Sitka co-founder Rene Gauthier – a company whose product is entirely in the service of its social mission.
Today, entrepreneurs are increasingly recognizing the allure of conscious consumerism and the power of merging profit and purpose. Often those businesses are in the clothing and accessory sector, whether it’s the fashionable eyewear of Warby Parker (recently crowned most innovative company by Fast Company), the ever popular TOMS shoes, or stylish handbags by FEED.
Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield and Vermont governor Peter Shumlin unveil the Food Fight Fudge Brownie flavor in June, developed to support the state’s legal defense over its law to require labeling of bioengineered ingredients. | Image credit: Food Business News
All businesses value consumer and employee loyalty and the opportunity to shape the playing field in which they operate. Mission-driven businesses such as B Corps Seventh Generation and Ben & Jerry’s are finding that having an authentic purpose that resonates with their customers opens the door to exciting approaches to activism that engage their base in powerful ways. The union of company and employee passions not only boosts loyalty but also can lead to successful advocacy for shared causes. Conventional companies seeking to emulate their successes should follow three key steps:
When companies break away from the single minded drive for profit maximization and begin to exlpore a more broad goal of value creation, the first step is always the same…a shift in corporate culture.
By: Marc Pfitzer, Valerie Bockstette and Mike Stamp of FSG
Since their launch, in 2005, Nexera canola and sunflower seeds, used for making cooking oils, have become one of Dow Chemical’s best-selling product lines. The seeds and the oils offer many advantages: The seeds yield more than twice as much oil per hectare as soybeans, making them an attractive crop for farmers. The oils’ longer shelf and “fry” lives lower the operating costs of food manufacturers and food service companies. And, last but not least, the oils have lower levels of saturated fat than competing products and contain no trans fats.
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”… right?
I used to believe that the right plan would always yield the right result. Just follow the steps, stay the course, and celebrate the win. I then learned that people are unwieldy; if they don’t have a say in the plan, they won’t see how it pertains to them, and they don’t follow through. Easy solution: start with an environmental scan, adjust the plan to the people, and then you’re back on track – stay the course, celebrate the win.
But even after all that, my plans seemed to fail. And still, the problem seemed to be the people. I gave them a great plan, so why couldn’t they just fall in line?
Doing the right thing is rarely easy. It means asking tough questions, taking bold risks and making important changes. And since our company began 161 years ago, we’ve been committed to doing exactly that—on behalf of our employees, consumers, workers, and the planet.
Levi’s has shown bold leadership in its drive to become more sustainable
Today, one of the biggest initiatives at Levi Strauss & Co. is sustainability. And if we hadn’t asked ourselves the difficult questions, we never would have landed on and launched our most sustainable, innovative, and influential product offering to date: Levi’s Water<Less.
Join TSSS on April 1st as our panel explores the power of sport to reach people and communities like nothing else can. Topics to be discussed include: Community Engagement, Sustainable Purchasing, Importance of a Clear Vision, Diversity and Inclusion, Branding and Leaving a Legacy. Learn more
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