Interface to expand inclusive business programme, net-works

In partnership with Zoological Society of London

Dubai, UAE, 24September 2014:Interface, the world’s largest modular carpet manufacturer, announced its commitment to expanding the Net-Works™ programme in partnership with Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

Net-Works™, is an innovative, cross-sector initiative designed to tackle the growing environmental problem of discarded fishing nets in some of the world’s poorest coastal communities. Following its success in rural coastal areas of the Philippines, including the Bantayan Islands and Danajon Bank, the initiative is now rolling out to the Lake Ossa region of Cameroon in January 2015.

Since the project launched in 2012, Net-Works™ hubs have collected more than 38,600kg (85,000lbs) of discarded fishing nets, helping 4,500 villagers in communities in the Philippines to earn supplemental income equal to 84,000 additional meals.

It is anticipated that over the next three years, Net-Works™ will support and strengthen over 500 hectares of community-based Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Net-Works™ regions, thereby helping to restore the biodiversity of the aquatic ecosystems.

Gathered nets are recycled by Italian yarn manufacturer Aquafil in their ECONYL® Regeneration System into nylon yarn that Interface uses to produce carpet tile. The Net-Works™ initiative supports Interface’s ambitious Mission Zero goal to source 100% recycled nylon.

“Inclusive business is about finding ways to have a net positive impact on social and environmental issues while still minding the bottom line,” said Nigel Stansfield, Chief Innovations Officer for Interface.

“We are challenging the status quo to reimagine our supply chain in a way that improves our ability to source recycled content while simultaneously cleaning up oceans and lakes and lifting people from poverty. It’s ambitious and it’s working.”

The expansion of the Net-Works™ initiative was announced with a Commitment to Action at the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting. CGI was established by Former US President Bill Clinton to bring about global change by convening global leaders to discuss and implement solutions for the world’s most pressing challenges.

The Net-Works™ team announced the new net collection hub in the Lake Ossa region of Cameroon, and committed to establishing two additional hubs over the next three years.

Dr. Heather Koldewey, head of global conservation programmes for Zoological Society of London said, “We believe Net-Works is both scalable and replicable, and we also commit at CGI to develop the Net-Works™ infrastructure so that it can become a free-standing, financially viable programme independent of Interface and ZSL.”

To that end, a Net-Works™ tool kit will be released in the first quarter of 2015, a field guide that will help addition partners set up Net-Works™ collection hubs in pursuit of inclusive business.

Net-Works™ Background
In Philippines coastal villages in and around Danajon Bank where marine life and reefs are endangered, fishermen gather and bundle discarded nylon nets (which would otherwise last for 600 years) for shipment to yarn supplier Aquafil, which developed nylon recycling technology. In these villages, 892 households (4,460 people) have engaged with the programme and can now:
 Recycle their nets to earn extra income;
 Access financial services self-run community banks, so they can take out micro-loans for education and business ventures and have secure savings;
 Be empowered to clean beaches of old nets and ensure no more nets are discarded on the beach or in the water.

So far, more than 85,000 lbs have been collected from these villages; laid end to end, those nets would stretch 90% of the way around the world.
One important aspect of Net-Works™ is that it gives women an equal opportunity to participate and receive an additional source of income from net collection, making them integral, decision-making members of the community banking systems developing as a result of Net-Works™. Net-Works™ does not employ children directly, but many of the village children participate in “beach clean ups” to collect nets and learn about conservation.

Professor Stuart Hart of Cornell University, a leading authority on the implications of environment and poverty on business strategy, says, “Net-Works™ is a win environmentally, a win socially, and to me that’s the gold standard.”

In 2014, ZSL received nearly $1 million in two three-year grants from the Darwin initiative, a U.K. government funding programme which helps countries with rich biodiversity but poor financial resources to meet their objectives. The grants will help adapt the Net-Works™ model in Cameroon’s Lake Ossa Wildlife Reserve, an important refuge for West African manatees and other freshwater species, as well as provide vital support to expand the current net-collection infrastructure in the Philippines.