“We want to reverse global warming!”

Mr Rödenbeck, has your company always been so climate-conscious?

Nils Rödenbeck: Interface was founded in Atlanta in 1973 – back then, however, it was just a regular take-make-waste company that wasn’t particularly climate-conscious. We always adhered to the statutory environmental guidelines, but nothing more.

When did that change?

Rödenbeck: In 1994, a potential customer asked our company founder, “What are you actually doing for the environment?” He realised that his answer – that they acted in accordance with the legal requirements – wasn’t particularly convincing, and he decided to change things.

How did he go about it?

Rödenbeck: He developed a seven-point plan for the company to produce in a much more eco-friendly way and to avoid harmful emissions: among other measures, he wanted to switch to renewable energy, reduce waste generation, raise the awareness of stakeholders, and do a fundamental rethink. He called the whole endeavour “Mission Zero” – and proclaimed the goal of eliminating all negative effects on the environment by 2020.

A highly ambitious plan. How did people react to it?

Rödenbeck: It really was ambitious, especially in those days when society in general didn’t have much of a sense of ecological awareness. And people reacted to “Mission Zero” accordingly. At first, our workers were speechless. “Now he’s really lost the plot” is what many of them probably thought.

Did you then still feel comfortable with "Mission Zero"?

Rödenbeck: Absolutely - they needed some time to let it sink in, but once it did, there was a real surge of identification. They really all got behind our "Mission Zero." It even went so far that they worked intensively on developing and implementing "Mission Zero" further. Soon, around 50 percent of the innovations came from the employees.

And did these innovations make a difference?

Rödenbeck: We measured for the first time in 1996 and, in the meantime, we can look back on considerable successes. In Europe and the U.S., we use 99 percent renewable energy, have reduced the CO₂ footprint of our carpet tiles by 69 percent, and have cut our greenhouse gas emissions in our production facilities by 96 percent.

So now you've reached your goal!

Rödenbeck: We are at a target, yes. But we have already set ourselves a more far-reaching goal in 2016: We no longer want to just not cause a negative impact, but to have a positive impact: We want to reverse climate warming. I'm aware that this, too, sounds ambitious again and that many people will think we're crazy - but we've again set out a plan that we're following.

Tell us something about this “Climate Take Back” plan.

Rödenbeck: We’ve got several points here too: firstly, we no longer regard CO₂ as an enemy, but rather as a friend, a resource. We want to store it in our products – and as early as 2018, we’d developed the first prototype of a tile that binds more CO₂ than is needed to produce it. Secondly, we want production facilities to generate more energy than they consume. And, thirdly, we want to create new business models that work in an eco-friendly way – in the Philippines, for example, we’ve taken to collecting old fishing nets and converting them into carpet yarn. In addition, Mission Zero still remains relevant for us. It’s the final building block in our Climate Take Back mission.

That all sounds very intensive – are other companies already following your lead?

Rödenbeck: Many certainly looked at us critically at first, but now they see that our approach works. From the business perspective, we’re more successful than ever before; indeed, the past year was the most successful in the history of Interface. Many therefore see us as a role model in the industry and are following our lead – for economic reasons, but also because their environmental awareness has simply increased and they want to produce in a more eco-friendly way. Apart from that, our customers are increasingly demanding it from us.

Can your approach be transferred to other industries?

Rödenbeck: Of course – I don’t know of any industry in which you cannot work and produce in an eco-friendly way. Our technologies are far advanced in all areas; there are many more ideas about the environment and climate protection out there; knowledge has become so much more transparent and – thanks to Fridays for Future, Greta Thunberg and the media presence they’ve built – many people have had their awareness of these issues raised.

What are your thoughts about the current climate debate?

Rödenbeck: To be completely honest, I’m pleased, obviously, that the topic is now being covered so intensively by the media – but the discussion is very emotionalised, very charged up with feelings. I hope we can get back to a more fact-based discussion and exchange ideas on how to work towards a more climate-friendly world. The best way to do this is not through emotions, but through innovations and inventions.

Now that you’ve been working for Interface so many years, can you imagine yourself changing to an “ordinary” company?

Rödenbeck: Tough question. Right now, I can’t really picture it because I’m absolutely one hundred per cent behind this special approach of Interface’s. But if I were to work somewhere else, I would use the experience I gained here as a blueprint and transfer it to the other company. The first thing I would do at the new company would be to tell the story of Interface.