Credit: Tony Webster

Patagonia CEO, Ryan Gellert, recently made a statement that condemned companies that are doing next to nothing to fight against climate change.

Ryan Gellert only just started as CEO at Patagonia in September 2020, and even then, he made the mission statement of the brand very clear: “Patagonia is in business to save our home planet.”

Patagonia’s environmental efforts have appeared in their product development, grassroots environmental philanthropy, advertising, and political endorsement. All of this from one company and not a massive one either. Gellert is saying that if they can do it why aren’t other companies doing anything similar?

Gellert, in an interview with Fast Company, lambasted the corporate sector and said that “The sector has historically been full of shit, and the sector is still full of shit.”

“They all say they’re all in on climate to their customers and to their employees, and the members of those two groups – and I’ve seen the strategy docs, so this isn’t rumour or innuendo – are actively seeking to undermine the current package from the Biden Administration, which includes really ambitious climate commitments.”

Typical of big companies to pull these kinds of stunts. And they wonder why they cop so much crap when they post something socially or environmentally responsible on their social media pages.

“That is a huge issue,” says Gellert. “Where I come down on it is, define for me what you mean when you say ‘all in’ [on climate]. Because you’re saying that and then hiding over here, and it’s bullshit. There’s a special place in hell for people doing that. It’s the kind of thing that has to change.”

When asked how he would recommend other companies to make changes in response to climate change, Gellert was straightforward. “It’s not that complicated. Figure out what your north star is. Figure out what you think you can do to contribute to that, acknowledge that there’s no end point to this, and continue to push yourself to do more. Existential threats require that level of commitment, and that level of systemic change. These are the issues that we’ve created as people, and these are the obligations we have to solve them.”

In other new involving responsible companies, Elle Magazine are refusing to advertise and endorse fur products.

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