The Sustainable Supply Chain Efforts of Interface Inc

Interface inc. quickly learned that the substantial majority of their product’s footprint was incurred before their raw materials reached their receiving docks. It became clear to Interface that to be completely sustainable they needed to educate and actively engage their suppliers on their sustainble efforts known as the "Mission Zero" journey.

Interface first got involved with making their supply chains more sustainable as a consequence of their waste reduction efforts. Interface now extends their definition of waste to consider their entire supply chain.

They began with Supplier Summits – conversations with their key suppliers to introduce them to their mission and sustainability goals. Today, they collaborate closely with their core strategic suppliers to address their own environmental impacts and, specifically, the impacts of the products they supply to Interface. This collaboration has resulted in solutions ranging from small steps to reduce their climate impacts to new and innovative technologies that increase the recycled content of their products.

Interface also employs the Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard (SCAS) known as NSF 140-2007. It is a certification system that establishes performance requirements for economic, environmental and social impacts throughout the supply chain. It is the only carpet sustainability standard in North America that evaluates the environmental impacts of carpet over the entire life cycle of the product.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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