Ray Anderson — one of the great leaders of the sustainability movement and a personal friend — died earlier this month. Interface, the carpet manufacturing company he founded and later turned into one of the world’s flagship green companies, is holding a memorial service this morning. You can watch it here: http://rayandersonmemorial.visioncast.tv (more details below).
I knew Ray for almost two decades and followed his journey toward sustainability closely. He was the genuine article, the epitome of a sustainable visionary corporate CEO.
He was also one of the classiest and kindest people I knew, a man of great heart and spirit. He was the kind of person whose warmth and energy lit up a room, whose wit and wisdom changed people’s minds about what was possible.
He walked the talk. Indeed, he created the path that made it possible for others to walk what he talked about. Here he is at TED, speaking “on the business logic of sustainability” and how he switched from “plunderer of the Earth” to a “recovering plunderer” to “America’s greenest CEO”:
Here are the details of the Memorial, via Interface:
On Monday, August 29th we are holding a memorial service to honor our much beloved Chairman and Founder Ray Anderson. Whether you have known Ray for years or perhaps just knew of him, the service will pay tribute to a man who has positively impacted all of our lives. We would not be here without him.
The memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m. EDT at LaGrange College. The length of the service will be about 90 minutes and will include a number of Ray’s family members, friends and Interface associates speaking, reading passages and paying tribute. The event will include remarks by Dan Hendrix, Interface, Inc. president and CEO; John Wells, president and CEO, Interface Americas; Michelle Moore, federal environmental executive on the President’s Council on Environmental Quality; and others. A variety of music will be performed, a video tribute shown and a portion of the program will be dedicated to allowing individuals to share fond memories of Ray.
Technical Instructions for Webcast Viewing
http://rayandersonmemorial.visioncast.tv. Flash is required to view the video from either your PC or Mac. If the video does not play after clicking on the link you will need to download and install the latest version of Flash software (http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer)
- Alternatively, you can view the webcast from any iPhone or iPad and will not need to download software.
The webcast will be recorded and accessible immediately afterwards and in the weeks following the event to accommodate schedules around the world. The recording will be available through the same link: http://rayandersonmemorial.visioncast.tv.
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I only know him from reading your article.
This is so important to highlight all the success stories of sustainable development, Thank You!
Ray Anderson on the business logic of sustainability http://climateforce.net/2011/08/29/ray-anderson-on-the-business-logic-of-sustainability/