In addition to the conventional accounting measures that reflect financial ­performance, Interface monitors other, unconventional measures of progress of the environmental initiatives. For example, in just over a decade, 42 percent of its smoke stacks and 58 percent of its effluent pipes have been abandoned, obviated by changes in processing; 103 million pounds of used products have been collected to be recycled into new carpet; and 20 percent of the company's raw materials are now derived from renewable sources or from recycled or bio-based materials (the goal is for 100 percent of raw materials to come from environmentally friendly sources by 2020). In addition, there's been a 45 percent reduction in the amount of energy Interface obtains from fossil fuels, and seven of its factories are currently operating solely on electricity from renewable sources (solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass energies). To date, 16 percent of the company's total energy usage is derived from renewable sources (the goal is for 100 percent of its energy to come from such sources by 2020), and a cumulative savings of $336 million has been achieved by eliminating waste in a quest for waste-free perfection by 2020. At Interface, waste is defined as "any cost that does not add value for our customers," which translates into "ambitiously doing everything right the first time, every time." By this definition, even energy that comes from fossil fuels is counted as waste and is to be eliminated.

Lest you wonder if any of this makes business sense, consider that the result of the waste-elimination initiative alone, an avoided $336 million in costs over 12 years, has more than offset all the expenses that have been incurred in pursuing Interface's objective, which we now call Mission Zero for its goal of making zero environmental impact by the year 2020. This has allowed the business case for sustainability to develop and become crystal clear.