Environmental Issues

In 2008, they were awarded the Eco Brand of the Year award during the Volvo Ecodesign Forum at the Munichs ISPO Trade Show. It was the first company in California to utilize renewable sources such as solar and wind in powering its entire buildings as well as one of the initial companies to use recycled paper in printing catalogues. The companys logo, the skyline of Cerro Fitzroy, speaks openly about their objective, to always be environment friendly (Sam, 2008). The company in description is none other than Patagonia.

Patagonia incorporation is based in Ventura California and mainly focuses on the production of outdoor clothing. It was started by Yvon Chouinard in 1960s and 70s and at that period, the company emerged as the largest maker of climbing equipment. The company continued to grow and it later expanded into outdoor apparel and at the same time maintaining the rule that the business closed whenever optimal surfing weather and waves were achieved (Valdes, 2008). This essay is aimed at researching Patagonia Inc. showing why other companies should emulate it.

Mission Statement
Patagonias mission statement is Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis (Patagonia, 2010). This mission statement is very important to the operations of the company and it explains while it is committed to making the best products in quality but also not causing unnecessary harm to the environment. The companys values replicate those of a business that was began by a group of surfers and climbers as well as the minimalist style which they promoted. The company has taken an approach towards product design that demonstrates a bias for utility and simplicity (Patagonia, 2010).

Business model
Patagonia business model raises great amount for environmental concern and the companys technological innovation is aimed at reducing their products environmental impact. The management of the company has found out unambiguous ways of coupling the products function as well as the environmental values of the brands. The company promotes a philosophy that blends work with family, play and environmental passion (Article 13, 2006).  

Products
Patagonia makes a rage of various products that include outdoor clothing, gear, luggage and footwear. The company specifically produces soft shells, hard shells, ski jackets, rain jackets, ski pants, sportswear, organic cotton clothing, and Patagonia fleece.  It also makes products for sports such as hiking, alpine climbing, yoga, trail running, world travel, surfing, mountain biking, kayaking, disc golf, camping and snowboarding. Moreover, they also make women and children clothing (Patagonia, 2010).

Financial information
It is interesting to realize the owner of Patagonia is concerned that his company is growing so fast. Reliable sources indicate that the companys revenue growth is between 3 and 8  annually. To make things more interesting, since 1985 the company has donated US  26 million to organizations engaging in environmental conservation. By the year 2006, the company had a turnover of US  240 million and by 2008, the company sales stood at US  275 and it had 1300 employees (Valdes, 2008).

Human resource
The owner of Patagonia Incorporation is Yvon Chournard. He is known to regard his employees so much that he addresses them each by name and this has made them love him so much. To get a job with Patagonia is not an essay task. Wherever there arises a job opening, the company receives about six hundred applications. The means that to be employed in the company, one has to be diligent as the owner of the company is a perfectionist. By 2007, the companys chief executive officer was Casey Sheahan. By the year 2006, the company had one thousand two hundred employees (Casey, 2007).

The company has also introduced the Patagonia Employee Internship Program which allows employees to leave their jobs at Patagonia for a maximum of two months to work with any environmental group that they have chosen. The employees salaries and benefits are paid in full during such periods and the environmental group does not need to pay them even a single dollar. Since the program was initiated in 1993, over five hundred employees have already worked as interns in different groups worldwide. The company has family friendly policies for its employees that include two months leave (paid) for parents who have gotten a baby, child care subsidies, release for competitive athletes, parents education, and company buses to transport children from schools to the companys offices among others (Article 13, 2006).

Environmental support policies
Patagonia has been credited for its policies towards environmental conservation, particularly in its generous contribution to several environmental groups. The company has always committed one percent of its total sales or ten percent of its total profits, depending on which between the two is more, to environmental associations. Currently, Patagonia has already donated over US  30 to more than one thousand organizations. The incorporation is one of the co-founders of Alliance 1 For the Planet, an association of businesses that have purposed to commit not less than 1 of their sum sales to environmental development. Patagonia has often featured environmental campaigns in companys advertisements and catalogues. One of the most recent campaigns was aimed at avoiding the drilling of oil in the Alaska Wildlife Refuge. It was entitled Ocean as a wilderness (Patagonia, 2010).

The company has also established the Concervacion Patagonica, which is a non-profit organization aimed at protecting wild-land biodiversity and ecosystem in regions such as Argentina and Chile. The organization has the objective of establishing Patagonia National Park that will be approximately the size of Californias Yosemite National Park (Patagonia, 2010).

When Yvon Chouinard was starting Patagonia he had a vision of having a business that would not release toxins into the water bodies, or alter endless growth or cause nervous breakdown. He was determined to make high quality products, which were however to be made in the most responsible way possible (Patagonia, 2010).

There are several programs that the company has initiated in the past that vividly show that it is committed to conserving the environment. For example in 1994, the owner of Patagonia, Chouinard instructed his managers to switch to organic cotton instead of traditionally grown cotton. This is because the latter depends on noxious defoliants and pesticides which are destructive to the environment.  Though such an act would increase the production costs as getting organic cotton was hard at that time, he insisted and the deal paid off with the companys sales rising by twenty five percent. The demand for organic cotton rose and the prices went down (Casey, 2007).

The company began accepting polyester, fleece and organic cotton and nylon products for recycling.

Recycling is home run meaning that seventy six percent of energy is conserved than if they were to use virgin petroleum. The use of chlorine was replaced by slow wash, a technique that is patented. It also started using a crushed crab shells-made product for odor control in underwear lines instead of antimicrobial silver which is a ground water pollutant (Casey, 2007).

When the company realized that airfreight needs eight times energy more than shipping, it began convincing the customers to choose waiting for a longer period before their products were delivered to them.  Chouinard advised them to ask yourself if you really need that pair of pants sent overnight (Casey, 2007). Despite all this, the companys owner has made it clear that it can never be totally socially responsible. It will never make a totally sustainable, non-damaging product. But it is committed to trying (Casey, 2007).

Conclusion
Patagonia Inc. is a role model in the current business world and that is why it should be emulated by others. First, it is committed to be as less destructive to the environment as possible. The company has shown in the past that it is ready to pay any cost to do away with products and processes that damage the environment without caring much about the cost implications. Such moves includes removing the conventionally grown cotton as well as allowing its employees to work for any environmental groups of their choice while at the same time paying them their full salaries and allowances. The company has also committed a percentage of its income in supporting environmental friendly groups which amounts to over US  30 million. The company should also be emulated in the way it treats its employees. Despite the fact that diligence is not compromised, the management always considers policies that are family-friendly which includes caring for children and allowing paid leave for the employees who have given birth or who are nursing the sick. These are policies of a company that is not only aiming at maximizing profits but that has environmental and employees issues at heart. This is a company worth emulating.