The ray of light known as the Ray C. Anderson Foundation will sunset its operations by the end of 2030.
The environmentally focused Foundation — named after the late corporate visionary Ray C. Anderson – decided it was time to “lean in” — to have as much impact as quickly as possible rather than be a foundation that lives on in perpetuity.
John Lanier, one of Ray Anderson’s grandsons and executive director of the Foundation, said in an exclusive interview the decision was made unanimously by the board, which includes Anderson’s two daughters – Mary Anne Anderson Lanier and Harriet Anderson Langford, their spouses as well as several grandchildren and their spouses.
“We began having robust conversations in 2024 — does the Ray C Anderson Foundation choose to lean in or lean out?” Lanier said. “For us, that decision as a family was very intentional, but it was not difficult. There was clear alignment that as a family, we wanted to lean in, not out, because the climate crisis demands it.”
The Ray C. Anderson Foundation has invested in four major initiatives and one annual event, RayDay, to spread the teachings of Anderson, the founder and long-time leader of the carpet-flooring company, Interface.
In 1994, Anderson had an epiphany after reading Paul Hawken’s book ˆThe Ecology of Commerce” that Interface was doing more to harm the environment rather than protect it.
He described that moment as a “spear in his chest.” At that time, Anderson vowed to do all he could to convince corporate America to embrace sustainability as a smart business move and as a vital initiative to protecting the earth.
By the time Anderson died of cancer in 2011, he had become a leading corporate voice nationally and internationally, urging business leaders to recognize and address the role they had in harming the environment and challenging them to adopt sustainable business practices.
“This is us jumping in, not solving environmental problems by 2030, but saying we’re going to make as much impact as we possibly can in the short term,” Lanier said.
By sacrificing the Foundation’s future investment gains, he added, the family believed it could leverage the next five years to have an impact that “will go on to have ripples, maybe even waves, that make a difference.”
Lanier said the family was inspired by the Kendeda Fund, founded by philanthropist Diana Blank and run by her daughter Dena Blank Kimball, which decided to sunset its operations at the end of 2023.
“Both Diana and Dena were really authentic and passionate about the differences they were trying to make in the world,” Lanier said. “They decided to sunset because they were trying to make that biggest difference. We’re echoing much of what we saw.”
Between now and the sunset of the Foundation, Lanier said the focus will be on making sure the current focus areas are able to continue beyond the end of 2030.
The four areas are:
- Sustainable business through the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at Georgia Tech
- Seeding and scaling the growth of nature-inspired startups through the Ray of Hope Accelerator, an initiative of the Biomimicry Institute
- Funding the research and providing staff support for Drawdown Georgia, a statewide movement to accelerate progress toward net zero greenhouse gas emissions in Georgia
- Funding for “The Ray,” a living laboratory and resource to more than 30 state departments of transportation and 55 strategic partnerships across the country for research and innovation related to sustainable highways
“My job, in part, over the next five years is to champion the things that we have started and encourage new sources of funding to come into this space,” Lanier said. “This is a call to action with no shame or blame directed at the philanthropic sector. But rather, we’re giving it all we’ve got, but we’re not going to do it on our own.”
The Foundation was launched nearly 14 years ago with about $50 million in funding from Ray Anderson’s estate. Since then, the Foundation has awarded grants of more than $36 million. Lanier said the Foundation never limited its giving to 5 percent of its endowment each year as most other philanthropic entities operate.
In 2013, it launched the first annual RayDay celebration of Ray Anderson’s life and teachings. The annual event at Serenbe convened environmental leaders from across Georgia, featuring displays, booths and rides for children with multiple food trucks.
As for the future of RayDay, Lanier said it will close for now.
“We are not going to host RayDay in 2025, and we don’t expect to host it next year either,” Lanier said. “But it’s a hope of Ray Anderson’s family that there will be a chance for one last big celebration of Ray Anderson’s legacy. I don’t know when, but it would be nice to bring RayDay back for one last big one.”
The decision to end RayDay was “made out of prioritizing impact,” Lanier said. “As we accelerate into the issues we’re focused on, we feel like redeploying the dollars that went to that annual celebration can have a bigger impact by supporting our key initiatives even more.”
The future of the Foundation evolved with the addition of five “Gen 3” board members on Jan. 1 of this year: John Lanier’s wife — Chantel Lanier; James “Jay” Lanier and his wife, Whitney Lanier; McCall Filipovich-Langford and her wife, Samantha Filipovich-Langford.
Although the Foundation will sunset, John Lanier said Ray Anderson’s legacy would live on through Interface. In fact, Jay Lanier was recently promoted to be the global head of market sustainability at Interface.
Interface has shown its commitment to the course set by Ray Anderson — continuing to pursue a carbon-negative business model with a 2040 goal of pulling more carbon out of the air than it emits.
“They’re going to keep telling Ray’s story because that’s a big goal, bolder than most other companies out there,” John Lanier said.
Ray Anderson’s legacy will also continue through the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business.
Beril Toktay, faculty director of the Center, said the Foundation’s support for the past decade has been a source of inspiration.
“Their unwavering commitment has equipped us to educate and empower the Ray C. Andersons of tomorrow and to forge meaningful connections between academia and the business community,” Toktay said in a statement. “As the Foundation and the family transition to their next chapter, we honor the profound impact they have made. Their legacy is one of innovation, leadership, and an unwavering dedication to sustainability — values that will continue to shape our work at the Center as we carry forward Ray’s mission of creating a better, more sustainable world.”
Other family members also will continue the legacy. McCall Filipovich-Langford has “dedicated her higher education career towards biomimicry,” said John Lanier, adding that she is committed to building a career in the biomimicry field.
Also, Ray Anderson’s papers and personal effects reside at the Georgia Historical Society in Savannah, available to people who want to know more about corporate sustainability.
A movie also has been made about Anderson’s life called “Beyond Zero.”
As for his own future post-2030, John Lanier said it is yet to be determined.
“I don’t need to know what’s next for me to know that it’ll be something I care passionately about and tries to leave the world a better place,” he said.
But between now and then, Lanier said his focus will be to build a sustainable future for environmental organizations after the sunset of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation.
“We’re going to work really hard to recruit funding partners,” Lanier said. “We want to recruit the people, the funders, the organizations, who cannot just step into our shoes, but hopefully see the value of what we’ve started and take it to the next level.”
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