
- 92% reduction of waste to landfill across global business.
In January 2019, the company achieved an important milestone: every flooring product that Interface sells — carpet tile, LVT and rubber sheets and tiles — is now carbon neutral across its full lifecycle. So, after significantly reducing the carbon impact of its manufacturing operations and supply chain, Interface now also compensates for the remaining emissions through the purchase of carbon offsets.
“Mission Zero is the embodiment of Ray Anderson’s vision for Interface and for the world,” says Interface CEO, Jay Gould. “Ray’s dream incited an international move towards sustainable business and thoughtful consumption. His legacy lives on through the fulfilment of Mission Zero and the work Interface and others are now doing daily to create a carbon negative future.”
The company has now set its sights even higher with the “Climate Take Back” initiative launched in 2016 to reverse global warming and is working ardently to develop processes and products that create a positive impact on the world. The aim is to become a carbon negative company by 2040.
The Interface “Lessons for the future”, a guide to changing your business to change the world, can be viewed on www.interfaceinc.scene7.com