Cultural Creatives in Leadership

Lessons From Founders of Socially Responsible Businesses Bought by Multinationals

In May 2008, at Aspen Meadows Conference Center in Aspen, CO, Trusteeship Institute and Aspen Institute held a small conference of some of the founders of socially responsible businesses that had been bought by multinationals. Each founder was interviewed by Terry Mollner to discover how they sustained their social policies and what more, in hindsight, they wish they had done.

Go here for Videos of Presentations of SWSO Speakers Seth Goldman, Founder of Honest Tea (bought by Coca Cola); Gary Hirshberg, Founder of Stonyfield Farm (bought by Danone); Frederick Schilling, Founder of Dagoba Chocolate (bought by Hersheys); Greg Steltenpohl, Founder of Odwalla (bought by Coca Cola); Brian Johnson, Founder of Zaadz (bought by Gaia); Steve Demos, Founder of White Wave (bought by Dean Foods); Pierre Ferrari, Chair of Ben & Jerry’s (bought by Unilever); Ben & Jerry’s Board of Directors and CEO; Ron Soiefer, Chief Counsel of Unilever USA as he describes in detail the Agreement Between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever. 

Opening and Closing Remarks by Terry Mollner, A Founder of the Calvert Social Investment Funds

I think the lessons learned by these Cultural Creatives in leadership is crucial during these times.  One of the great points I heard in these videos is that we need to think in the long-term, that the biggest companies in the world, while certainly not socially or environmentally responsible by any measure of the terms, are opening to the inevitability of green being the only way to do business, and that this opening is one we must step through.  In a way, it’s an argument for creating a tipping point as soon as possible by starting ESR (Environment and Social Responsible) modeled companies, making them successful, attracting the big buyers seriously looking to get into the green, sustainable, or organic brands markets and selling your company to them.  We’re talking viral here, aren’t we?  Let me know of your thoughts after you watch some of the videos. – dtd