Yvon Chouinard Quotes
Growth isn't central at all, because I'm trying to run this company as if it's going to be here a hundred years from now. And if you take where we are today and add 15% growth, like public companies need to have for their stock to stay up in value, I'd be a multi-trillion-dollar company in 40 years. Which is impossible, of course.
Chouinard, Yvon. Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman. Penguin Books, 2006.
Here he tried to assure everyone that he would not have a conflict of interest. He had created the largest cell phone company in Thailand and others making him the richest Thai. He argued that he no longer owned any businesses as he had transferred all his holdings to his wife and children. He was later convicted of corruption having transferred millions of dollars of government money to his maid and chauffer (without their knowledge) to hide the money the had taken. He jumped bail and fled the country after his conviction and ran his Pheu Thai Party, from abroad. He then had his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, run in the next election and she was elected Prime Minister and so he continued to control much of the country but could not return last he be jailed.
When manufacturers (and other businesses) can be convinced that they can make more money by being environmentally responsible, they will voluntarily do so. Instead of regulations or laws mandating Green policies, he suggests that government and science can move industry by arranging the contingencies so that it makes economic sense for the businesses. Things like cap and trade, tax policy, new technology, and pricing can be very productive.
Yvon Chouinard is an American rock climber, environmentalist, and outdoor industry billionaire businessman. His company, Patagonia, is known for its environmental focus.
