At WhatTheyThink we get a chance to talk to a lot of people! Most often, interviews and discussions end up in the form of reports and analysis, though we also film video interviews at a many events throughout the year. (You can find lots of short pieces in the WhatTheyThink Video Archives.) Since George Milner, SVP Energy, Environmental, and Government Affairs for Mohawk Fine Papers, isn't going to be available for his 15 minutes of WTT fame at Graph Expo 08, we recorded our interview with him in advance. You can download it here (12.2 MB) or listen to it online below. To give you a "sneak preview," here are some of the questions we discussed:
  • Let's start off with a philosophical question: What makes a paper sustainable?
  • Mohawk's list of environmental initiatives is a long one; from wind power to carbon neutrality. I’d like to hear your thoughts on the company’s initiatives to reduce impacts on the environment. What have you done to date; the results? Are there more coming?
  • Paper with recycled content is moving up on everyone’s radar, and more designers are specifying recycled content. Are you finding good sources of recycled content are harder to locate or becoming easier? What about the quality of the fiber; is it improving or getting worse?
  • The Secret Life of Paper, which features Mohawk as a company that produces sustainable paper products, is a video that focuses first on recycling, but as a secondary point suggests using less paper. Less paper means less sales for companies like Mohawk. Your thoughts on reducing the amount of paper used?
  • Going Green recently highlighted some of HP’s “On the Ground” environmental issues, such as employee garden plots, reduced paper usage in the company cafeteria, encouraging telecommuting or bicycling to the office. Does Mohawk have similar activities going on?
  • Mohawk is involved in some wide-ranging design projects – such as HERE, The Cooper Cary Magazine, or Lost, a company promotion – that use papers with recycled content. Are you looking at – or offering – ways to help designers use paper more effectively?
  • Just for fun, put on your “prognosticator” hat and tell us what you think the future looks like. Will the paperless office exist? Will e-books replace printed books? Will the sky fall? Please share a few thoughts about where you think this is all going…
As you can see from his photo, George is someone who not only works to protect the environment, he enjoys his time in it!