MISSION ZERO
“ THIS IS NOT SOMETHING DREAMY AND US JUST DOING THE RIGHT THING , IT IS ALSO ABOUT US BEING CLEVERER THAN THE REST ”
– RAMON ARRATIA , SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTOR , INTERFACE
by Mission Zero and the ambition .
“ We have the ability to recruit people who are looking to work towards a higher purpose , and this is not just us saying nice things , it drives right to the core of the company . We are trying to be the first , trying to show the world that this is possible . This is not something dreamy and us just doing the right thing , it is also about us being cleverer than the rest .”
Aim high , face reality Asked what advice he would give to businesses looking to develop their own sustainability strategy , Arratia identified three key messages based on his experiences at Interface .
“ First , understand the true impact of your product ,” he says . “ That is hard , because when you carry out a genuine life cycle assessment of a product it is the elephant in the room , and many people don ’ t want to accept the results . It is sometimes a bitter pill to swallow , but you have to face it because eventually it will give you a competitive advantage . “ Following on from this , you should always look at sustainability from a product perspective . This is the only way to truly embed sustainability , and once we innovate a sustainable product this gives our marketers and sales teams an angle to approach the market .
Finally , and perhaps what has been most influential for Interface , is instilling a mind-set without limitations .
Arratia concludes : “ Don ’ t be afraid to set high targets which you might not reach . I hear so often of targets being revised down just so companies can be sure to meet them , and this is so wrong .
“ This goal of Mission Zero pushed us to venture into the unknown . Our people have gone to places they have never seen before and taken innovations from other sectors and applied it to ours . All of the technology is out there , we just need our engineers to find and access it somehow . We need to be ambitious in order to push people out of their comfort zone .”
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