Interface's founder and chief executive officer, Ray C. Anderson, is one of the leaders of the move toward sustainable business. I've dedicated the rest of my life to this. The company has established teams throughout the world to work toward zero sustainability and environmental efficiency. Some architects and construction managers are asking this type of question, but there are no uniform standards by which these initiatives are measured. Many companies have started to issue corporate environmental reports, separate from their annual reports.
Some guidelines are in the works.
Among the environmental reporting standards gaining acceptance internationally are those developed by the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies, based in Boston and established in 1989 in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In addition, communities are beginning to look beyond the bottom line when measuring their well-being. It measured 41 factors including crime rate, poverty rate, workplace deaths, infant mortality rates, gross state product, standardized test scores, and the unemployment rate and set goals for improvement. There is a correlation between environmental reputation and stock valuation, Andrews says. Dow Jones has established the Sustainability Group Index, which identifies and ranks companies for investment purposes based on their performance in the environmental and social arenas.