Patagonia’s Post

More companies should have a “director of philosophy”

I love this interview on aligning corporate values with successful business practices and the lessons learned along the way! My favorite paragraph: So we simplified the mission statement from build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. We simplified that to we're in business to save our home planet. I was skeptical at first. I thought, this is highly aspirational language. Yes, that's a value of the company, but how central is that to us? But I think that it was a very grounding thing to do for the employees and for the company as a whole. And what I saw beyond my own skepticism about using this language was I saw the employees embrace it and to really ask themselves, OK, how does this affect my work? How does this affect how I work with my team and the products we produce?

Worth the time to listen (or read)! As an avid sailor and adventurer, I can’t simply look to someone else to clean up the mess that exists, I have to discover my part in solving the crisis that exists. We need to be aware of the impact of our own consumption - are the businesses we support truly serious about the environment or simply posing? Is their success based on overconsumption of disposable goods, ignoring the unsustainable impact on the world around us? 3 goals we have made in relationship to consumption and sailing on our 37 year old sailboat: 1. Source used parts rather than simply ordering new. Seems like there are always boat projects in the horizon and it is always easier to just order online but often with a bit more planning you can source lightly used instead of new (recently a rail mounted bbq, repurposed storage containers and used mast hardware) 2. Look for creative ways to reduce power / water usage. (on our sailboat we utilize solar solutions, smaller more efficient appliances, and try to minimize wasted water along with minimizing soaps and cleaners) 3. Reducing fuel usage - While we do have a diesel engine, we try to maximize our sailing often at the cost of distance covered and with an attitude of increased flexibility based on conditions. Again, more planning and forethought into options in necessary but ultimately it’s a reminder that nature is not simply there to meet our needs and agendas, but to be thoughtfully experienced and protected. From the interview: “businesses do have a really strong role to play. The environmental crisis is deeply entwined with the social crisis and the solutions to both are the same. They tend to be the same thing. And to clean up the planet and to restore the health of communities requires the actions of government and civil society and of business.”

An interesting read about the #sustainability journey Patagonia has been on, and is still on. I think they are the gold standard for what businesses can do to improve their #environmental and #social impact. This is an interview with their Director of Philosophy (!!!).

''As Vincent Stanley, Patagonia’s head of philosophy, writes in his new book: “We have always defined quality as durability, functionality, and as much versatility as possible. But quality in our age also means going beyond doing less harm.” Our end goal is to redefine quality as an environmental and social issue, and to shift consumption habits so all consumers need fewer things and keep them in use for longer.'' Patagonia sharing their learnings after a year under their new ownership model (founders no longer the owners, as a trust and a nonprofit now oversee and hold all the financial value of the company.) https://lnkd.in/eV47tS-M

“The right for everyone, and every business, to be responsible is critical to meeting the social and ecological challenges of our time.” https://lnkd.in/gCPhH7ES In their new book, ‘The Future of the Responsible Company,’ Vincent Stanley, Patagonia’s director of philosophy, and Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia’s founder, share what they've learned about the elements of responsibility for business and how exercising responsibilities to employees, customers, the community, and the natural world—as well as to the balance sheet—helps build a solid business and provide meaningful work.  Read an excerpt about how the company sees its own future in light of changes to its purpose and structure ➡ https://lnkd.in/gCPhH7ES

The take home message is: 1. Don't make low quality products 2. Sweat the big stuff and the little stuff 3. Don't make excuses  A new book (released in September), The Future of the Responsible Company: What We've Learned from Patagonia's First 50 Years, by Vincent Stanley with company founder Yvon Chouinard, builds (with 75 percent new content) upon their book The Responsible Company, published in 2012, which laid out their thesis around harm reduction, quality products and worker culture. The refresh, according to the book’s preface, is intended to account for the “dramatic shifts” that “have taken place in the world and at Patagonia” since the original version. I encourage all to read this article and consider the message here.

Has anyone read the latest book from Patagonia? Curious to hear your thoughts. I've worked with several clients who say they want to position themselves like Patagonia and are typically aghast when I say they need to start with their production line and internal structure. This book is a step-by-step guide that cuts to the heart of the matter, and does what any company truly interested in responsibility does - openly shares their process in the hopes of true global transformation. Long live Yvon! https://lnkd.in/gQ5Bvayn

Every once in a while, a voice rises above the noise to deliver a message relevant around the world. Patagonia proves to be one such voice again and again. It's a mix of truth-telling, storytelling, and wisdom. How is your organization answering the call to do the right thing environmentally? "In the coming decades as customers become more insistent on companies being responsible, environmental laws (we hope) become more restrictive, resources become less plentiful and more costly, and more investors demand sustainability, companies will face competitors who embrace all the elements of business responsibility—not always because it’s the right thing to do, but because it is essential to their success. Eventually, the business world will recognize that the economy revolves around nature, not the other way around. As we destroy nature, so we destroy our economy." #environmentalsustainability

What can we learn from Patagonia in shaping our own company missions? Today it’s no longer business as usual and if we want our children to have a good future, or even as we consider just 5 years down the line, we HAVE to do things differently. “We are working toward a more comprehensive, scalable strategy that also addresses consumption and rethinks waste streams. This includes how we can be even more uncompromising in our approach to quality. As Vincent Stanley, Patagonia’s head of philosophy, writes in his new book: “We have always defined quality as durability, functionality, and as much versatility as possible. But quality in our age also means going beyond doing less harm.” Our end goal is to redefine quality as an environmental and social issue, and to shift consumption habits so all consumers need fewer things and keep them in use for longer. “Our new ownership model commits all excess profits to addressing the environmental crisis. This is an important new lever within our climate strategy. It permanently connects our financial value to our values, and in so doing, it closes the loop as we attempt to use every part of our business to protect the planet. Thanks Guido Palazzo for the share. Karla Morales-Lee Najah O. Lea Jovy-Ford 🏳️🌈 Sharon Hurley Hall (she/her) Garry Turner Nadia Jalil Tessa Clarke Susan Mazonson https://lnkd.in/eCQ-hy3G