Believe me or not, I come offering a solution to a very important part of this larger problem, with the requisite focus on climate. And the solution I offer is to the biggest culprit in this massive mistreatment of the earth by humankind, and the resulting decline of the biosphere. That culprit is business and industry, which happens to be where I have spent the last 52 years since my graduation from Georgia Tech in 1956. As an industrial engineer, cum aspiring and then successful entrepreneur. After founding my company, Interface, from scratch in 1973, 36 years ago, to produce carpet tiles in America for the business and institution markets, and shepherding it through start-up and survival to prosperity and global dominance in its field, I read Paul Hawken's book, "The Ecology of Commerce," the summer of 1994. In his book, Paul charges business and industry as, one, the major culprit in causing the decline of the biosphere, and, two, the only institution that is large enough, and pervasive enough, and powerful enough, to really lead humankind out of this mess. And by the way he convicted me as a plunderer of the earth.
Vjerovali ili ne donosim rješenje važnog dijela jednog većeg problema, s nužnim fokusom na klimu. Rješenje koje nudim odnosi se na najvećeg krivca ovog masovnog ljudskog zapostavljanja Zemlje i posljedičnog pada biosfere. Taj krivac su posao i industrija, gdje sam proveoo već 52 godine od diplome na Geogria Techu 1956. kao industrijski inženjer, ambiciozni i uspješni poduzetnik. Nakon osnivanja svog poduzeća, Interface 1973., prije 36 godina, kako bih proizvodio tepihe u Americi za poslovne objekte i institucije, predvodeći ga kroz start-up i preživljavanje do prosperiteta i svjetske dominacije u tom polju, čitao sam knjigu Paula Hawkena, "Ekologija trgovanja" u ljeto 1994. U toj knjizi, Paul optužuje posao i industriju kao, prvo, glavnog krivca u uzrokovanju pada biosfere i drugo, jedinu instituciju koja je dovoljno velika, općeprisutna i dovoljno snažna da vodi čovječanstvo van ovog nereda. Usput me osudio kao pljačkaša Zemlje.
And I then challenged the people of Interface, my company, to lead our company and the entire industrial world to sustainability, which we defined as eventually operating our petroleum-intensive company in such a way as to take from the earth only what can be renewed by the earth, naturally and rapidly -- not another fresh drop of oil -- and to do no harm to the biosphere. Take nothing: do no harm. I simply said, "If Hawken is right and business and industry must lead, who will lead business and industry? Unless somebody leads, nobody will." It's axiomatic. Why not us? And thanks to the people of Interface, I have become a recovering plunderer.
Tada sam izazvao ljude u Interfaceu, mom poduzeću, da vode naše poduzeće i cijeli industrijski svijet do održivosti, koju smo definirali kao upravljanje našim poduzećem, koja zahtjeva puno petroleja, na takav način da uzimamo od zemlje samo ono što zemlja može brzo i prirodno obnoviti -- nijedna dodatna kap nafte -- i bez štete biosferi. Uzmi ništa: ne šteti. Jednostavno sam rekao: "Ako je Hawken u pravu i posao i industrija moraju voditi, tko će njih voditi? Ako netko ne vodi, nitko neće." Aksiomatsko je. Zašto ne mi? Zahvaljujući ljudima Interfacea, postao sam pljačkaš koji vraća opljačkano.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
I once told a Fortune Magazine writer that someday people like me would go to jail. And that became the headline of a Fortune article. They went on to describe me as America's greenest CEO. From plunderer to recovering plunderer, to America's greenest CEO in five years -- that, frankly, was a pretty sad commentary on American CEOs in 1999. Asked later in the Canadian documentary, "The Corporation," what I meant by the "go to jail" remark, I offered that theft is a crime. And theft of our children's future would someday be a crime. But I realized, for that to be true -- for theft of our children's future to be a crime -- there must be a clear, demonstrable alternative to the take-make-waste industrial system that so dominates our civilization, and is the major culprit, stealing our children's future, by digging up the earth and converting it to products that quickly become waste in a landfill or an incinerator -- in short, digging up the earth and converting it to pollution.
Jednom sam rekao novinaru časopisa Fortune da će jednog dana ljudi kao ja ići u zatvor. To je postao naslov članka u Fortuneu. Opisali su me kao najzelenijeg direktora Amerike. Od pljačkaša do pljačkaša pokajnika, do najzelenijeg američkog direktora u pet godina -- to je, iskreno, poprilično tužan komentar za američke direktore u 1999. Kada su me kasnije pitali u kanadskom dokumentarcu "Korporacija" što sam mislio pod time da ću "ići u zatvor", ponudio sam odgovor da je krađa zločin. A krađa budućnosti naše djece će jednog dana biti zločin. No shvatio sam, da bi to bila istina -- da bi krađa budućnosti naše djece bila zločin -- mora postojati jasna, demonstrabilna alternativa za uzmi-stvori-baci industrijski sustav koji je toliko dominantan u našoj civilizaciji i glavni krivac je u krađi budućnosti naše djece, kopajući zemlju i pretvarajući njene produkte, koji broz prelaze u otpad u odlagalištu ili spalionici -- ukratko, kopajući zemlju i pretvarajući ju u zagađenje.
According to Paul and Anne Ehrlich and a well-known environmental impact equation, impact -- a bad thing -- is the product of population, affluence and technology. That is, impact is generated by people, what they consume in their affluence, and how it is produced. And though the equation is largely subjective, you can perhaps quantify people, and perhaps quantify affluence, but technology is abusive in too many ways to quantify. So the equation is conceptual. Still it works to help us understand the problem.
Prema Paulu i Anni Ehrlich i dobro poznatoj jednadžbi utjecaja na okoliš, utjecaj -- loša stvar-- je produkt populacije, obilja i tehnologije. Odnosno, utjecaj stvaraju ljudi, ono što konzumiraju u njihovom obilju, i kako je ono proizvedeno. I iako je jednadžba jako subjektivna, možete izmjeriti ljude, možda izmjeriti obilje, no tehnologija je previše napadna u toliko načina da bi ih se pobrojalo. Dakle jednadžba je konceptualna. No, i dalje nam služi da shvatimo problem.
So we set out at Interface, in 1994, to create an example: to transform the way we made carpet, a petroleum-intensive product for materials as well as energy, and to transform our technologies so they diminished environmental impact, rather than multiplied it. Paul and Anne Ehrlich's environmental impact equation: I is equal to P times A times T: population, affluence and technology. I wanted Interface to rewrite that equation so that it read I equals P times A divided by T. Now, the mathematically-minded will see immediately that T in the numerator increases impact -- a bad thing -- but T in the denominator decreases impact. So I ask, "What would move T, technology, from the numerator -- call it T1 -- where it increases impact, to the denominator -- call it T2 -- where it reduces impact?
Odlučili smo 1994. da od Interfacea napravimo primjer: preobrazimo način na koji radimo tepihe, intenzivnim trošenjem petroleja kao i energije, i da preobrazimo našu tehnologiju tako da umanjuje utjecaj na prirodu, a ne da ga umnožava. Paulova i Annina E. jednadžba za utjecaj na okoliš: U = P x A x T: populacija, obilje i tehnologija. Htio sam da Interface ponovno napiše tu jednadžbu tako da piše U = P x A : T. Oni s matematičkim umovima će odmah uvidjeti da T u brojniku povećava utjecaj - lošu stvar - no T u nazivniku smanjuje utjecaj. Stoga pitam: "Što bi pomaknulo T, tehnologiju, iz brojnika --recimo T1 -- gdje povećava utjecaj, u nazivnik -- recimo T2 -- gdje ga smanjuje?
I thought about the characteristics of first industrial revolution, T1, as we practiced it at Interface, and it had the following characteristics. Extractive: taking raw materials from the earth. Linear: take, make, waste. Powered by fossil fuel-derived energy. Wasteful: abusive and focused on labor productivity. More carpet per man-hour. Thinking it through, I realized that all those attributes must be changed to move T to the denominator. In the new industrial revolution extractive must be replaced by renewable; linear by cyclical; fossil fuel energy by renewable energy, sunlight; wasteful by waste-free; and abusive by benign; and labor productivity by resource productivity. And I reasoned that if we could make those transformative changes, and get rid of T1 altogether, we could reduce our impact to zero, including our impact on the climate. And that became the Interface plan in 1995, and has been the plan ever since.
Razmišljao sam o karakteristikama prve industrijske revolucije, T1, kao što smo radili u Interfaceu, i imala je sljedeće karakteristike. Izvučeno: uzimanje sirovina iz Zemlje. Linearno: uzmi, napravi, baci. Energija dolazi iz fosilnih goriva. Otpadno: nasilno i fokusirano na produktivnost radnika. Više tepiha po čovjeku na sat. Razmišljajući, shvatio sam da se svi ovi atributi moraju promijeniti kako bi se T prebacio u nazivnik. U novoj industrijskoj revoluciji ono što se izvlači mora biti zamjenjeno obnovljivim; linearno cikličkim; fosilna goriva s obnovljivom energijom, suncem; otpadno bezotpadnim; nasilno benignim; i radnička produktivnost resursnom produktivnošću. Ako možemo napraviti takve promjene i riješiti se T1, možemo smanjiti utjecaj na nulu, uključujući naš utjecaj na klimu. To je postao plan Interfacea 1995. i ostao do dan danas.
We have measured our progress very rigorously. So I can tell you how far we have come in the ensuing 12 years. Net greenhouse gas emissions down 82 percent in absolute tonnage. (Applause) Over the same span of time sales have increased by two-thirds and profits have doubled. So an 82 percent absolute reduction translates into a 90 percent reduction in greenhouse gas intensity relative to sales. This is the magnitude of the reduction the entire global technosphere must realize by 2050 to avoid catastrophic climate disruption -- so the scientists are telling us. Fossil fuel usage is down 60 percent per unit of production, due to efficiencies in renewables. The cheapest, most secure barrel of oil there is is the one not used through efficiencies. Water usage is down 75 percent in our worldwide carpet tile business. Down 40 percent in our broadloom carpet business, which we acquired in 1993 right here in California, City of Industry, where water is so precious. Renewable or recyclable materials are 25 percent of the total, and growing rapidly. Renewable energy is 27 percent of our total, going for 100 percent. We have diverted 148 million pounds -- that's 74,000 tons -- of used carpet from landfills, closing the loop on material flows through reverse logistics and post-consumer recycling technologies that did not exist when we started 14 years ago.
Rigorozno smo mjerili svoj napredak. Stoga vam mogu reći koliko smo daleko došli u 12 godina. Emisije stakleničkih plinova su niže za 82% posto u ukupnoj tonaži. (Pljesak) U istom vremenskom razdoblju naša se prodaja povećala za dvije trećine, a profit udvostručio. Dakle 82% potpunog smanjenja se prevodi u 90% smanjenja u intenzitetu stakleničkih plinova u omjeru s prodajom. Ovo je veličina smanjenja koju cijela svjetska tehnosfera mora shvatiti do 2050. kako bi izbjegli katastrofalno remećenje klime -- kako nam govore znanstvenici. Korištenje fosilnih goriva se smanjilo za 60% po jedinici proizvodnje, zbog efikasnosti u obnovljivim izvorima. Najjeftiniji, najsigurniji barel nafte koji postoji je onaj koji se ne koristi kroz učinkovitost. Korištenje vode se smanjilo za 75% u svjetskom poslu tepisnih ploča. Smanjeno za 40% u drugom sektoru tepiha, kojeg smo kupili 1993. upravo ovdje u Kaliforniji, gradu industrije, gdje je voda toliko vrijedna. Obnovljivi ili reciklažni materijali čine 25% od ukupnog i ubrzano rastu. Obnovljiva energija je 27% ukupne, i penje se do 100%. Preradili smo 148 milijuna funti -- to je 74 000 tona -- korištenog tepiha iz odlagališta, zatvarajući petlju na kolanju materijala kroz obrnutu logistiku i reciklažne tehnologije koje nisu postojale kada smo počeli prije 14 godina.
Those new cyclical technologies have contributed mightily to the fact that we have produced and sold 85 million square yards of climate-neutral carpet since 2004, meaning no net contribution to global climate disruption in producing the carpet throughout the supply chain, from mine and well head clear to end-of-life reclamation -- independent third-party certified. We call it Cool Carpet. And it has been a powerful marketplace differentiator, increasing sales and profits. Three years ago we launched carpet tile for the home, under the brand Flor, misspelled F-L-O-R. You can point and click today at Flor.com and have Cool Carpet delivered to your front door in five days. It is practical, and pretty too.
Te nove cikličke tehnologije su uvelike pridonijele činjenici da smo proizveli i prodali 85 milijuna kvadratnih metara klimatsko neutralnog tepiha od 2004., što znači nikakav prinos svjetskom remećenju klime u proizvodnji tepiha kroz lanac nabave, od rudnika preko doživotne garancije do certifikata treće strane. Zovemo ga Cool Tepih. Bio je moćan diferencijator tržišta, povećavajući prodaju i profit. Prije tri godine pustili smo u prodaju tepih za kućanstva, pod nazivom Flor, (floor - pod) krivo napisano F-L-O-R. Možete usmjeriti miš i klinkuti na Flor.com i imati dostavljen Cool tepih na vaša vrata u 5 dana. Praktičan je i lijep također.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
We reckon that we are a bit over halfway to our goal: zero impact, zero footprint. We've set 2020 as our target year for zero, for reaching the top, the summit of Mount Sustainability. We call this Mission Zero. And this is perhaps the most important facet: we have found Mission Zero to be incredibly good for business. A better business model, a better way to bigger profits. Here is the business case for sustainability. From real life experience, costs are down, not up, reflecting some 400 million dollars of avoided costs in pursuit of zero waste -- the first face of Mount Sustainability. This has paid all the costs for the transformation of Interface.
Mislimo da smo nešto više od pola puta do našeg cilja: nula utjecaja, nula otisaka. Postavili smo 2020. kao zadanu godinu za nulu, za dostizanje vrha planine Održivosti. Ovo zovemo misija Nula. Možda najvažniji dio ovoga: uvidjeli smo da je misija Nula iznimno dobra za posao. Bolji poslovni model, bolji put do većih prihoda. Ovdje je poslovni slučaj za održivost. Iz pravog iskustva, trošak je manji, ne veći, odražavajući kojih 400 milijuna dolara izbjegnutih cijena u potjeri za nula otpada -- prvo lice planine Održivosti. Ovo je platilo sve troškove transformacije Interfacea.
And this dispels a myth too, this false choice between the environment and the economy. Our products are the best they've ever been, inspired by design for sustainability, an unexpected wellspring of innovation. Our people are galvanized around this shared higher purpose. You cannot beat it for attracting the best people and bringing them together. And the goodwill of the marketplace is astonishing. No amount of advertising, no clever marketing campaign, at any price, could have produced or created this much goodwill. Costs, products, people, marketplaces -- what else is there? It is a better business model.
Također, razotkriva mit, krivi izbor između prirode i ekonomije. Naši proizvodi su najbolji ikad, inspirirani dizajnom za održivost, neočekivano vrelo inovacija. Naši su ljudi potaknuti zajedničkom višom svrhom. Ne možete ih nadmašiti dovodeći najbolje ljude i spajajući ih zajedno. Ugled na tržištu je zadivljujuć. Ne postoji količina reklama, pametnog marketinga, bilo koje cijene, koji bi mogli proizvesti ili stvoriti ovoliko ugleda Troškovi, proizvodi, ljudi, tržišta -- što još postoji? To je bolji poslovni model.
And here is our 14-year record of sales and profits. There is a dip there, from 2001 to 2003: a dip when our sales, over a three-year period, were down 17 percent. But the marketplace was down 36 percent. We literally gained market share. We might not have survived that recession but for the advantages of sustainability. If every business were pursuing Interface plans, would that solve all our problems? I don't think so. I remain troubled by the revised Ehrlich equation, I equals P times A divided by T2. That A is a capital A, suggesting that affluence is an end in itself. But what if we reframed Ehrlich further? And what if we made A a lowercase 'a,' suggesting that it is a means to an end, and that end is happiness -- more happiness with less stuff.
A ovdje je naših 14 godina rekordnih prodaja i profita. Postoji rupa od 2001. do 2003., rupa u kojoj su naše prodaje, kroz trogodišnje razdoblje, bile niže za 17%. No tržište je palo za 36%. Doslovno smo dobili dio tržišta. Možda ne bismo preživjeli tu recesiju da nije bilo prednosti održivosti. Kada bi svaki posao išao stopama Interfacea, bi li to riješilo sve naše probleme? Mislim da ne bi. Ostajem zabrinut Erlichovom jednadžbom, U = P x A : T2. Taj A je veliko slovo, implicirajući da je obilje samo po sebi konačno. No što ako dalje preobrazimo Ehrlich? Što ako postavimo A kao malo slovo 'a', implicirajući da je sredstvo za dolazak do kraja, a taj kraj je sreća -- više sreće s manje stvari.
You know that would reframe civilization itself -- (Applause) -- and our whole system of economics, if not for our species, then perhaps for the one that succeeds us: the sustainable species, living on a finite earth, ethically, happily and ecologically in balance with nature and all her natural systems for a thousand generations, or 10,000 generations -- that is to say, into the indefinite future. But does the earth have to wait for our extinction as a species? Well maybe so. But I don't think so.
To bi promijenilo civilizaciju kao takvu - (Pljesak) i cijeli naš sustav ekonomije, ako ne za našu vrste, onda možda za one koje nas nasljeđuju: održive vrste, živeći na smrtnoj zemlji, etično, sretno i ekološki u ravnoteži s prirodom i svim njenim prirodnim sustavima za tisuću generacija, ili 10 000 generacija -- odnosno, do beskonačne budućnosti. No treba li Zemlja čekati da mi izumremo kao vrsta? Možda. No ne mislim tako.
At Interface we really intend to bring this prototypical sustainable, zero-footprint industrial company fully into existence by 2020. We can see our way now, clear to the top of that mountain. And now the challenge is in execution. And as my good friend and adviser Amory Lovins says, "If something exists, it must be possible." (Laughter) If we can actually do it, it must be possible. If we, a petro-intensive company can do it, anybody can. And if anybody can, it follows that everybody can.
U Interfaceu pokušavamo donijeti prototip održivog poduzeća s nula otisaka potpuno u život do 2020. Možemo vidjeti svoj put sada, čisto do vrha planine. Sad je izazov u izvedbi. Kako bi moj dobar prijatelj i savjetnik Amory Lovins rekao, "Ako nešto postoji, mora biti moguće." (Smijeh) Ako možemo to napraviti, mora biti moguće. Ako mi, poduzeće s velikom potrošnjom petroleja, možemo, bilo tko može. Ako bilo tko može, slijedi da svi mogu.
Hawken fulfilled business and industry, leading humankind away from the abyss because, with continued unchecked decline of the biosphere, a very dear person is at risk here -- frankly, an unacceptable risk. Who is that person? Not you. Not I. But let me introduce you to the one who is most at risk here. And I myself met this person in the early days of this mountain climb. On a Tuesday morning in March of 1996, I was talking to people, as I did at every opportunity back then, bringing them along and often not knowing whether I was connecting. But about five days later back in Atlanta, I received an email from Glenn Thomas, one of my people in the California meeting. He was sending me an original poem that he had composed after our Tuesday morning together. And when I read it it was one of the most uplifting moments of my life. Because it told me, by God, one person got it. Here is what Glenn wrote. And here is that person, most at risk. Please meet "Tomorrow's Child."
Hawken je ispunio posao i industriju, vodeći čovječanstvo van iz bezdana jer s nastavljajućim padom biosfere, vrlo draga nam je osoba u riziku -- iskreno, nedopustivom riziku. Tko je ta osoba? Ne vi. Ne ja. Ali dopustite mi da vas upoznam s onim tko je najviše u riziku. I sam sam upoznao ovu osobu u ranim danima penjanja na planinu. Ujutro, u utorak u ožujku 1996., pričao sam s ljudima, kao što sam radio svakom prilikom tada, skupljajući ih zajedno i često ne znajući povezujem li se. No pet dana kasnije u Atlanti, primio sam e-mail od Glenna Thomasa, jednog od mojih ljudi na sastanku u Kaliforniji. Slao mi je originalnu pjesmu koju je skladao nakon našeg zajedničkog utorka ujutro. Kada sam ju pročitao, bila je jedna od najdivnijih trenutaka u mom životu. Jer mi je reklo: "Za Boga, jedna osoba razumije." Ovo je što je Glenn napisao. I ovdje je ta osoba, najviše izložena riziku. Molim vas, upoznajte "Sutrašnje dijete"
"Without a name, an unseen face, and knowing not your time or place,
"Bez imena, bez lica, bez poznavanja vremena ili ulica,
Tomorrow's child, though yet unborn, I met you first last Tuesday morn.
Sutrašnje dijete, iako nerođeno, upoznao sam te prošlog utorka ujutro.
A wise friend introduced us two. And through his sobering point of view
Mudar prijatelj nas upozna. I kroz njegov trevezni pogled
I saw a day that you would see, a day for you but not for me.
vidio sam dan koji ćeš vidjeti, dan za tebe, ne za mene.
Knowing you has changed my thinking. For I never had an inkling
Poznavajući te, promijenio sam mišljenje. Jer nikad nisam posjedovao čar za naziranje
that perhaps the things I do might someday, somehow threaten you.
da ono što činim i što bih činiti mogao, na neki način tebi pokazuje svijet koji je propao.
Tomorrow's child, my daughter, son,
Sutrašnje dijete, moja kćeri, sine,
I'm afraid I've just begun to think of you and of your good,
bojim se da sam se prekasno tvojim mislima predao,
though always having known I should.
iako sam uvijek znao da bih trebao.
Begin, I will.
Počet ću.
The way the cost of what I squander, what is lost,
Način i put onoga što sam protratio i izgubio,
if ever I forget that you will someday come and live here too."
ako te zaboravim ikada, doći će i živjeti s tobom tada."
Well, every day of my life since, "Tomorrow's Child" has spoken to me with one simple but profound message, which I presume to share with you. We are, each and every one, a part of the web of life. The continuum of humanity, sure, but in a larger sense, the web of life itself. And we have a choice to make during our brief, brief visit to this beautiful blue and green living planet: to hurt it or to help it. For you, it's your call.
Svaki dan mog života od tad, Sutrašnje dijete mi govori s jednom jednostavnom no dubokom porukom, koju želim podijeliti s vama. Mi smo, svi do jednog, dio mreže života. Kontinuum čovječanstva, naravno, no u većem smislu, mreže života samoga. I imamo izbor tijekom našeg kratkog, kratkog posjeta ovom prelijepom plavom i zelenom planetu: ozlijediti ga ili mu pomoći. Vaš izbor.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)