In my previous post I questioned whether employers would drop the green agenda as the credit crunch loomed large. Someone who may be able to offer some insight is the man that Time magazine named Hero of the Environment: Ray Anderson, founder of US flooring company Interface.

The more avid PM readers among you may remember the name, which we covered last year in the PM article Tread softly. Interface has been paving (or carpeting, as the case may be) the way in sustainable, environmentally friendly business practices long before it became fashionable. Anderson, who built his empire from a single factory in Georgia to a giant multinational company, has made it his mission to re-educate business (Ray Anderson on YouTube).

Now, with the US in the throes of an economic downturn, it will be interesting to find out how Anderson has sustained momentum. Have the nation’s more conservative business leaders gone back to ignoring environmental good practice in order to save a buck or two? And what lessons have he and the US learnt in the past year that could help UK businesses keep their green initiatives on course as we enter tougher times? I will try to find out when I meet him today at the launch of a partnership programme between his company and Ashridge Business School.