This blog appears on InterfaceFLOR's blog.  Thanks to Nadine Gudz, Director, Sustainability Strategy, InterfaceFLOR.

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Last night, I had the honour of attending the 20th  anniversary celebration of the David Suzuki Foundation. I can still feel the shivers up my spine as Stephen Lewis, Ed Begley Jr, Melissa Auf der Maur, Adam van Koeverden, and Sereka Cullis Suzuki read aloud the Declaration of Interdependence, an acknowledgement of how humans are fundamentally altering Earth’s life support systems. Written for the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, every word remains relevant today.

The Declaration reminds me that Zero Waste - eliminating the whole concept of waste - means rethinking humanity’s relationship with Earth. This is bigger than the 3 R’s I grew up with; although, maybe it’s worth revisiting these key principles.

Reduce means consume less. Consume smart. This is about waste prevention. Products and processes are also [re]designed using fewer raw materials without compromising quality and performance. Hopefully those raw materials come from high quality recycled sources or rapidly renewable sources. Recyclability also becomes a design principle. Reusing is pretty straightforward, but “recycling” means different things in today’s marketplace. As decision-makers, we need to question how products are being recycled, and if recycling processes further environmental degradation through their own material and energy flows. The goal is landfill and incineration diversion. This is where life cycle thinking fits in.

Life cycle thinking asks us to consider the potential environmental impacts and material and energy flows occurring throughout the product’s life cycle from raw material collection through to recycling. By comparing products and materials based on life cycle performance, we can make smarter, more informed decisions toward a Zero Waste world.

Fields like Green Chemistry, the science of making smart choices from the very beginning about the chemicals that compose the products we use every day, asks us to think more deeply about design considerations.

A Zero Waste philosophy can inspire innovation and creativity, opening new markets for recycled raw materials and low impact recycling technologies. This includes rethinking “value” beyond financial measures and considering social and ecological costs associated with the life cycle impacts of products and services. This has big implications for business and industry, primary perpetrators of environmental degradation since the boom of industry. Frameworks for change towards a Zero Waste economy, like The Natural Step, can help with the transition.

The industrial revolution has brought as pain and joy. We need an “evolution” in business, mindful of our intimate interdependence with all of life’s finite systems.

Meet Nadine at the upcoming IIDEX/NEOCON Canada 2010. Nadine is part of a panel of representatives from top organizations known for their sustainability programs and will present an overview of “zero waste” on Thursday, September 23, 2:30pm - 3:30pm.

Link to IIDEX site for complete seminar overview.