2007 International Quality of Life Laureate

The College of Human Sciences and its International Board of Advisors are pleased to name Ray Anderson, Founder and Chairman of the Board, Interface, Inc., as the 2007 International Quality of Life Award Laureate.  Founded by Anderson in 1973, Interface is the world’s largest producer of commercial carpet tile, with sales in more than 100 countries and manufacturing facilities on four continents.  The conglomerate is noted for its commitment to high quality design and innovation and is widely considered to be the global pacesetter for environmentally sustainable business practices.  In 2006 GlobeScan listed Interface as # 1 in the world for corporate sustainability.

Anderson’s sustainability crusade began in 1994 after reading Paul Hawken’s book, The Ecology of Commerce, an environmental declaration which dramatically addresses the “gap between how the earth lives and how we conduct our commercial lives.” The former CEO and Interface president described his reaction to the book as a “spear in the chest epiphany” which led him to completely rethink his company’s approach to the environment.  Instead of merely “complying with the law,” Anderson issued the bold challenge for Interface to become the world’s first “restorative” enterprise by 2020. Thirteen years and a sea change later, Interface is more than 45 percent to its target of “Mission Zero”... the point in time when the conglomerate will be a fully sustainable operation that takes nothing out of the earth that cannot be recycled or quickly regenerated, and that does not harm the biosphere.

For those who are skeptics of the cost of doing business in an eco-friendly manner, Anderson says that “sustainability doesn’t cost, it pays.” The pay-off comes in many forms including customer loyalty, employee morale, and the bottom line...profit for the organization. By way of illustration, Anderson says his organization’s sustainability efforts have saved the company more than $353 million since 1995.  In fact, Interface’s environmental agenda has been so successful that it has established a consulting division, InterfaceRAISE, to market its sustainability strategies to other companies. 

Anderson has chronicled his evolution from captain of industry to environmentalist in the 1998 book, Mid-Course Correction.  Moreover, he has made his way to the “big screen” appearing in the 2004 Canadian documentary, The Corporation, and currently in Leonardo DiCaprio’s environmental film, The 11th Hour.  Anderson also has a master commentator role on the Sundance Channel’s 2007 series, Big Ideas for a Small Planet.  

A native of West Point, Georgia, Anderson graduated with highest honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Industrial Engineering.  He served as co-chair of the President’s Council on Sustainable Development during the Clinton administration and currently serves on the Emory Board of Visitors and the advisory boards of the Harvard Medical School Center for Health and the Global Environment and the Ida Cason Callaway Foundation. Anderson’s many honors and awards include the inaugural Millennium Award from Global Green (presented by Mikhail Gorbachev), the George and Cynthia Mitchell International Prize for Sustainable Development, and Entrepreneur of the Year by Forbes Magazine and Ernst & Young.