Interface CEO Jay Gould: “Here are 5 things we must do to inspire the next generation about sustainability and the environment”
An Interview With Penny Bauder
Support the circular economy. This means buying products made from recycled materials and those that can be recycled.
As part of my series about what we must do to inspire the next generation about sustainability and the environment, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jay Gould, CEO and president of commercial flooring manufacturer Interface. He joined the company in 2015 and became only the third CEO in the company’s 44-year history in early 2017. Jay has set Interface’s path forward with a new strategic vision to lead the organization into its next phase of growth, building upon his expertise in transforming business through purpose. Through his leadership, Jay is driving Interface and its talented, global team to become the world’s most valuable interior products and services company, while staying accountable to its key stakeholders: customers, shareowners, employees, and the environment.
Thank you so much for doing this with us, Jay! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
I’ve had the opportunity to help lead some of the world’s most recognizable organizations and brands over the course of my career, including General Mills, Coca-Cola, Campbell Soup, Minute Made, Graco and Rubbermaid. Through my work experiences, I became serious about purpose-driven work, and how it can positively transform companies and go beyond just making money. In business, we have to exist for a greater purpose. It’s all about finding a balance between being successful and making a difference in the world. I’ve spent the better part of my career leading companies to find that balance.
Was there an “aha moment” or a specific trigger that made you decide you wanted to become a scientist or environmental leader? Can you share that story with us?
Discovering the value behind sustainability and purpose-driven work has been a journey comprised of several notable moments.
During my tenure at Coca-Cola, Doug Daft became the CEO in 2000, and he pushed us to rediscover what made Coca-Cola a great company. As part of that discovery, he tasked us with studying purpose-driven companies — Interface being one of them. I came to realize that culture and the drive to make a difference is what makes companies and individuals successful.
Interface’s founder Ray Anderson began his journey as an environmental leader in 1994 when a customer asked what Interface was doing for the environment. Ray didn’t have an answer for that question at the time, but it caused him to reexamine his company and the entire flooring industry as he embarked on a purposeful mission to turn Interface into a company that gave back more to the earth than it took. With this new mission, Ray saw his company double in profits, and the flooring industry began to follow his lead. Ray taught me that profits and sustainability don’t have to be separate missions. They can coexist, with a company being able to improve their bottom line and help the earth.
When I joined Interface in 2015, Interface was still mourning Ray’s death. Interface needed something to rally behind, so we met with some members of what we call our “Eco Dream Team” to begin working on our next big environmental mission.
Hearing more about the science behind climate change from this group of environmentalists and scientists opened my eyes not only to what needed to be done, but what could be done. Though I wasn’t knowledgeable about it before, it became clear to me that business can and must lead on climate change. Those meetings led to us taking on the world’s greatest mission — reversing global warming.
Is there a lesson you can take out of your own story that can exemplify what can inspire a young person to become an environmental leader?
To be honest, there was a time when I was a skeptic about innovating new products geared towards sustainability. Over time, however, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from major voices in the environmental space like Paul Hawken and Biomimicry Institute founder Janine Benyus, who have both done tremendous work in showing how businesses can not only mitigate, but reverse the damage we’ve done, using nature as a guide to product innovation.
I would encourage young environmentalists to continue fighting for their voices to be heard, because business leaders are listening. Just look at The Business Roundtable, a group comprised of 181 CEOs from the top companies in America, which released a new statement of purpose this past August that includes protecting the environment by embracing more sustainable practices. Businesses are listening, so keep pushing them to enact change.
Can you tell our readers about the initiatives that you or your company are taking to address climate change or sustainability? Can you give an example for each?
At Interface, we committed to living zero 25 years ago with Mission Zero, our commitment to reduce our environmental impact. Since 1996, we’ve reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 96%, use 89% renewable energy at our factories and have reduced water intake intensity by 89%. But we know doing no harm is not enough, so in 2016, we committed to a new mission — to reverse global warming.
We call this mission Climate Take Back, and it calls us to find ways to not only operate a net-zero business but create a positive impact on the environment through our operations.
One of the ways we are working to create this positive impact is by focusing on reducing carbon dioxide, the most prevalent greenhouse gas. We’ve been focused on this for many years, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 96% since 1996. But we must also reduce atmospheric carbon through innovation and new uses for carbon. We’re doing this through product innovation, and we’re reinventing our product portfolio to include carbon-sequestering products. Our goal is to become a carbon negative company by 2040.
We’re also working to raise awareness of the impact of carbon in the building and construction industry, the world’s single largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Between now and 2060, we will build the equivalent to an entire New York City every month for 40 years. Most of the carbon footprint of these new buildings will take the form of embodied carbon — the emissions associated with building material manufacturing and construction.
We co-founded MaterialsCAN (Carbon Action Network) with Skanska, Gensler, Armstrong and others to bring awareness to embodied carbon in the building and construction industry. We’re also lead sponsors of the recently announced Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) tool — which allows architects and designers to easily compare the carbon footprint of building products.
Can you share 3 lifestyle tweaks/things that the general public can do to be more sustainable or help address the climate change challenge?
- Be more aware of the products you purchase and the companies you support. Do the products use recycled materials? Is a product recyclable, and is the company working to eliminate their negative impact on the environment?
- Stay updated on legislation in your area that impacts the environment and be vocal in asking your local politicians to back laws that will ultimately help mitigate climate change.
- Get involved — volunteer with organizations and programs that are looking to tackle climate change and promote a cleaner environment.
Ok, thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview: The youth led climate strikes of September 2019 showed an impressive degree of activism and initiative by young people on behalf of climate change. This was great, and there is still plenty that needs to be done. In your opinion what are 5 things parents should do to inspire the next generation to become engaged in sustainability and the environmental movement? Please give a story or an example for each.
- Become educated on climate change. Knowledge is power.
- Support the circular economy. This means buying products made from recycled materials and those that can be recycled.
- Hold your politicians to task on climate change at the local and national levels. Vote, write letters, demand change.
- When possible, take public transportation. I use the Atlanta rail system, MARTA, to get to work every day, and it’s an easy way to help in the reduction of transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.
- Tell your story. Let your friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances know how you’re working to tackle climate change and encourage discussion about ways they can live more sustainably. You never know who you might inspire.
How would you articulate how a business can become more profitable by being more sustainable and more environmentally conscious? Can you share a story or example?
I think many people falsely believe a business cannot achieve both purpose and profits. At Interface, we view these as symbiotic goals, really working together. Our customers care about what we do, and our employees care about what we do. You just need to find the intersection between what the world needs and how your company can be a positive solution.
If you were following news leading up to and coming out of Climate Week this year, then you probably saw a number of major companies announcing new efforts to fight climate change, including Amazon, Microsoft and Gucci. Both customers and employees are driving these corporate changes, making sustainability efforts more closely tied to a company’s forward outlook than ever before.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I am grateful to Ray Anderson, the founder of Interface, who taught me that you have to earn the right to your sense of purpose. Your purpose shouldn’t be a sideline effort; it should be the core of how you think of value creation. Our purpose at Interface is to lead the flooring industry in loving carbon and using it as an asset, which is why our business practices and product innovation now and in the near future will focus on helping to decarbonize the planet.
You are a person of great influence and doing some great things for the world! If you could inspire a movement that would bring the greatest amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Our purpose at Interface is to lead industry to love the world. Our mission is to reverse global warming, but we can’t do it alone. We’ve influenced many along our 25-year journey, and we’re hopeful that we can continue to incite change.
Do you have a favorite life lesson quote? Can you tell us how that was relevant to you in your own life?
As I mentioned previously, in my early days at Interface, we met with core members of our Eco Dream team to talk about our sustainability journey at Interface and where we were headed. I was feeling pretty good about the success we’d made toward our original Mission Zero and shared that sentiment with the team, including environmentalist Paul Hawken. Upon sharing our progress, Paul said, “doing no harm is not enough.”
Paul’s response really stuck with me and got us thinking about how we could do more. His words helped inspire our updated mission at Interface, Climate Take Back, where we’re now focused on doing more good for the environment and giving back more than we take.
What is the best way for people to follow you on social media?
You can follow Interface and learn more about our sustainability mission on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. You can also follow our blog, Human Spaces, at blog.interface.com, where we share our thoughts on sustainability and design.
This was so inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
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About the author:
Penny is an environmental scientist-turned-entrepreneur. She’s worked as a climate scientist, an environmental planner, and a wilderness park ranger. Motivated by a passion to raise a generation of environmental leaders, in 2010 Penny founded Green Kid Crafts, a children’s media company that provides kids around the world with convenient and eco-friendly STEAM activities. Today, it’s become a leader in the subscription industry, with over 1 million packages shipped worldwide that have exposed a generation to think about and take a leadership role in sustainability. Penny, her husband Jeff, and her children Rowan and Declan live together in San Diego, California. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Management and an M.S. in Environmental Science. Penny has over 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship, management, strategy and finance. She’s a seasoned leader, an inspiring speaker, an encouraging business mentor, and a creative writer. You can learn more about Green Kid Crafts at https://www.greenkidcrafts.com/ and follow Penny’s stories and updates at https://www.instagram.com/greenkidcrafts/ and https://twitter.com/bauderpenny.
