UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Lisa Conway, vice president of sustainability for modular flooring manufacturer Interface Americas, has agreed to serve on the Penn State Smeal College of Business Sustainability Advisory Board.
Conway is a member of the global team at Interface. She reports to both the vice president of global accounts and the chief sustainability officer. Her team is responsible for regional activation of the company’s mission: climate take back; driving higher levels of transparency and embodied carbon prioritization for the building industry; and training internal associates and external stakeholders on the interconnectedness of environmental sustainability and human health.
“We are delighted to add Lisa’s expertise and vision to our Sustainability Advisory Board," said Erik Foley, Smeal’s director of sustainability. "Interface is consistently recognized among the top companies globally for sustainable business practices."
Interface is the world’s leading manufacturer of modular flooring, with manufacturing on four continents and sales in more than 110 countries. In 1994, company founder and chairman Ray Anderson declared that the company would undertake its Mission Zero promise to eliminate any negative impact the company has on the environment by 2020. With 2020 in sight, Interface is embarking on its next mission, "Climate Take Back," which is its promise to run the business in a way that reverses global warming.
“To be able to introduce Lisa as a representative of Interface’s innovative four pillars — live zero, love carbon, let nature cool, and lead the industrial re-revolution — to our board is an exciting proposition,” Foley said. “We think she will add another dimension to the ideas and initiatives our board advances.”
Smeal Sustainability Advisory Board members lend their experience and expertise to the Smeal Sustainability Council and serve as conduits to the latest corporate developments in sustainable business practices. The board assists in guiding Smeal’s sustainability agenda by helping to match the college’s strengths with the sustainability issues that the board members encounter as they lead their corporations’ sustainability efforts.
The board also benchmarks Smeal’s sustainability efforts with those of other business schools, identifies essential sustainability research areas, explores collaborations with other University sustainability initiatives, and evaluates the college’s graduate and undergraduate sustainability curricula.