Patagonia founder, Yvon Chouinard, is our 2023 Environmentalist of the Year. Patagonia’s core values are quality, integrity, environmentalism, justice and not being bound by convention. The company submits to rigid environmental & charitable standards. They are a certified benefit corporation – the first California company to sign up for B certification. Patagonia’s products are made from preferred materials such as organic cotton and recycled materials and all of the energy used across their retail stores, distribution centres and offices are from renewable sources.

In 2002 Mr. Chouinard co-founded 1% for the Planet, making Patagonia the first business to commit 1% of annual sales to the environment. Late last year, Mr. Chouinard & his family gave away their ownership of Patagonia to a trust & nonprofit organisation designed to preserve the company’s independence and ensure that all its profits are used to combat climate change & protect undeveloped land around the globe. A truly remarkable gesture establishing them as some of the most committed environmental philanthropists in the world.

Mr. Chouinard has had a lifelong love for nature, pioneering mountain climbing in California’s Yosemite Valley in the 1960’s in the summer, and surfing the point breaks of Ventura and Santa Barbara in the winter. He has a number of notable ascents & has written multiple publications about Alpine climbing, surfing, fly-fishing and founding and running a ‘responsible’ company.