The Woodlands, Texas (Business Wire) -- Interface Inc.'s chairman and founder Ray C. Anderson has been named recipient of the 2001 George and Cynthia Mitchell International Prize for Sustainable Development. Interface Inc. is an Atlanta-based, global manufacturer of carpet tiles, carpet, fabrics and other commercial interior products and services.

The $100,000 Mitchell Prize will be awarded for the seventh time since 1974 on Monday, January 29, during the Woodlands Conference. The prize was established by Houston businessman and philanthropist George P. Mitchell and his wife Cynthia to recognize outstanding contributions to sustainable development. This year's selection committee searched for "individuals in the corporate setting or individuals who made corporate sustainable development activities possible." The Woodlands Conference, a two-day colloquium organized by the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), will explore the changes, capabilities and tools needed to help corporations achieve sustainability.

In the past six years, Interface has undertaken more than 400 sustainability initiatives, including the design of new carpets and fabrics that are 100 percent recyclable at the end of their use and the development of the first ``climate-neutral'' floor covering product, Solenium®. Fortune Magazine, dubbing him the "Green CEO" (May 24, 1999), singled him out for his conversion to "environmentalism" and subsequent accomplishments.