#18: Patagonia's Take on the B Corp Movement (w/ Vincent Stanley)

How do businesses stay purpose-driven while balancing innovation and responsibility? In this conversation with Vincent Stanley, longtime Patagonia executive and co-author of The Responsible Company, we explore his journey with the B Corp movement and Patagonia’s approach to aligning profit with purpose. 

Stanley shares how the company’s restructuring allowed it to deepen its environmental commitments while maintaining community ties. Reflecting on the B Corp movement, Stanley emphasizes the balance of urgency and patience needed to live out its values. He advocates for restoring localism to mitigate environmental damage and fostering relationships that leverage insights from across political divides. Key focus areas include family policy, conservation, regenerative farming, and long-term decision-making, alongside opportunities in policy advocacy and environmental lobbying.

Stanley also highlights Patagonia’s innovations, from refining feedback processes to lessons learned from Patagonia Provisions. He envisions the company’s future as one of high-performance products and deeper, non-transactional customer relationships. For listeners, Stanley offers practical advice: engage with communities, focus on sustainability, and draw inspiration from purpose-driven leaders. 

Key Points From This Episode:

• How Vincent Stanley initially came in contact with the B Corp movement.
• His thoughts on the arc of the B Corp movement so far. 
• Why he doesn’t consider himself a purist in his views.
• The duality of urgency and patience required to live out B Corp values. 
• Restoring a sense of localism in order to mitigate the damage that has occurred. 
• Establishing relationships to create a healthier fight that leverages insights from the left and the right.
• Focus areas: family policy, conservation, regenerative farming, and the 20-year vote.
• Areas of opportunity: policy and environmental grant-making and lobbying. 
• How the Patagonia Purpose Trust determines the direction of the company’s giving. 
• How Patagonia’s restructure enabled it to enact its priorities with minimal effect on its community. 
• Finetuning the feedback process to remove the focus from personal failures.
• The trials and successes of Patagonia Provisions.
• How the business’s three subcultures have learned to understand each other.
• What is on the horizon: high performance, innovative products, and a non-transactional relationship with customers.
• Advice for listeners on where to find guidance on how to do business the right way.

Quotations: 

“I think the B Corp movement is essential. I think 1% for the Planet is essential.” — Vincent Stanley [0:06:15]

 “I think that the values of reducing the adverse social and environmental impact of business is still in the consciousness of a lot of people, and it’s not going to go away.” — Vincent Stanley [0:19:21]

“Human life does not revolve around an economy. The economy is a function of human activity.” — Vincent Stanley [0:22:21]

“No matter what the political situation, in the long run, we need a strong alliance with the government, civil society, and the right kind of businesses.” — Vincent Stanley [01:03:48]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: 

• Vincent Stanley: https://www.vincentstanley.com/ 
• The Responsible Company: https://www.vincentstanley.com/book.html
• Patagonia: https://www.patagonia.com/
• Yale Center for Business and the Environment: https://cbey.yale.edu/ 
• One Percent for the Planet: https://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/
• Andy Rivkin: https://hub.jhu.edu/experts/profiles/andy-rivkin/
• Patagonia Provisions: https://www.patagoniaprovisions.com/ 
• What If We Get It Right?: https://www.getitright.earth/ 
• John Fullerton: https://capitalinstitute.org/director/john-fullerton/

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