Interface supports the Regenerative Architecture Index
Becky Gordon, Sustainability Manager at Interface, discusses the launch of the Regenerative Architecture Index, the shift to regenerative thinking, and Interface’s journey toward becoming carbon negative by 2040.
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Here, Becky shares her insights on the importance of embracing regenerative thinking, Interface’s journey toward sustainability, and the collaborative effort needed to drive meaningful change in the industry.
Video Transcript
00:13
Hi, I'm Becky Gordon, sustainability manager at Interface.
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When architects client
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and a architecture today asked us to join them to partner
00:22
for the launch of the Regenerative Architecture Index,
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it was an absolute no brainer
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because it aligns with so much of what we do at Interface
00:30
and we're delighted to be involved.
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There's lots of discussions about
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what regenerative actually means,
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and it's certain that different people have different
00:39
definitions, but one thing is crystal clear.
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We need to move from thinking about doing less harm
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to thinking about how we can actually do good.
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And for me, that's central to regenerative thinking.
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Within our industry, there's lots
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of different types of companies.
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There's ones that have been set up
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with regenerative thinking at their core,
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and there's ones that are trying to make
01:00
that shift from a more traditional center.
01:03
So we'll be further along in that journey.
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And for others, this will be very new.
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That's one reason that we're so happy to be partnering
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with the launch of the Regenerative Architecture Index.
01:15
Collaboration Sharing ideas
01:17
and best practice is so helpful to all organizations trying
01:22
to make that move at Interface.
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We're very familiar with that shift in thinking.
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For anyone who doesn't know who we are,
01:30
we're a global flooring manufacturer making carpet tile,
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LVT, and rubber flooring products.
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We were founded in the 1970s
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as a very traditional petrochemical intensive business.
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Our founder, Ray Anderson, successfully grew the business,
01:45
but the environment and the impact
01:46
of his business on the planet wasn't really a focus for him.
01:49
But in the 1990s, he was asked a question by a customer
01:53
and that started to change.
01:55
The customer asked, what's your
01:57
company doing for the environment?
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And at that point in time,
02:00
he didn't really have an answer Beyond compliance,
02:03
beyond we comply
02:05
with the various legislation around the world.
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However, that sparked something inside of him,
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and he had what he describes as his epiphany,
02:13
his spear in the chest moment,
02:15
and that transformed the whole way that interface operates.
02:19
We launched our first sustainability mission in 1994,
02:23
and ever since then we've been making progress
02:26
in reducing our impact on the environment.
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We shifted that again with our climate take back mission
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that we launched where we aim
02:34
to be a carbon negative enterprise by the year 2040,
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and we've set science based targets for 2030 to drive
02:42
that carbon reduction along the way.
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This year we announced
02:47
that we have gone all in on fighting the climate crisis.
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So we have moved away from the use of carbon offsets,
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funneling that money
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and that time into actual carbon reduction project.
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So really innovating again with our products.
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So we've shifted and we've transformed as a business,
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but there's so much work still to do,
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and we know that one thing is for sure is
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that collaboration has got us to where we are today,
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and collaboration will be keen if we send any chance
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of getting to where we want to be in the future.
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So we're so excited to be partnering with Architects Declare
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and Architecture today for the launch
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of the Regenerative Architecture Index.
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The amazing work that practices are already doing is
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incredible, and this platform should help accelerate that
03:33
and bring more and more of the industry on board.
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