7 Mission Statements that inspire Sustainability

How do you know if a company is serious on the sustainability front?

Take a look at their mission and vision statements or their guiding principles and values – those few words that reason’s an organization’s very existence will tell you what they’re doing towards creating a sustainable world or whether sustainability is even on their minds.

It turns out that companies that are leading the sustainability space have sustainability embedded into their mission statements – which means that sustainability or protecting the environment is one of the reasons that these companies exist.

Here are 7 mission statements that inspire sustainability:

Chevron: A classic mission statement with sustainability embedded

• Our company’s foundation is built on our values, which distinguish us and guide our actions. We conduct our business in a socially responsible and ethical manner. We respect the law, support universal human rights, protect the environment and benefit the communities where we work.

Adidas: Embracing the Triple Bottom Line framework of People, Planet and Profits. One of the lines of its mission charter reads

• We are a global organisation that is socially and environmentally responsible, that embraces creativity and diversity and is financially rewarding for our employees and shareholders.

Patagonia: A direct hit at sustainable business practices. Short, precise and conveys the message

• Our Reason for Being: Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.

Starbucks Coffee’s Environmental Mission Statement: Different from its main mission of “nurturing the human spirit - one person, one cup at a time”. Though sustainability is not in their mission statement per se, it screams out loud and clear – on their website, inside their stores. Here’s a brief of it:

• Starbucks™ Shared Planet™ is our commitment to do business in ways that are good for people and the planet.

TATA Group: Not exactly a perfect sustainabililty manifesto, but a true spirit of CSR governs its values

• Our practice of returning to society what we earn evokes trust among consumers, employees, shareholders and the community…

Interface Global: Self-explanatory and one of the best! Ray Anderson, the late founder of the company began the sustainability journey at age 62.

• …endeavoring to become the first name in industrial ecology, a corporation that cherishes nature and restores the environment.

Apple: One of the most long, winding, and repetetive mission statements. The word “Environmental” is present in 7 of the 8 Guiding Principles.

• Apple Computer is committed to protecting the environment, health, and safety of our employees, customers and the global communities where we operate. We recognize that…!

These 7 mission statements are good examples of an organization’s commitment towards minimizing its impact on the relevent ecosystems. Even though some of these companies have had questionable environmental/social records in the past, their sustainability embedded statements have enabled them to rise above the challenges and get focused on the right things. 

These statements are not generic or contain some warm fuzzy words. They are not the “Resume” of what a company does. They are the core values distilled in few words – some are compact and precise, while some are exceptionally long – but nonetheless, convey the message. 

What other components make up for a good Sustainability embedded mission statement? Which other companies can you think of that have similar mission statements?

 Related articles

• Benefits Of Having A Well Crafted Mission Statement. [Shiva Attah] (ecademy.com)
• Green companies – Interface Global
• Green companies – Patagonia
• Culture change towards sustainability
• Forces impinging on Global Corporations – Starbucks Coffee