![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/semba\/files\/2017\/06\/Proof-Positive-carpet-tile-300x145.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a ton\u00a0of parking lots. Why?\u201d Erin Meezan, Chief\u00a0Sustainability Officer at\u00a0Interface, Inc. asked rhetorically in a recent interview, describing the iterative systems-based approach her company takes to sustainability at their Atlanta, GA headquarters, \u201cWe can park on grass.\u201d Grass is, of course, permeable and allows rainwater to soak in, creating a living ecosystem and carbon sink as opposed to storm drains which funnel water, and the trash and debris it picks up along the way, directly out to sea. But I digress. This is just one of dozens of examples Meezan shared with me as she described her company\u2019s efforts to treat the \u201cfactory like a forest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interface Inc.\u00a0\u2014 a public company with a $1B market cap \u2014 was one of the first companies to take a bold, public stand on\u00a0climate change<\/a>. But that doesn\u2019t mean they put sustainability ahead of product. Instead, they use sustainability as a differentiator to push innovation. \u201cThere are hard-nosed business people on our board who understand the business value of sustainability,\u201d Meezan explains.<\/p>\n Its founder, Ray Anderson<\/a>, had a personal epiphany that let him to use his carpet company company as a tool to make the world better. The company is sustainable through and through, and prior to Ray\u2019s death in 2011, he was the perfect spokesperson for the movement. He sold plenty of carpet along the way.<\/p>\n Interface has carried on his mission and continued to innovate with research into new products. Their goal is to prove that business can be a climate positive actor. Meezan explains,\u201dWe make stuff. How can the stuff we make serve as a carbon sink?\u201d<\/p>\n Note<\/strong>: Erin Meezan and Interface are on our Advisory Board<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n