Business in Focus: Patagonia

A closer look at companies executing leadership excellence

California-based Patagonia has corporate social responsibility (CSR) hardwired into its business model. This outdoor clothing and gear company has caring for the planet embedded in its mission statement:  “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”

LetMyPeopleGoSurfingAs Yvon Chouinard, the company’s founder wrote in his book Let My People Go Surfing, “Patagonia exists to challenge conventional wisdom and present a new style of responsible business.” True to form, in 2012, Patagonia was one of the first companies in California to become a Certified B Corporation.

For the past 30 years, through its membership in 1% For The Planet®, Patagonia gives 1% of its sales (yes, that’s sales, not profits) to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment. To date, the company has donated $70 million in cash and in-kind services to 3,400 grassroots groups. Here are just a few stats to show where Patagonia has put its CSR efforts in the past year:

To learn more about this amazing company, check out our culture field trip to Patagonia, and read about company’s most recent Environmental + Social Initiatives.

 

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