Chairman Ray Anderson on Sustainability: "Someday, People like me will end up in Jail"

Ray Anderson is the founder and chairman of Interface Inc, the largest manufacturer of commercial carpet and modular residential carpet. 15 years ago, Anderson was faced by new and frightening questions from their customers concerning the environmental impact of his products. Unsure of how to frame an answer for their questions, Anderson turned to the writings of Paul Hawken, and environmentalist and author of "The Ecology of Commerce." In this book, Hawken expands on the idea that the modern industrial system is responsible for the destruction of our planet, and that only corporations are powerful enough to change this trend.

Since 1995, Anderson has pulled his company through a "mid-course correction," and reduced waste by 33% while continuing to new levels of profitability:

According to the latest interview with Ray Anderson, Interface is still on track to be completely sustainable by 2020. Through a combination of removing all petroleum from their manufacturing process, and by implementing technology to recycle nylon and polyester to make their new product. Ray Anderson will be a featured speaker at West Coast Green in San Francisco on October 1st-3rd.