Pictured (from left): Associate Professor Peter Reed, Monash's MBA director with Mr Robert Coombs.

Sustainable business: a reality

Enterprises can use sustainable business practices and still meet shareholder demands, Mr Robert Coombs from Interface Asia Pacific told Monash University students and alumni at an MBA Leadership Forum on 27 April.  

Interface is the world's largest manufacturer of modular carpets and a leader in sustainable development. Its President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Coombs said current industrial business practices were exploiting and using resources that would never return.  

“Sustainability is about living and working in ways which don't jeopardise the future of our social, economic and natural resources,” he said. “Interface's mission is to leave a zero footprint on the earth by 2020. It involves sustainability in all its dimensions: people, process, product, place and profits.  

“Nature is ultimately the mother of all systems, it has worked forever, but traditional business process is completely out of step with nature – it operates on the premise of take, make and waste, has created the notion that perfection lies in zero defects, and uses mainly non renewable forms of energy.”  

He said Interface's success illustrated that business could exist in harmony with the natural world. “When our designers emulated nature by producing carpet squares which were designed not to be uniform and were laid randomly, we developed our number one globally selling product.”  

Mr Combs said sustainability brought with it many traditional business benefits.

“ Interface is now 10 years into its sustainability journey. Globally it has reduced waste by one third, saved $299 million in waste elimination activities, reduced carbon emissions by a third, reduced non-renewable energy use by one third and closed a third of its smoke stacks,'' he said.  

“Sustainability is a long-term commitment. We often see that people devalue the small steps and become overwhelmed by the enormity of the issue.''

Mr Combs said Interface had established a seven-step approach involving: waste elimination; eliminating toxic substances from products, vehicles and facilities; operating with renewable energy sources; redesigning processes and products to close the technical loop using recovered and bio-based materials; using resource-efficient transportation; creating a culture that integrated sustainability principles and improved people's lives and livelihoods; and creating a new business model that demonstrated and supported the value of sustainability-based commerce.

He said consumers wanted sustainable products. “If you can get sustainable business right you will produce a better product and realise greater profits.”

Monash University is one of the first business schools in the world to offer a double degree in MBA/Master of Corporate Environmental and Sustainability Management. This program provides the essential insights and competency in designing, implementing and facilitating sustainability solutions for business.

For more information contact Ms Jacqui Golding, Faculty of Business and Economics, on +61 3 9903 2265 or 0438 009 621.