Three reasons why activism can be good for business

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In the seven years Rose Marcario ran outdoor apparel maker Patagonia, the company engaged in more environmental activism than ever before, culminating in suing the Trump administration over plans to pare back public land in the U.S.

And it proved incredibly good for business.

“We had one of the best years we ever had the year we sued the Trump administration,” Marcario, who stepped down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Patagonia in 2020, tells Bloomberg TV’s Francine Lacqua on an episode of Leaders with Lacqua Goes Green. “I felt like we should step up and do more [when I became CEO] because the urgency of the [climate] crisis demanded it and we became more of an activist company.”

Now, as more companies grapple with the threat of climate change, there’s growing pressure on business leaders to take action to protect the planet. But will doing the right thing come at the expense of profits?

“Businesses can do well and do good,” says Linda Freiner, Group Head of Sustainability at Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich). “Profits are only part of what it means to be a successful business today.”

It’s a principle that underpins Zurich’s sustainability commitments as well as the management of its USD 200 billion assets. Responsible investment practices are embedded in Zurich’s investment approach and form part of everyday investment decision-making.

In 2020, Zurich became one of the first large institutional investors to prioritize the environmental and social goals of its impact investment portfolio: it is committed to helping avoid 5 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions and improve the lives of 5 million people every year.

“Action can come in many forms,” Freiner says. “Businesses play an important part in enacting change: whether that’s by addressing their carbon footprint, innovating for eco-friendly products, or investing responsibly.”

Here are three reasons why activism can be good for business:

1. It empowers and energizes your workforce.
   “When employees can go to work and know they’re contributing to making the world better, it creates an unstoppable workforce,” says Marcario in the interview with Bloomberg.
   Zurich is, among many things, mobilizing its workforce for climate action through a reforestation project, which aims to plant 1 million native trees over a period of eight years in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Each Zurich employee can attach their name to a tree and become a custodian of the Zurich Forest.
2. It satisfies customers.
   Staying quiet or on the sidelines when you’re a business leader isn’t going to win customers, according to Marcario in the Bloomberg interview: “The new customer wants businesses to have a voice, and wants businesses to use their voice on the most pressing issues of our day.”
3. It boosts your brand.
   Taking a stance on climate change can be good for your brand, Marcario suggests to Bloomberg in the interview. Conversely, sidestepping climate action, or even greenwashing, could prove harmful in the long-run, according the former Patagonia executive: “I don’t think they’re going to be the brands that are on people’s lips in the next 20 years.”

Zurich is proud to sponsor Leaders with Lacqua Goes Green to help shine a spotlight on the opportunities and challenges of climate change - the greatest risk we face today.

The series examines how business and political leaders plan to combat climate change and create a more sustainable society.

Further information

Zurich’s impact investment approach
Our climate commitment
Zurich’s Sustainability Report 2020

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