2. What environmental vision do you communicate to your task force? In other words, what social responsiveness strategy will you adopt at Interface? Your heart is racing as you stand in front of the gathering of customers.115 Though not usually at a loss for words, you are having trouble answering their questions about the dangers of the materials and processes used by your company, Interface, Inc., a manufacturer of commercial-grade carpet and fl ooring. What’s more, when you hesitate, they doggedly persist. And none of the questions are about things you know, like discounts, lower prices, or inventory!

After you conclude the meeting, you race back to the offi ce and convene a task force to respond to your customers’ questions. But as soon as you assign the team its task, its members turn around and ask you to explain the company’s environmental vision. “What vision?” you think to yourself. Desperately looking for inspiration, you happen upon a book by Paul Hawken entitled The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability.

You open it, hoping to glean some good ideas that you can repackage for your task force (and your customers).