1. While Patagonia has a history of putting sustainability ahead of profits, it cannot do so at the expense of operating capital. Based on what you learned about Patagonia’s ideals, how do you think the company determines what possible ventures will be both practical and environmentally friendly.

2. What could Patagonia do today to confirm that Yvon Chouinard’s ideals become a permanent part of the company’s culture after he leaves the company?

3. Imagine you were asked by Yvon Chouinard to propose a new sustainability initiative for Patagonia. What would you choose, and why?

4. FURTHER RESEARCH Business decisions can often be a compromise between ethics and profitability, even for a company with the idealism of Patagonia. Research Patagonia’s and see if you can find a business decision that appeared to put profits ahead of the company’s publicly stated environmental goals. Explain why you think that company made this decision and the competing factors you believe were involved. 

Chouinard concurs. “I think the key to surviving a conservative economy is quality,” he says. “Th e number one reason is that in a recession, consumers stop being silly. Instead of buying fashion, they’ll pay more for a multifunctional product that will last a long time.”

Ideal Corporate Behavior Chouinard is not shy about espousing the environmentalist ideals intertwined with Patagonia’s business model. “It’s good business to make a great product, and do it with the least amount of damage to the planet,” he says. “If Patagonia wasn’t profi table or successful, we’d be an environmental organization.”

In many ways, Patagonia is an environmental organization. Th e company has a library of working documents, published online for the world to see, that guides employees in making sustainable decisions in even the most mundane offi ce scenarios. Its mission statement: “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”

Patagonia’s solutions extend well beyond the lip service typically given by profi table corporations. Th e company itself holds an annual environmental campaign; last year’s was Our Common Waters. Chouinard has cofounded a number of external environmental organizations, including 1% For the Planet, which secures pledges from companies to donate 1% of annual sales to a worldwide network of nearly 2,400 environmental causes. To date, more than 1,350 companies participate, raising more than $20 million in 2010. Th e name comes from Patagonia’s thirty-year practice of contributing 10% of pre-tax profi ts or 1% of sales—whichever is greater—to environmental groups each year. Whatever you do, don’t call it a handout. “It’s not a charity,” Chouinard fl atly states. “It’s a cost of doing business. We use it to support civil democracy.”

Another core value at Patagonia is providing opportunities for motivated volunteers to devote themselves to sustainable causes. Employees can leave their jobs for ……………….