Creating Regenerative Ripples: Patagonia and the steward-ownership business model
By Tarn Rodgers Johns
This morning our community is buzzing with the news that Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, has transferred the ownership of the company to charitable trusts set up to address climate change, effectively meaning that he and his family are forfeiting their position as billionaires and one of the richest families in the US.
The family has transferred all voting stock, equivalent to 2% of overall shares, to the Patagonia Purpose Trust, which will be overseen by members of the family.
The remaining 98% of stocks were received by a newly-established non-profit organization, Holdfast Collective. It will receive all of the company's profits which aren’t reinvested in the business, an estimated 100 million USD a year.
This sets an incredible example that as Regenerators we wholeheartedly celebrate. As Laura Storm said in a LinkedIn post, the decision means that “Patagonia is aligning with the wisdom of life - with living systems intelligence and ensuring the living system of Patagonia works for the benefit of life itself.”
But did you know that Patagonia is not the only company that dedicates its profits towards a purpose?
In fact, there’s a whole movement of companies that are operating using a business model that was developed by a German technology company called Zeiss, all the way back in 1864. It sets out to reimagine shareholder capitalism, and it’s called steward-ownership.
In 2018 Ecosia, the search engine that plants trees with its profits, transitioned from a for-profit social enterprise to a steward-ownership model. Ecosia’s founders transferred a veto-share of the company to the Purpose Foundation, in a similar model to that of Patagonia.
This allowed it to continue to have entrepreneurial flexibility, whilst ensuring that the company can never be sold, and all of its profits will continue to be invested into the company’s mission of combating deforestation and fighting climate change.
Another example is MÄRKISCHES LANDBROT, a Berlin bakery which produces only organic and biodynamic products and has a revenue of 9 million Euro a year. In 2021, the company transferred all shares to the Purpose Foundation, making it a steward-owned company and ensuring that the company will continue to support initiatives promoting climate, nature, and environmental protection.
Or Einhorn, a company that produces vegan condom and fairtrade organic menstrual products, that invests its profits into creating fair working conditions for everyone involved in the value chain, and supporting the regenerative agriculture practices of its partners.
At Regenerators, we call this “creating regenerative ripples.” Creating regenerative ripples is key for any regenerative business model. This means that a company has a regenerative role in the living system that it's part of, creating value that - as Laura says - will strengthen the tapestry of life.
As part of a commitment to creating regenerative ripples, Regenerators’ founder, Laura Storm, donates a minimum of 10% of the income she makes at conferences and as a public speaker when it’s possible. Regenerators also donates 10% of the income (after VAT) from the Regenerative Leadership Journey and the Regenerative Leadership Course to social causes, with a focus on organizations that support indigenous land management and stewardship. We will continue to do this as long as we can.
Regenerators is only a very small organization with a team of three self-employed people, but we’re proud to say that this past year, we were able to generate €13,000 of the income from the course and Laura’s paid speeches to put towards creating regenerative ripples. We’re not a steward-owned company (yet), but we hope that our actions show that a company doesn’t have to be turning over millions every year in order to create regenerative ripples, and inspire others to do the same.