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21, September 2022
TWO DIFFERENT APPROACHES, ONE COMMON AIM
A week ago, Patagonia announced that Yvon Chouinard had given away his company — handing over control and all profits to a trust that would use them to fight climate change.
This week, we’re announcing that we’ve made Nature a director of our company, giving it a voice and a vote on all the decisions we make.
Already people are asking us to explain the difference.
Firstly, this isn’t one approach vs another. It’s two totally different approaches, but with one common aim — to protect this beautiful planet we all call home. That should be everyone’s aim right now. And we probably need a million great ways to do it.
Secondly, and we probably don’t need to labour this point (!), but Patagonia and Faith In Nature are two very different companies. We’re a tiny fraction of Patagonia’s size and if we gave away all of our profits, we’re not sure we’d be solving climate change any time soon! Which is why we needed an approach that is just as powerful, but can work for any size company.
So, simply, whereas one approach focuses on where the profits go, the other focuses on how the business is run.
And the chief difference is that our approach is founded upon the growing Rights of Nature movement. By making Nature a director of our company, what we’ve explicitly done within our company constitution is give Nature legal personhood. That means it can have a vote, and a say, on all the decisions we make to help us make better informed, more responsible decisions that reduce our impact upon the natural world.
Not many companies will be able to give away their entire profits as Patagonia have done. But all companies can do as we’ve done. It’s simple. It’s practical. And it’s replicable.
It should also be said that climate change is, fundamentally, the consequence of the breakdown in our relationship with Nature. And specifically the breakdown of business’ relationship with Nature. So what our approach aims to do is repair that breakdown. Whereas Patagonia’s approach aims to deal with the fallout from that breakdown. And right now, both approaches are absolutely necessary.
This week, we’re announcing that we’ve made Nature a director of our company, giving it a voice and a vote on all the decisions we make.
Already people are asking us to explain the difference.
Firstly, this isn’t one approach vs another. It’s two totally different approaches, but with one common aim — to protect this beautiful planet we all call home. That should be everyone’s aim right now. And we probably need a million great ways to do it.
Secondly, and we probably don’t need to labour this point (!), but Patagonia and Faith In Nature are two very different companies. We’re a tiny fraction of Patagonia’s size and if we gave away all of our profits, we’re not sure we’d be solving climate change any time soon! Which is why we needed an approach that is just as powerful, but can work for any size company.
So, simply, whereas one approach focuses on where the profits go, the other focuses on how the business is run.
And the chief difference is that our approach is founded upon the growing Rights of Nature movement. By making Nature a director of our company, what we’ve explicitly done within our company constitution is give Nature legal personhood. That means it can have a vote, and a say, on all the decisions we make to help us make better informed, more responsible decisions that reduce our impact upon the natural world.
Not many companies will be able to give away their entire profits as Patagonia have done. But all companies can do as we’ve done. It’s simple. It’s practical. And it’s replicable.
It should also be said that climate change is, fundamentally, the consequence of the breakdown in our relationship with Nature. And specifically the breakdown of business’ relationship with Nature. So what our approach aims to do is repair that breakdown. Whereas Patagonia’s approach aims to deal with the fallout from that breakdown. And right now, both approaches are absolutely necessary.
