Noted sustainability champion, Ray Anderson, will speak today at the Rhode Island Convention Center from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. The event is sponsored by The Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living.
I had a chance to hear this engaging and inspiring speaker in 2006 at the Society for Business Ethics annual conference. As chairman of Interface Carpets he transformed his company through a vision of sustainability. Since 1995 his company has increased sales by nearly 50% while saving more than $336 million by significantly reducing the use of fossil fuels and the company’s contributions to global landfills.
Mr. Anderson experienced an epiphany when he first read Paul Hawken’s The Ecology of Commerce seeking inspiration for a speech on the company’s environmental vision. Fifteen years later Interface is significantly reducing its environmental impact — carpet manufacturing being a particularly petroleum-intensive industry — through the pioneering of new technologies which reduce waste and harmful emissions, and increasing his use of renewable materials and sources of energy.
Anderson will discuss his book Mid-Course Correction, which chronicles his transformation into an environmentalist and how he turned his company around. Anderson has appeared in the 2004 Canadian documentary “The Corporation” and served as co-chairman of the ‘President’s Council on Sustainable Development’. He was named one of TIME International’s ‘Heroes for the Environment’ in 2007.
5:30pm, Thursday, Rhode Island Convention Center, seating is limited – register here.