Today we bring to you a phenomenal example --> Interface Inc.

Did you know that over ninety percent of all of the carpet made today is made up of synthetic fiber...that is nylon, polypropylene or polyester.

Now nylon, polypropylene & polyester are raw materials derived from the oil & gas industry. So you can understand how crucial it is for the world to make this supply chain circular because Oil & Gas is a non-renewable industry.

Good news is that an individual & visionary by the name Ray C. Anderson, founder and former chairman of Interface Inc. led his company and people on a path to Mission Zero® with a pledge to reduce their negative impact on the environment in the year 1994. Yes, more than 2 decades ago.

He was moved after he read a book by Paul Hawkins. That book affected him so deeply that he went to the office the next day and challenged his senior executives to make their business sustainable!

If Ray Anderson can do that in 1995 then our generation has no right to make excuses towards climate action today.

Since then Interface carpets have been redesigning and reshaping their processes, their thinking and their whole business to try and achieve sustainability by 2020.

Their machine that they like to call “Cool Green” separates the reclaimed materials from used carpets → turns it into pellets→ then homogenized powdered form which then is mixed with Bitumen compounds and recycled limestone to turn it into new carpets!

Interface carpets have radically changed entire business practices- influenced the industry by reducing dependency on petro-chemicals and minimized their carbon footprint.

Their Cool green technology has evolved over the years and now forms a part of all their factories and business processes around the globe. Their carpets are made from recycled / renewed repurposed yarns, which are manufactured using renewable sources of energy.

Just imagine how beautiful and efficient the world will be when you have such well thought & well made carpet floorings across corporate spaces, co-working spaces, hotels, schools and colleges and hospitals!

Ooh and they also lease you carpets-as-a-service which totally ups their game in this industry.

Since 1996, they’ve reduced the embodied carbon footprint of their carpet tile product by 74% by changing how they design and make their products through the use of recycled materials, dematerialization and improved manufacturing efficiencies. Then, through their Carbon Neutral Floors programme, they compensate for what they still can't avoid with carbon offsets from renewable energy, fuel switching and reforestation projects.

Tune into the episode to learn more;

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Keywords : What is a circular economy? ; Circular Economy Podcast ; Circular Business Models ; Circular Design