The Hindu Business Line : An earth-friendly Interface

If we can refurbish carpets, they can last another five years in places like Kashmir. We feel good about repurposing the carpet, instead of putting it into a landfill. Raj Menon

Eco-decor: A commercial unit in the UK with Interface interiors

"What use is a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?"

— Henry David Thoreau

While most businesses were watching the balance sheet, Ray C. Anderson of 1973-launched Interface took a hard look at his company, the world's largest producer of commercial floor coverings. His eco-odyssey, Mid-Course Correction, published in 1998, takes its cues from inspiring thoughts like Thoreau's.

By 1994, the founder and CEO of the Atlanta-based, petroleum-dependent enterprise had chalked out a new sustainable trail, so that his firm might eventually never need another drop of oil from the earth.

Interface's current trajectory is guided by Anderson's vision: "To be the first company that, by its deeds, shows the entire industrial world what sustainability is in all its dimensions: people, process, product, place and profits — by 2020 — and in doing so we will become restorative through the power of influence."

An inspirational speaker on the environmental circuit today, Anderson's firm arrived in India four years ago as a liaison office. With clients like Microsoft, Philips, HP and IBM, Interface boasts 17 manufacturing facilities across four continents, offices in 100-plus countries and an annual turnover of $881.7 million in 2004.

Raj Menon

What has Interface's pragmatic thinking meant so far? Essentially, an eye to eliminating material and energy waste. From 1996 to 2005, this has resulted in cumulative avoided costs of over $299 million. Concentrated recycling and reuse programmes have enabled the corporation to reduce the solid waste to landfill by 80 per cent, according to a press release. That's besides its engagement with the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, with its Atlanta showroom the first recipient of a platinum rating.

Today, Interface is rated among the top three global companies for its sustainability model, after Shell and BP.

How does this translate within the Indian context, with a $6.5 million current turnover? Says Raj Menon, Interface's country manager, "We sell carpet tiles. We work with BPL Ergo as our partner. But the challenge is: how can we introduce what we do in the US and Europe into India? As a first step, we're trying to get acquainted with the Confederation of Indian Industry's Green Building Council in Hyderabad. They rate buildings as environment-friendly in terms of energy, noise reduction, recycled material and so on. The Sorabji Centre there is rated platinum in terms of green building."

Interface seeks out like-minded people to explore how its nylon-based commercial interiors material can be used in a sustainable manner. "In Europe, we use re-entry," says Menon. "We take the carpets from the existing offices when the firm needs a change, five to 10 years down the line. It's still got life in it. We refurbish it, then give it to charity or an organisation that needs carpets but can't pay for it."

Interface also recycles the basic carpet material, instead of consigning it to a landfill. "In India, we've got about one million sq metres installed. So, it will take a while before we can refurbish, re-use or recycle those carpets," he adds. "I think we're five or six years behind what our colleagues are doing in the US or Europe. But in India, we tend to find some use for every product even after its life cycle."

Would India take as easily to the carpet cycle, given its climate? "If we can refurbish carpets, they might find another five years of life in places like Kashmir," explains Menon. "We feel good about repurposing the carpet, instead of putting it into a landfill."

Looking at the cradle-to-grave cycle of the product, Interface assesses the carbon emissions from the raw material and the finished goods to the end of its span. "If you quantify the whole process and come up with a dollar value to it, we would turn that amount to green activity elsewhere, as in the Uganda rainforests," he asserts.

Interface's green vision has also led to biomimicry, where its carpets reflect nature's random patterning. "When installing carpets, instead of a wastage factor of five to six per cent, the random design allows the carpet to be installed in any direction," says Menon, referring to their interaction with architects, interior designers and project managers. "Even a small cut piece can be used in a corner. So, the wastage comes down to 1.5 per cent."

Apart from marketing its standard products made in the US, Europe or Thailand, Interface is experimenting with natural fibres for niche products, if viable commercially and performance-wise.

Referring back to Anderson's 1994 vision statement, Menon notes that a carbon offset is set for even executive air miles. And that Interface customers can choose its certified Cool Carpet option, assuring them of a product with net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

At this point, Manager Marketing Kartika Rajaram shares another angle, "Whenever we buy fuel in bulk, the suppliers give us a rebate. We invest that sum again in green projects. As an individual, Interface gives me another option. I pollute the environment when I travel to the office. To offset that, the company pays 50 per cent of my carbon-dioxide emission, and I pay the rest. That gets invested."

How much greener can Interface think? Kartika refers to Hyderabad-based D.T. Barki, once with the semi-conductor industry, who now manufactures the solar-powered Aishwarya lamp (named after the cine star). Distributed to villages across the world, he won one of the 2005 Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy. Interface sponsored these lamps for distribution to BPL families in Satkund in Madhya Pradesh and Chanchupalya in Andhra Pradesh.

That small gesture links into the company's essential philosophy. Its logo has the letter `I' within a circle. Because for Anderson and all his colleagues, it matters what Interface stands for today within the earth cycle.

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