In 1993, a CEO of an international company was seeking new vision for his company. His company produced textiles, which contains production processes that rely heavily on petroleum and chemicals. The government started freeing up trade with the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Environmental Protection Agency was introducing major clean air regulation that would increase his company’s cost of production. The textile industry was in the transition to becoming  more competitive and regulated. For years, he sought to be compliant with government regulations, but now he wanted to do something different that went beyond merely meeting the minimum standards of the law. When pushed by his staff for that vision, he had none.

One day, the CEO returned to his office to find a book on his desk. It had been not there when he left. Out of curiosity, he began reading the Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawking. He discovered his vision in the book, but he would not have if it were not for a teenage girl sharing with her mother what she read. The girl discussed the book with her mother the story behind the book. In turn, the mother, a VP in the company, had lain the book on her boss’ desk. As a result, CEO Ray Anderson spearheaded a new initiative to move his company to zero waste by 2020. And so far, Interface Global, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer, has been able to move towards that goal!

The change of a major international company towards becoming green was started by a youth.

source: personal interviews with Operations VP Bradford and A Mid-course Correction.