Women's Network for a Sustainable Future (WNSF) holds 7th Annual Businesswomen's Sustainability Leadership Summit. WNSF's "Business Sustainability Leadership Award" recognizes Ray Anderson

Ray Anderson, the Radical Industrialist, speaks about women and sustainability. The WNSF Summit explores what action is required to push the sustainability agenda to the next level now that sustainability has entered the business lexicon, and inspires participants to consider their own radical purpose. End Quote

New York, NY (1888PressRelease) October 09, 2010 - "A man on the moon? Not radical enough!" said Ray Anderson, legendary founder and chairman of Interface, at the Women's Network for a Sustainable Future (WNSF) 7th Annual Businesswomen's Sustainability Leadership Summit in New York on October 5, 2010.

Speaking via video-conference, Anderson was the keynote speaker and recipient of the "Business Sustainability Leadership Award," marking the first time the WNSF has honored a businessman. His daughter, Mary Anne Lanier, member of the Sustainable Operations team at Interface Inc., accepted the award for him in person. Anderson is internationally recognized in environmental circles for his advanced and progressive stance on industrial ecology and sustainability. Under his leadership, Interface has increased its sales and doubled its profits. At the same time, the company has cut its energy use by nearly 40 percent in pursuit of its radical Mission Zero goal: to achieve a zero environmental footprint by 2020.

Anderson captured the audience's imagination by questioning the established notion that President John F. Kennedy's goal to send a man to the moon was highly ambitious. Once NASA had achieved the mission, he claimed, they had nothing further to do! In Anderson's view, it is vital to set radical goals, and continually strive towards achieving them. He expounded on this theme and explained how he set Interface on the road to sustainability, aka Mission Zero, in his 2009 book "Confessions of a Radical Industrialist."

Anderson also addressed the contribution of women to sustainability. "A sustainable society will build on the ascendancy of women in business, the professions, government, and education, as they bring their right-brain, nurturing nature to bear on the seemingly intractable challenges created by us left-brain-dominant, pragmatic men and our pre-occupation with bottom lines and other 'practical' considerations."

The WNSF exists to help foster a sustainable society, "A sustainable economy and the role women can, must and will play in it, is at the heart of our work at WNSF," said WNSF's Executive Director, Ann Goodman, Ph.D. The WNSF vision is of a sustainable future - financially-, environmentally- and socially-driven by businesswomen worldwide. Anderson supports their efforts by serving on the WNSF Advisory Council.

The WNSF Summit brought together 180 women and more than a few token men from a range of industries. The aim was to stimulate discussion about what action is required to push the sustainability agenda to the next level now that sustainability has entered the business lexicon. It was a radical goal.

WNSF Board Member Helle Jorgensen facilitated a strategic dialogue among working groups on specific sustainability questions. The responses indicated that for many, the next phase in sustainability is still a long way off. "First-generation" challenges, such as prevalence of short-term thinking, lack of management commitment and inadequate resources remain tough barriers to progress. However, there was no shortage of ideas to help business advance along the sustainability continuum. Overall, the mood was one of energy, excitement, creativity and optimism.

In a panel discussion moderated by New York Times Editorial Board Member Teresa Tritch, regional differences in sustainability were explored, with Europe judged to be ahead of the US in consumer and corporate mind-set and behavior, as well as in sustainable business practices and investment. Europe is closer to exemplifying "second-generation" sustainability and is therefore a source of ideas for implementing sustainability in the United States. The panel was upbeat about the prospects for the United States in catching up, citing several key ingredients it possessed for success including a spirit of innovation, entrepreneurial drive, world-class education and can-do attitude.

There is reason for hope about the future globally in areas such as sustainable investing. The panel spoke about the enormous growth of the UN Principles for Responsible Investing (PRI), a framework to help investors achieve better long-term investment returns and sustainable markets. The number of signatories to the UN PRI has jumped in the last year by more than 30% and there are now over 800 signatories in 45 countries representing assets of $22 trillion, over 10% of the estimated total value of global capital markets.

The Summit also provided an opportunity for reflection. The keynote address was given by Frances Hesselbein, President and CEO of the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Drucker Foundation), who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998 for her leadership as Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. (1976-1990) and Founding President of the Drucker Foundation, and her service as a pioneer for women, diversity and inclusion. Her speech deeply moved the audience. As she spoke of the defining moment in her life that taught her the importance of respect for all, her listeners reflected on what moment in their lives defined them and the kind of person they aspired to be.

Later on in the day, Anderson's unique perspective on setting radical goals encouraged participants to reflect on the radical nature, or not, of their own goals. As WNSF Board Member Shelly Esque posed in her closing remarks, "Do you need a more radical purpose?" At the end of the Summit, I concluded I surely do.

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