The Accidental Environmental Activist

by Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

At the beginning of her career, Joyce LaValle, a senior vice president with Interface Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of modular carpet, never would have dreamed she’d be the impetus for a seismic shift in her employer’s business plan or that she’d become a spokesperson and advocate for sustainability.

LaValle began in a junior position as the DC showroom manager with Interface. Ultimately, the company seized upon her prior experience with an architectural firm to move her into a position selling to the design community. In 1994, she was actively pursuing a potential customer who was courting vendors for the most sustainable building at that time. LaValle realized she wasn’t even sure what sustainability was all about. Her daughter, who had earned a Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies and had voiced her concern about the harmful materials and production methods used in the carpet industry, gave her the book, “The Ecology of Commerce” by Paul Hawkins. The book, which talks in depth about the detrimental impact such methods were having on the environment “had a profound effect on me…I was pretty horrified that my daughter was so ashamed of what I was doing,” said LaValle.

LaValle summoned the courage to take it to the top of the company and had someone put the book on a corner of CEO Ray Anderson’s desk. “It was a little intimidating: he was two bosses above me. But because my daughter was so disappointed, I tried to do whatever I could to fix it.”

She continued, “He read it and literally went home [realizing] that his entire working life he had built something entirely unsustainable. He called me and said ‘This is amazing. I cannot tell you how moved I am.’ ” LaValle was surprised at the extent to which Anderson embraced the concept of sustainability. “I thought that maybe he would get it about recycling yarn. His response was enormous.”

It certainly was. Under Anderson’s leadership, Interface immediately revisited their company’s culture. According to the Interface website, Interface committed to become “the first name in industrial ecology worldwide.” [Anderson] challenged his global team to convert Interface to a ‘restorative enterprise.’ As a first step, this means reaching sustainability in its own business practices. The team created “The 7 Fronts of Sustainability”, which compares the challenges of building a sustainable business to climbing a mountain. “[Anderson’s] greatest hope and dream is to get other businesses to understand that their business model is incorrect, unethical and unsustainable,” adds LaValle.

LaValle encourages everyone to take action, however small, and to take a stand for what she thinks is right. “I do think that people need to have the courage of their convictions,” says LaValle, “If sustainability calls you, have the courage to open up. Make a bit of a wave about it, ask the questions. People forget the power of their own voice.” She sees this bravery as applicable beyond sustainability. “All those people on Wall Street – I know there must be people inside the organizations who know the organizations are really relying on models that are in conflict with models that would be beneficial. All [those people would] need to do is one little thing to take a stand and make a difference.”

She continues, “Everybody has a moment in which we are alive and awake when we can say something. I’m now one of those people. I find weird ways to make people think about sustainability. I’ve become a questioner—it’s a subtle advocacy—trying to get people to be aware,” explains LaValle. Since her accidental entry into environmentalism, LaValle has become an expert, spending much of her time these days speaking about Interface’s philosophy and about sustainability in general. She emphasizes that any sustainability plan must be one in which progress is clear and able to be measured. It must also be holistic, or run the risk of ending up with something that feels convenient and innovative—like plastic shopping bags—which comes with unintended consequences. Those consequences can drive even the best-intended plan off track.

While she feels there has been some improvement since she first got involved in the cause, she feels that there is still a long way to go. “The trends are better today than 15 years ago, but there is a lot of ‘green-washing’: a celebration of things that aren’t as green as they should be. We are celebrating certain ‘green’ things like organics and natural material without understanding the ramifications. So while there are far more conversations going on, they are still occurring in isolated pieces.” She is optimistic about the role of women in the sustainability movement and in green industries, however. “Years ago I said that the industrial revolution was designed by men alone. This sustainability movement in particular requires complete diversity at the table. We currently have the take/make/waste model. We still want and have so much, and all marketing and advertising messages are aimed at self-worth tied to the things we have. We need to re-imagine and redefine the model. Women are starting to get that this isn’t working, and are more deeply attracted to the green industry. Women tend to think in a holistic way, seeing the issue from all angles and understand it systematically where others may choose to focus on one spot. Women more naturally think in that way, in a way that nurtures health and wellness: things have got to be better. We need a healthier place to live. We can‘t leave this mess. There is a sense of responsibility.”

LaValle will be retiring from Interface soon and moving out West to be geographically closer to her daughter. But that will not be the end of her sustainability advocacy. She hopes to start a consulting company to bring the sustainability message to those companies that would not normally have access. “I envision working with small companies that wouldn’t otherwise have the luxury to consider environmental responsibility and to help them find their own sustainability voice, to help them climb the mountain.”