The next chapter of Patagonia: "the Planet is now our sole shareholder".
VENTURA, California, 15 September 2022 - Patagonia today announced a new ownership structure, almost 50 years after founder Yvon Chouinard began his experiment in responsible business.. With immediate effect, the Chouinard family has transferred all ownership to two new entities: Patagonia Purpose Trust y Holdfast Collective. Most significantly, every dollar not reinvested in Patagonia will be distributed as dividends to protect the planet.
The Patagonia Purpose Trust now owns all the voting shares of the company (2 % of the total shares) and has been created to bring to life a more permanent legal structure that protects Patagonia's purpose and values. It will help ensure that it never deviates from the founder's intent and facilitate what the company continues to do best: demonstrate, as a for-profit company, that capitalism can help the planet.
The Holdfast Collective owns all non-voting shares (98 % of total shares), and will use every dollar received from Patagonia to protect nature and biodiversity, to support communities and to fight the environmental crisis. Each year, any profits that are not reinvested in the company will be distributed by Patagonia as a dividend to the Holdfast Collective to help combat the environmental crisis. The company expects to pay an annual dividend of about $100 million, depending on the health of the business.
Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia's founder, former owner, and current board member says: "Half a century has passed since we began our experiment in responsible enterprise. If we have any hope of having a living, thriving planet 50 years from now, we all need to do what we can with the resources we have. As the business leader I never wanted to be, I am doing my part. Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth, we are using the wealth Patagonia creates to protect it. We are making the Earth our sole shareholder. I am very serious about saving the planet".
Patagonia will remain a B Corp and will continue to donate 1 % of sales each year to community activists. The direction of the company remains unchanged. Ryan Gellert will remain CEO and the Chouinard family will continue to serve on Patagonia's board of directors, along with Kris Tompkins, Dan Emmett, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Charles Conn (chairman of the board) and Ryan Gellert. The Chouinard family will also guide the company's majority shareholder, Patagonia Purpose TrustThey will also guide the philanthropic work carried out by Patagonia's philanthropic work. They will also guide the philanthropic work carried out by the Holdfast Collective. Acting jointly, the board of directors of Patagonia and the Patagonia Purpose Trust work for the continued long-term success of the company, while ensuring that it remains true to its purpose and values.
Ryan Gellert, CEO of Patagonia and Patagonia board member comments: "Two years ago, the Chouinard family challenged some of us to develop a new structure with two central objectives. They wanted us to protect the company's purpose and to immediately and perpetually free up more funds to fight the environmental crisis. We believe this new structure meets both objectives and we hope it will inspire a new way of doing business that puts people and the planet first."
The company first shared the news with its employees and partners at an internal global event on 14 September 2022. Shortly thereafter, the Patagonia.com website was updated to indicate that the Planeta is now our sole shareholder and to include a letter from founder Yvon Chouinard.
Additional quotes from the Patagonia Board of Directors:
"I first met Yvon when he was about 24 years old and today he is almost 84 years old. In all these years, his vision has never wavered. He wanted to do things his own way and on his own terms. And although he is now in good health, he wanted to set out a plan for the future of the company and the planet. I believe this plan that he and his family have helped create is tectonic. It will make the company more competitive and its employees around the world will always have a clear purpose. - Kristine McDivitt Tompkins
"Every time you read a new scientific report, it becomes clear that the climate crisis is happening faster than we thought and that it is worse than we thought. The stakes could not be higher. If we want to protect nature and support communities, companies cannot continue to adhere to the prevailing economic model. Patagonia has been breaking the mould for decades, and now it has shattered it. Now I want to know which companies will step up next." - Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
"The current system of capitalism has reaped its benefits at enormous cost, including increased inequality and widespread and uncompensated environmental damage. The world is literally on fire. Companies that create a new model of capitalism through a deep commitment to environmental and social goals will attract more investment, better employees and greater customer loyalty. They are the future of business if we are to build a better world, and that future starts with what Yvon is doing now." - Charles Conn, Chairman of the Board
"As the founder of a company that has been in business for nearly 50 years, I have seen the positive and negative impact a company can have on its communities and employees. But as we and others take meaningful steps to mitigate the impact we have on the planet, Patagonia's new ownership structure introduces a new model that goes far beyond what exists today. And it is true to the way of my lifelong friend and fellow environmentalist, Yvon Chouinard." - Dan Emmett
