Gary Hirshberg, Stonyfield Farms president and CE-Yo (as in yogurt), spoke about the importance of running environmentally responsible businesses on Tuesday afternoon in the Rockefeller Center.
"The question we asked ourselves when we were starting the company was, 'is it possible to have enterprise that was part of the solution, and not part of the problem?'" Hirshberg said in his lecture. "The answer is an emphatic 'yes.'"
Stonyfield Farms is the world's largest organic yogurt brand and Hirshberg, who has a background working for environmental non-profits, oversaw the transformation of Stonyfield from a seven cow organic farming school to a $260 million business.
He spent a portion of his speech discussing the problems caused by industry, relating both to the environment and public health. He mentioned the 16 "dead zones" in the world where no life can exist because of the high concentration of pollutants, and a study that showed that children on non-organic diets had as much as six times the amount of pesticides in their urine than children eating completely organic diets.
"There are just endless consequences of our efforts and enterprises in the name of progress," Hirshberg said, adding that the "linear approach" to business and enterprise that emphasized profitability above all else was at the root of the problem.
It is possible, he said, to be both profitable and environmentally responsible in business. One of the things that Stonyfield did to ensure that all of its products were organic was to pay farmers to stop using growth hormones.
"We've tried to argue not just the health and moral benefits of organics but also the financial benefits," Hirshberg said. "We can now actually show that farmers make more money with organic farming."
But instead of putting the profit margin above everything else, he said, Stonyfield relies on customer loyalty. The company has several programs designed to improve general health and environmental awareness, including a rating system called Climate Counts, which rates companies according to how environmentally responsible they are, and the Menu for Change program, which works to replace unhealthy food in vending machines in schools.
The company also funds several non-profit organizations and consequently has a very low advertising budget.
"Non-profit partnerships turn out to be a fabulous alternative to advertising," Hirshberg said. "Nonprofit wins, brand wins, consumer wins."
According to Hirshberg, it is this dedication to helping the world that inspires loyalty in Stonyfield's customers.
"These are people that don't go to the store to get yogurt," he said. "They go to get Stonyfield."
One of Hirshberg's favorite memories was when, at the supermarket, a woman told him he really should be eating Stonyfield when he was glancing at yogurt from another brand.
Hirshberg, a New Hampshire native, became interested in the environment while attending Hampshire College.
"In college I was a ski racer and [at that time] you could see the ocean from the summit of Mount Washington. Now no one has seen that for many years," he said, attributing the problem to air pollution.
For Hirshberg, centering a business around environmental responsibility has not always been easy.
"Business is hard enough as it is. We're holding ourselves really accountable to make sure that we are doing everything we can do," he said. "It means our profit margins are lower than the competition, and our product costs more. We're trying to help save the world."
Despite the difficulties, Hirshberg is happy with the progress Stonyfield has made and with his choice of career.
"It's more challenging but the rewards are greater," he said. "It's personally satisfying."
