Work In Colour - Work. Think. Live. In Colour
Thursday 14th January 2010 | 2 comments
I recently did some workshops for the Victorian government on using creative thinking for sustainability. I had a great time researching good examples - including the story of Ray Anderson. Do you know about him?
His company makes FLOR, brilliant modular carpet tiles. They are modular so you can replace on those that get damaged or worn. He uses environmentally-friendly manufacturing techniques, everything is recyclable and the price is right, too.
The most surprising thing to me, though, was how funky they are. (I am of the generation that remembers the original carpet tiles, you know the kind, basically furry linoleum in fetching shades like dead-leaf-brown, government-green and baby-sick-beige.) If you don't believe me, check them out here. (Flor, not the baby-sick kind.)
But behind the fresh design is a deep commitment to sustainable ways of doing business.
He has a powerful vision for sustainable commerce. It involves radical ideas and plenty of creative thinking about what's possible for a petrochemical intensive industry. Ray Anderson has increased sales and doubled profits while turning the traditional 'take / make / waste' industrial system on its head. That last sentence is lifted form the description that accompanies his very excellent talk for TED, well worth a look.
His business is a brilliant example of how you can use creative thinking to bring financial, social and environmental sustainability together. A very creative approach.
I like it.
Ray's book 'Mid Course Correction' has to be one of the more compelling/inspirational cases for business sustainability.
In fact, the Interface story is one of my favourite examples of business model innovation - both in terms of the (many) sustainability elements, but also the leasing model deployed around carpet tiles.
I've used it with great success in the sustainable design community, and it consistently resonates with senior executives.
Formway, Methven and Icebreaker are other great closer to home examples of sustainable innovation (although here I could be displaying my expat kiwi bias!).
Nice post
Josh
http://blog.thinkgrowth.com.au
Thanks for these interesting comments, I'll have a look for the book as I was inspired by his TED talk. Nice to hear of some new examples closer to home, will check them out. Thanks!