Mid-Course Correction: Toward a Sustainable Enterprise, the Interface Model

Mid-Course Correction is the personal story of Ray Anderson's realization that businesses need to embrace principles of sustainability, and of his efforts, often frustrating, to apply these principles within a billion dollar corporation that is still measured by the standard scorecards of the business world. While the path has proved to have many curves, Interface is demonstrating that the principles of sustainability and financial success can co-exist within a business, and can lead to a new prosperity that includes human dividends as well.

Ray C. Anderson is chairman and CEO of Interface, Inc., a company he founded that is the world's largest producer of commercial floorcoverings and other interior products. In recent years, Anderson has embarked on a mission to make Interface a sustainable corporation by leading a worldwide war on waste and pioneering the processes of sustainable development. The philosophy guiding Anderson's passion for this case is that it is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing, too. In 1997, Anderson was appointed co-chair of the President's Council on Sustainable Development, which advises the White House on environmental policy. In 1996 he received the inaugural Millennium Award from Mikhail Gorbechev and Global Green, and was recognized by Ernst & Young as Enterpreneur of the Year for the Southeast Region. Interface, Inc., was named one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in America by Fortune magazine in 1997 and 1998.

A graduate of the Georgia Instit! ute of Technology, Anderson lives with his wife, Pat, in Atlanta. He has two children and five grandchildren.