A leader in the outdoor and travel apparel market, Patagonia is renowned for its environmental and social responsibility and has a strong track record of giving back. Rick Ridgeway is one of Patagonia’s key spokespersons in all its global markets and represents and promotes Patagonia’s core values with external stakeholders including NGO’s, trade organisations, academics and universities, and government agencies. During the Summit, he offered a valuable insight into Patagonia’s very distinct and non-traditional, yet highly successful approach to CSR and also discusses Patagonia’s strategic approach offering key insights on how some of these practicies can be implemented by all companies, both large and small to provide real and tangible value.

During his 12-year tenure at the company Rick has developed and launched environmental and sustainability initiatives including Freedom to Roam, the Footprint Chronicles, the Responsible Economy Campaign and Worn Wear.  He also was founding chairman of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition that today is the largest apparel, footwear and home textile trade organisation in the world. He serves on the boards of Conservacion Patagonica and the Turtle Conservancy, and is on the Advisory Boards of World Wildlife Fund, Unilever USA, and the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.

Interviews: Andrea Bianchi
Video editing: Andrea Monticelli.