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through an environmental lens. According to their Web site, “Our defini-
tion of quality includes a mandate for building products and working with
processes that cause the least harm to the environment. We evaluate raw
materials, invest in innovative technologies, rigorously police our waste
and use a portion of our sales to support groups working to make a real
difference. We acknowledge that the wild world we love best is disappear-
ing. That is why those of us who work here share a strong commitment to
protecting undomesticated lands and waters. We believe in using busi-
ness to inspire solutions to the environmental crisis.” Patagonia has an
4
active recycling program for their worn-out clothing, either at Patagonia
retailers or through a mail-order program. Patagonia is a cofounder of the
Conservation Alliance, which is dedicated to encouraging other compa-
nies in the outdoor industry to give money to environmental organiza-
tions and to become more involved in environmental work. There are now
155 members of the Alliance. Twice yearly the Alliance donates 100% of its
membership dues to grassroots environmental groups working to protect
threatened wild lands and biodiversity. In 2009 it disbursed $900,000, and
since its founding in 1989, the Alliance has contributed more than $8 mil-
lion to conservation projects throughout North America.
Patagonia also strives to make their buildings as green as possible. Their
Reno Service Center was built in 1996 at a cost of $19 million. According
to the company, while it costs more to build, the 30–35% energy savings
accomplished with the new building will pay for the green innovations
within three to five years. Some of the innovations are insulation and win-
dow glass made of recycled material, motion-sensing lighting systems,
radiant heating systems, and a bio-filtration system that separates oil from
water runoff from roofs and parking lots. The carpeting and countertops
are made from 100% recycled material, and the building is old growth
free. In 1998, Patagonia became the first California company to buy all of
its electric power from newly constructed renewable energy sources and
utilize solar panels in some of their stores to generate electricity. These
green initiatives can enhance the project manager’s long-term thinking
and avail themselves of the rising “green wave.”
Also, and not unimportant, Patagonia has done a good job of mak-
ing their environmental lessons learned available. As we covered on our
EarthPM blog (http://www.earthpm.com), the “Footprint Chronicles”
provide extensive video and text content about Patagonia’s supply chain
and are not shy about pointing out the shortcomings of either their proj-
ects or products with respect to sustainability issues.