Interface’s ESA Case Study
EMS 503
Prasad Naik

Background
Interface Flooring Systems, Inc. was founded by Ray Anderson in 1973 as a joint venture between Carpets International Plc., a British company, and a group of American investors. He set up operations in LaGrange, Georgia, and embarked on a mission to adapt European technology to produce America’s first free-lay carpet tiles. In early 1990,Interface goes green and step up goal to reduce their negative impact on Environment. During 1995 executives of Interface to take step ahead and introduced The “Evergreen Services Agreement”(ESA). It provided for the following: (1) carpet and installation; (2) carpet maintenance; (3) selective replacement of tiles; and (4) carpet removal at the end of its term (reclamation). But the problem with ESA was that it was too complex and many customers preferred to buy carpet than lease Also Interface manage to seal only such six agreements. Additionally, Interface recent agreement with University of Texas didn't went through and they end up buying carpet. Because of which the CEO Hendrix was in dual mind, to continue ESA or shut it down or modify it.

Interface Goes Green
In the early 1990s, during a Clinton-Gore administration placed environmental protection above its agenda, Due to which, Interface customers began expecting an explicit set of environmental protection policies from the world’s leading carpet tile producer. And also many people from research arm of interface recommended, in response to customers who were beginning to ask about company environment policy. To answer this question Interface research team decided to organize a task force with representatives from all of Interface businesses around the world. Then some one sent Anderson a book Paul Hawken’s The Ecology of Commerce and it hit him. And thus the sustainability journey of Interface began. Anderson