When I hear about new ideas, I love to learn the ‘origin’ story. How did this idea arise? Who first thought of it, and put it into practice?

And so it was when I read a recent story in Reasons to Be Cheerful, about a company which was making carbon neutral carpeting. I had heard the story of a company in India that was working with a floor tiling company to turn soot into tiles, and I was sure – just as with that story – that there must be a fascinating tale here to be told.

And who better to tell it than the man behind that US company, Interface, in Atlanta, Georgia, which seems to have always been in the forefront of innovation for a long time.