{"id":23696,"date":"2017-11-15T15:12:02","date_gmt":"2017-11-15T20:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-small-company-setting-the-standard-in-a-big-way\/"},"modified":"2017-11-15T15:12:02","modified_gmt":"2017-11-15T20:12:02","slug":"a-small-company-setting-the-standard-in-a-big-way","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-small-company-setting-the-standard-in-a-big-way\/","title":{"rendered":"A Small Company Setting the Standard in a Big Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since the 19th<\/sup> century, scientists from around the world have recognized that the Earth\u2019s climate is changing [1].\u00a0 Though the scientific reason behind the \u201cwhy\u201d continues to be a topic of debate in the scientific, political, and social communities, there is a broad consensus that human activities are negatively impacting the world around us.\u00a0 NASA, along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that represents scientific experts throughout the world, concluded that \u201cthere is more than a 95 percent probability that human activities over the past 50 years have warmed our planet\u201d [2]. These human activities include (but are not limited to) deforestation, land use changes, landfills, transportation, and the manufacturing of goods [2].<\/p>\n

Born in 1973 on the side of a mountain while enjoying nature\u2019s purity, Patagonia Inc fully embraces its roots in the wilderness and has truly become focused on sustainability and the future of Planet Earth.\u00a0 As a global business, founder Yvon Chouinard and CEO Rose Marcario have set Patagonia\u2019s mission to be \u201cBuild the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis\u201d [3]. Built into their mission statement is the recognition of the fact that every product that is made in their factory, and sold in their store, contributes to a portion of the very pollution which is causing Climate Change.\u00a0 However, they also embrace the dire thought that their product is of no long-term value if the planet we live on is uninhabitable.\u00a0 As such, Patagonia began a series of activist campaigns focused on the environment such as \u201cVote Our Planet\u201d [4] and the modernization of their supply chain, including \u201cSupply Chain: The Footprint Chronicles\u201d specifically focused on their company\u2019s processes and ways to reduce their impact on Climate Change [5].<\/p>\n

Patagonia has made the essential first step any company must make; they recognize that they are part of the problem [5]. \u00a0Taking the time to reflect and analyze their business model and the supply chain logistics, coupled with applying their mission, Patagonia has established several key categories to focus including \u201c(1) reducing the environmental impact of our company and supply chain, (2) using our company voice to advocate for systemic change, and (3) envisioning a new approach to business\u201d [5].\u00a0 To address the first category, Patagonia has established key performance indicators to reduce the impact on the environment caused by not only their supply chain, but also their company.\u00a0 A few of these key performance indicators and their metrics during the 2015 fiscal year include: measuring of the carbon footprint of their global operations (emissions totaling 3,617 metric tons of CO2e), generating renewable energy (203,502 kWh of on-site energy generated and 980,112 kWh of green power purchased), creation of green buildings (LEED Gold certification for their Reno Distribution Center), and the \u201cSupply Chain Initiatives: Chemical and Environmental Impacts Program\u201d (an industry best practices and standards program to manage chemical, environmental, waste, water use, and emission impacts caused by their supply chain) [5].\u00a0 Additionally, Patagonia is designated as a benefit corporation and has long donated 1% of its annual gross revenues to charities working on sustainability issues, totaling approximately $74 million to date [6].\u00a0 These are only a few of the initiatives Patagonia has taken to reduce its harmful impact and continued degradation of the global environment.<\/p>\n

While taking so many necessary steps to improve the way that Patagonia operates, and to ensure that their business stays true to their mission, they must remain as a profitable business.\u00a0 However, as one can see by researching on the company, their definition of profitable does not come at the expense of our future. \u00a0Patagonia could easily become the model for other environmentally conscious corporations to emulate, but only if Patagonia demonstrates that reducing their supply chain\u2019s impact to the environment does not greatly diminish the bottom line.\u00a0 As long as Patagonia stays private, the mission of the company can remain and will not be pulled by a necessity to return profits to shareholders.\u00a0 But does this have to be the case?\u00a0 Can only private companies choose to focus on initiatives that ultimately have an impact (marginal or not) to their bottom line because they are not beholden to the shareholder?\u00a0 Will Wall Street and the public markets take a reduction in returns to provide companies the needed capital to implement technologies and processes to ensure that our planet doesn\u2019t become uninhabitable?<\/p>\n

One can only hope\u2026<\/p>\n

(Word count 749)<\/p>\n

[1] \u201cHisotry of climate change science,\u201d Wikipedia, https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/History_of_climate_change_science<\/a>, accessed November 2017.<\/p>\n

[2] \u201cA blanket around the Earth\u201d, NASA Global Climate Change Vital Signs of the Planet, https:\/\/climate.nasa.gov\/causes\/<\/a>, accessed November 2017.<\/p>\n

[3] \u201cPatagonia\u2019s Mission Statement,\u201d http:\/\/www.patagonia.com\/company-info.html<\/a>, accessed November 2017.<\/p>\n

[4] \u201cEnvironmental Campaigns,” http:\/\/www.patagonia.com\/environmental-campaigns.html<\/a>, accessed November 2017.<\/p>\n

[5] \u201cOur Business and Climate Change,\u201d http:\/\/www.patagonia.com\/climate-change.html<\/a>, accessed November 2017.<\/p>\n

[6] Andrew Cave, \u201c\u2019Don\u2019t Buy This Racket\u2019: Patagonia To Give Away All Retail Revenues on Black Friday,\u201d November 21, 2016, https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/andrewcave\/2016\/11\/21\/dont-buy-this-racket-patagonia-to-give-away-all-retail-revenues-on-black-friday<\/a>, accessed November 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patagonia, Inc. has taken a hard look at the way they do business, and ensuring they make the necessary changes to ensure our future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9983,"featured_media":23697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[3681,3629],"class_list":["post-23696","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activism","category-climate-change-and-supply-chains","hck-taxonomy-organization-patagonia","hck-taxonomy-industry-retail","hck-taxonomy-country-united-states"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/rc-tom-challenge-2017\/","yoast_head":"\nA Small Company Setting the Standard in a Big Way - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/a-small-company-setting-the-standard-in-a-big-way\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Small Company Setting the Standard in a Big Way - 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