Ray Anderson

Ray Anderson'

"Since the days after his graduation from the Georgia Institute of Technology as an industrial engineer, Ray Anderson has applied his entrepreneurial spirit to building one of the world's largest interior furnishings companies. After founding Interface in 1973, Ray and his company revolutionized the commercial floorcovering industry by producing America's first free-lay carpet tiles. Now, Ray has embarked on a mission to “be the first company that, by its deeds, shows the entire industrial world what sustainability is in all its dimensions: People, process, product, place and profits — by 2020 — and in doing so, to become restorative through the power of influence. He’s leading a worldwide effort to pioneer the processes of sustainable development...

"Because the commitment Interface has made is so unique, the community has embraced the company and lauded its efforts. Today, Ray is recognized as one of the world’s most environmentally progressive leaders on sustainable commerce, having served as co-chairman of the President's Council on Sustainable Development during the Clinton administration; being recognized by Mikhail Gorbachev with a Millennium Award from Global Green in September 1996; receiving in 1996 the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of Year for the Southeast Region and in 1997 as the Georgia Conservancy’s Conservationist of the Year. Ray’s honors also include the prestigious George and Cynthia Mitchell International Prize for Sustainable Development, presented in 2001; the SAM-SPG Sustainability Leadership Award of 2001; the U.S. Green Building Council’s Inaugural Leadership Award, 2002; and the National Wildlife Federation Conservation Achievement Award for Corporate Leadership, 2002. Ray was named a Senior Fellow and Leading Voice for Green and Sustainable Design by the Design Futures Council in 2003, and also received the IIDA Star Award. In 2004, he was honored with the National Ethics Advocate Award from The Southern Institute for Business and Professional Ethics. In 2005 he received the Harvard Business School Atlanta Alumni Club’s Community Leadership Award, as well as a Corporate Ally Award from Possible Woman Enterprises.

"Ray serves on the boards of The Natural Step, USA; The Georgia Conservancy; Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper; Ida Cason Callaway Foundation; Rocky Mountain Institute; the University of Texas Center for Sustainable Development, and is an honorary advisor to the President of Peking University. He holds honorary doctorates from Northland College (public service), LaGrange College (business), N.C. State University (humane letters) and University of Southern Maine (humane letters)."

• Director, David Suzuki Foundation
• Advisory Board, Center for Health and the Global Environment
• Cofounder, New Resource Bank
• Member (1999), World Business Council for Sustainable Development
• Editorial Board (in Memoriam), Solutions Journal