Interface, a commercial carpet company, set out 10 years ago to see how it could build an inclusive business in its supply chain. A failed program and several iterations later, the work they’ve done through their Net-Works program has earned them a U.S. State Department Corporate Excellence Award.
The U.S. Department of State presented its annual awards for corporate excellence on Thursday, recognizing businesses such as General Electric in Saudi Arabia and McDonald’s Deutschland in Germany for their inclusive hiring practices, and Bureo in Chile and Interface in the Philippines for oceans management.
Interface leaders are open about the challenges they’ve faced in their efforts to create a more sustainable supply chain. Erin Meezan, Interface’s chief sustainability officer, said she hopes the award will be an opportunity to share the company’s experience so others can learn from it.
About the author
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
