Dear Members

From reducing embodied carbon to improving indoor air quality, the materials that architects and designers specify are of increasingly great importance. Choosing the most appropriate items gives designers an opportunity to improve the health of the planet and the people who live on it.

Beyond Zero presents the inspirational "sustainability journey" of Interface, the world's leading modular flooring company. Inspired by its CEO Ray Anderson, the company embarked on a high-stakes quest in the late 1990s to eliminate its negative environmental impact by 2020.

Over the past 29 years, Interface has deeply reduced its energy and water usage and eliminated most production waste to achieve carbon neutrality across their full product line. They have also developed the world’s first cradle-to-gate carbon negative carpet tile.

The film shows how Interface overcame deep skepticism, while rethinking the fundamentals of its business to help ignite a new industrial revolution - both internally and externally. It demonstrates how companies can take ESG beyond compliance and reporting into daily decision making, ambitious target setting, and rethinking of manufacturing and distribution processes, while gaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

This event is jointly sponsored by Interface and Shared Value Initiative Hong Kong.

Details

Date August 17, 2023 (Thursday)

Time 6:30 – 8.30 PM

Venue Interface Showroom, 10/F Malaysia Building, 50 Gloucester Rd, Wanchai

Quota 40

Fee Gratis for AIA Members; $100 for Non-members

About the Hosts

Andy Lee

Andy joined Interface as Country Manager for the China market in 1994, the year Interface started its sustainability journey. Over the years, he has held different positions in the organization and witnessed how the quest for sustainability has united colleagues from different backgrounds and cultures.

Andy’s favorite pastimes are hiking and goalkeeping. He now lives in TKO with his family and is extremely concerned that our landfills are filling up faster than we can think of ways to "reduce, re-use and recycle".

Virginia Wilson

Virginia is the CEO of Shared Value Initiative Hong Kong.

With more than 25 years leading both private enterprises and NGOs in culturally diverse environments, she has a demonstrated track record of securing strategic partnerships between corporations, governments and non-profits to deliver on social impact projects.

Believing that investing in people is the key driver for impactful change, Virginia has served on the boards of several educational institutions and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Adecco Group Foundation in Switzerland. She is passionate about bringing to life measurable impacts on sustainability and creating new values in our society.

About the Sponsors

Interface

A world-leading modular flooring company with an integrated collection of carpet tiles and resilient flooring, Interface is a corporate pioneer for action on climate change. The company is the first global flooring manufacturer to produce and sell only carbon-neutral products across their full life cycle. In the process, they have received many sustainability honours including Most Sustainable Large Corporate in the world - by the International Green Awards Initiative (2012) - and the UN Global Climate Action Award (2020).

Shared Value Initiative Hong Kong (SVIHK)

SVIHK is a non-profit organisation driving the purpose-led business movement in Hong Kong and Mainland China. Funded by many leading companies, SVIHK accelerates the creation of shared value by bringing together unlikely partnerships that simultaneously create both economic and social value.

Movie Screening: Beyond Zero