Strategic CSR - Patagonia

This will be the last CSR Newsletter until the Spring semester. Have a great holiday season and I will see you in January!

The article in the url below is an interesting interview with Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, and a good note on which to finish the semester’s Newsletters. A video of part of the interview is available at:

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/tom-foster/fosters-blog/patagonia-founder-yvon-chouinard-and-tom-brokaw-talk-green-marketing-vi

The interview is wide-ranging, focusing on the role of business, in general, and Patagonia, in particular, in promoting environmental sustainability:

“I believe the accepted model of capitalism that demands endless growth deserves the blame for the destruction of nature, and it should be displaced. Failing that, I try to work with those companies and help them change the way they think about our resources.”

In spite of Patagonia’s positive aspirations, Chouinard is a self-described pessimist regarding what is possible, which both reflects the scale of the problem and his belief in the importance of Patagonia’s mission:

“Patagonia now exists to put into practice all the things that smart people are saying we have to do not only to save the planet but to save the economy.”

Take care

David

Bill Werther & David Chandler

Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility

© Sage Publications, 2006

http://www.sagepub.com/Werther/

Patagonia’s Founder on Why There’s “No Such Thing as Sustainability”

Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard may be pessimistic about the earth's future, but he's determined to keep fighting. An exclusive interview.

From: Issue 137 | July 2009 | Page 46 | By: Tom Foster

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/137/no-such-thing-as-sustainability.html