Patagonia’s radical business move is great – but governments, not billionaires, should be saving the planet

theguardian.com:

Making bold statements about addressing the climate crisis has become de rigueur in the corporate world over the past few years. But this was taken to a whole new level when the founder and owner of the outdoor clothing company Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, announced that his family was transferring 98% of the company’s stock to a newly created not-for-profit organisation dedicated to combatting climate breakdown.

Chouinard was applauded for “giving away” his company for the planet. He himself claimed that it was “turning capitalism on its head”. The widespread admiration of Chouinard is a telling sign of popular dissatisfaction with the excesses of the global corporate economy and its billionaire bosses. But the question remains: doesthis giveaway mark any fundamental change to the system?

The announcement was the conclusion to Chouinard’s 50-year commitment to being in business to save the planet. In a letter he released last week, headed “Earth is now our only shareholder”, he spelled out the next chapter for Patagonia. The ownership of the company will be transferred from the Chouinard family to two entities: a trust and a non-profit organisation. The stated aims of this bold move are to “protect the company’s values”, fight the environmental crisis and defend nature.

Practically, Chouinard’s plan means that each year about $100m of non-reinvested profits will be given to the non-profit, called Holdfast Collective. Holdfast will own 98% of Patagonia, and all of it in non-voting stock. The exact nature of the work Holdfast will do has not been specified, other than the very general idea of its environmental purpose. Patagonia describes this purpose as to “fight the environmental crisis, protect nature and biodiversity, and