Films: So Right So Smart

So Right So Smart

USA, 2009, 93 Minute Running Time
Genre/Subject: Documentary
Programs: Documentary Films, The Environment in Focus
Language: English

DIRECTOR: Justin Maine, Guy Noerr, Leanne Robinson-Maine, Michael Swantek
Producer: Justin Maine, Leanne Robinson-Maine, Guy Noerr
Editor: Michael Swantek
Screenwriter: Justin Maine, Leanne Robinson-Maine, Michael Swantek, Guy Noerr, David Robinson
Cinematographer: Justin Maine
Principal Cast: Ray Anderson, Daryl Hannah

Ray Anderson, founder of carpet-tile manufacturer Interface, Inc., has achieved great success in business, building a company that at one time employed 5,000 workers and grossed a billion dollars a year. But after Anderson had an epiphany about how the firm exploited resources and poisoned the earth, he took on the enormous task of making his firm ecofriendly, reducing its carbon footprint and toxic impact. Interface became one of the sustainability movement’s early advocates – and no one seems happier about that than the avuncular Anderson. In this documentary, he talks about his new direction and subsequent accomplishments – as do those he has taken by surprise, not only myriad colleagues but also the environmental activists who find themselves singing his praises.
The message of So Right So Smart’s four-person directorial team – Justin Maine, Guy Noerr, Leanne Robinson Maine, and Michael Swantek – is that businesses do themselves and the planet a greater service by simply adopting green practices than they do by cleaning up after bad ones. It’s surprisingly inspiring: no need for picketing or demonstrations when the real activism occurs on the job. What’s more, going green proves profitable for companies in the long run, fostering good public relations and reducing operating costs.
Interviewees include the CEOs of Stonyfield Farm, Patagonia, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and many others, as well as eco-economist Paul Hawken and environmentalists David Suzuki, Janine Benyus, and Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies. Daryl Hannah, who is also a sustainable living and renewable energy advocate, narrates the film.

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