He鈥檚 a man the Wall Street Journal once called 鈥淎merica鈥檚 most unlikely business guru.鈥�
True, most business leaders aren鈥檛 extreme outdoorsman like Yvon Chouinard, who is a surfer, kayaker, climber, fisherman and even a falconer. But then again, most businesses aren鈥檛 like Mr. Chouinard鈥檚 Patagonia, a California-based clothing company that is world-renowned for its environmental efforts 鈥� including donating one per cent of its total sales or 10 per cent of profits (whichever is more) each year to environmental groups.
鈥淲e consider it a cost of doing business,鈥� said Mr. Chouinard to a packed Potter Auditorium last weekend, speaking at the invitation of Dal鈥檚 Faculty of Management. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not charity; it鈥檚 a cost for being polluters.鈥�
Questioning the supply chain
For more than an hour, the 73-year-old Mr. Chouinard, seated centre stage, led the audience through his career, highlighting the factors that inspired and focused his belief in living what he refers to as 鈥渁n examined life in business.鈥�
One of his first companies, Chouinard Equipment, was founded because he and his climbing friends wanted to build a better piton 鈥� one that could be reused rather than left there in the side of the mountain.
鈥淚t was like they wanted to conquer the mountains and bring them down to their own democratic level,鈥� he said of other climbers at the time. 鈥淏ut we were brought up reading Thoreau, Emerson鈥he naturist philosophers of America. We felt like you should go into nature leaving no trace of having been there.鈥�
Acknowledging that he鈥檚 more an innovator than an inventor, Mr. Chouinard鈥檚 interest in clothing has always been informed by industrial design: making items based on functional need rather than simply what鈥檚 in style or in fashion. But in starting Patagonia in 1973, he began to ask questions about the materials that went into his clothing, and what impact their creation was having on the environment.
The worst culprit was industrial cotton, and after touring the cotton plants that were producing his fabrics, he set in place an ambitious 18-month timeline to move the company entirely away from industrial cotton production. Since that point, he鈥檚 continued to dive into and question his supply chain, start to finish, on its broader ecological impact.
From consumers to citizens
He acknowledges that running a company this way is often 鈥渁 pain in the ass,鈥� but he says it鈥檚 about doing what鈥檚 right 鈥� even if, personally, he鈥檚 hardly optimistic about the state of the planet.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no difference between a pessimist who says 鈥榠t鈥檚 all over, don鈥檛 bother doing anything鈥� and an optimist that says, 鈥榚verything鈥檚 going to be fine, don鈥檛 bother doing anything.鈥� I鈥檓 a total pessimist that thinks it鈥檚 all over, but I鈥檓 going to do what I can so that I鈥檓 part of the solution rather than part of the problem.鈥�
One of the initiatives he鈥檚 particularly excited about is a sustainability index for clothing, which Patagonia is working on with Wal-Mart and other clothing companies. The idea is to provide consumers with a consistent information system about how the clothing they buy is produced, so that they can make better informed choices.
He says it鈥檚 about turning consumption-focused consumers into responsible citizens.
鈥淢ost of the damage we do to democracy is done unintentionally through ignorance,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we need to give ammunition to the consumer. If we can get us consumers to perform the good kinds of work that citizens do, that鈥檚 a revolution. And I think given the choice of buying a product that was made irresponsibly, and one that is [responsible], I think people will choose the responsible one.鈥�
In parting, Mr. Chouinard had some kind words for the Faculty of Management, whose Dean Peggy Cunningham introduced the talk by discussing its IDEAS (innovation, diversity, experience, action and sustainability) model of education.
鈥淚鈥檓 pretty excited by what is going on here,鈥� said Mr. Chouinard. 鈥淭his is what I started out to try and influence.鈥�