CEO Calls For New Industrial Revolution -- Starting With His Company

Ray Anderson is a revolutionary. In his new book, Mid-Course Correction, (1998, Peregrinzilla Press) he calls for another industrial revolution, a shift toward environmental sustainability. While not the first person to call for such a change, he is the first CEO to challenge his company to attain sustainability. As leader of Interface Inc., an Atlanta-based manufacturer of commercial floorcoverings and interiors, Anderson has set goals of zero pollution, zero waste, and use of energy from only renewable sources. In his book Anderson outlines his company's sustainability goals. He also explains how Interface's R&D division is working to move the company away from dependency on petroleum. The new industrial revolution will build as company's develop the technology and models to move them toward sustainability, says Anderson. "My company's technologies and those of every company I know of anywhere, in their present forms, are plundering the earth," says Anderson. "This cannot go on and on."