Singapore Entrepreneurs Network & Startup Organization

In the 2nd part of this article on how certain organizations can profit by just doing good to the society, I shall bring you 3 more companies:

Equal Exchange

Rink Dickinson and Rob Everts, executive directors
West Bridgewater, Massachusetts & Hood River, Oregon
equalexchange.coop

Equal Exchange is an unusual company -- a worker-owned co-operative dedicated to Fair Trade -- that has made a success of tilting against the windmills of market forces for the purpose of demonstrating that the viability of economic democracy, and the way your food reaches your plate, needn't impoverish those who grew it.

When three young men -- Jonathan Rosenthal, Michael Rozyne, and Rink Dickinson founded the company in 1986 they decided their start-up would not only tackle the needs of their suppliers -- disadvantaged small-scale farmers and farmer co-operatives in developing countries. It would also try to improve upon the typical human relationships in other links of the chain from farm to table, including those of employer/employee, firm/investor, and farmer/consumer.

For example, Equal Exchange employees are also the owners, on a democratic one-worker/one-share/one-vote basis. They are the ones to nominate and elect the board, as well as fill two-thirds of the board seats. This helps safeguard Equal Exchange's workplace democracy, and ensures control resides with those closest to the mission. One tool in this role-reversal is the practice of selling non-voting preferred shares of a fixed value, with targeted 5% annual financial return plus a large, less tangible, social return.

Further, the three founders did not want people to simply buy their coffee or tea, but to also be knowing and willing participants in this alternative economic model. So whereas in the late '80's coffee was coffee was coffee, Equal Exchange was one of the first companies to begin to tell the stories and struggles of their farmer-partners and explain to consumers how their choices could have ripple effects in communities thousands of miles away.

The improbable company is alive and well. Equal Exchange has been profitable 18 of the last 19 years, has averaged 30% annual revenue growth, enjoys about $28 million in annual sales, and employs about 100 people in 6 states.

In 21 years Equal Exchange's impact amongst farmers has grown beyond coffee farmers in a few Central American nations. Today the company buys the coffee, tea, rooibos, cocoa, sugar, almonds and pecans from over 30 co-operatives in 19 countries on 4 continents. More than 90% of the crops are certified organic, and for coffee farmers alone the higher Fair Trade prices paid by Equal Exchange translated into $8 million in extra income between 2000 and 2006.

But regardless of that success the three founders knew from the beginning that their greatest impact would not be through their own imports or sales (which would never rival the scale of their conventional competitors), but rather by being a "mosquito" on the back of one or more multi-billion dollar industries, and by setting an example for others to emulate.

To do that has meant a two-track strategy. One track is to succeed on conventional terms, and demonstrate that their model could work. The other track has been to use Equal Exchange's "voice" to advocate for reforms. Sometimes this has been done quietly within trade circles, conferences and speaking to next-generation leaders at business schools -- and sometimes very publicly via marketing and advocacy campaigns.

In this way Equal Exchange has helped to jump-start the Fair Trade coffee and other food categories. Fair Trade Certified^TM now accounts for over 3% of the U.S. coffee market and is quickly making in-roads into other categories including, tea, chocolate and bananas. There are now a number of small 100% fair Trade food companies, and some very large corporations buy at least a small amount of their ingredients via the Fair Trade system.

Lastly, Equal Exchange's official vision for the next 20 years -- approved last summer by the worker-owners -- is as improbable as was the first one in 1986. It is to create:

"A vibrant mutually cooperative community of two million committed participants trading fairly one billion dollars a year in a way that transforms the world."

Herman Miller

Brian C. Walker, CEO
Zeeland, Michigan

Our Mission and Values

As a business enterprise, Herman Miller is committed to helping customers enhance the performance of their people and spaces. Focusing on customers' present and future needs, the company studies human needs, wants, and behaviors within the built environment, designing and delivering products and services that help customers' habitats perform at their best.

Herman Miller strives to understand and respond to change in the workplace, and chooses to collaborate with designers, technologists, and researchers who bring unique ideas, skills, and cultural understanding to the company. Known for innovation, quality, and durability, Herman Miller's products are designed with a focus both on the individual user and larger organizational performance.

That goal is consistent with the values that define the company and how it functions. Herman Miller is driven by curiosity and exploration, design, performance, engagement, inclusiveness, relationships, transparency, respect for its founding principles and a commitment to build a better world.

Herman Miller's innovations in design, information technology, human resource programs, and environmental practices have made the company a recognized leader in the office furniture industry and beyond. More than 50 Herman Miller designs reside in the permanent collections of major museums, including the New York Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Henry Ford Museum, and the Smithsonian, as well as other institutions around the world.

People

The company's commercial success has been built on its dedication to a strong corporate community in which the gifts of all are cultivated and celebrated. In 1950, Herman Miller instituted a formal program of participative management. An organization of employee-owners, the company is committed to problem-solving design, uncompromising quality, and customer satisfaction. As an important corollary, Herman Miller instituted an employee stock ownership program in 1983. Today all full-time Herman Miller employees with one month of service are entitled to own stock in the company.

The responsibility of employee ownership requires capable people to meet high expectations. To ensure it cultivates a talented employee base, Herman Miller has committed to making its organization a community of customers, suppliers, contractors, and employees that includes as many expressions of human aptitude and potential as possible through its inclusiveness and diversity initiative. Herman Miller believes changing demographics, technology, and business conditions have made it clear that inclusiveness is critical to the company's success.

Environmental Stewardship

Herman Miller's interest in the environment began with the convictions of founder D.J. De Pree, who believed that the company should be a careful steward of the earth's resources. This commitment to environmental sustainability has grown and evolved through more than 50 years of programs, initiatives, and teams. During that time, concern for the environment has become an integral part of Herman Miller corporate life, from architecture to product design to all aspects of operations.

Today the company is globally recognized as an industry leader in environmentally responsible product design and manufacturing. Day-to-day operations reflect a triple bottom line of financial, environmental, and social equity.

The company trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol MLHR. To learn more about Herman Miller's commitment to building "A Better World" visit HermanMiller.com.

New Leaf Paper

San Francisco, California
Jeff Mendelsohn, CEO

New Leaf Paper develops and distributes environmentally superior printing and office papers that compete aesthetically and economically with leading virgin-fiber products. New Leaf Paper offers a selection of more than 35 coated, uncoated and office papers, many with 100% post-consumer recycled content and Forest Stewardship Council certification.

The paper industry is one of the most polluting and resource intensive industries in the world. It is responsible for over a third of worldwide timber harvest and over 40% of all landfill waste in the U.S. When New Leaf Paper was founded in 1998, the paper industry had demonstrated a high resistance to change. With low margins, a commoditized international market, and huge capital investment in the status quo, paper companies resisted efforts to integrate sustainable principles into their business practices.

New Leaf Paper was founded specifically to change this picture -- with the mission of leading a shift toward sustainability in the paper industry. The company developed a unique approach to business, embedding its social and environmental values into every product line and every business relationship. New Leaf Paper's innovative strategy is solving the classic "chicken or the egg" dilemma in the paper industry, in which both the supply side and the demand side of the market were unable to change their behavior. Leveraging the strength and clarity of the company's mission, New Leaf Paper developed a market for truly environmentally responsible papers and served this market through leading product innovation.

Using this model, New Leaf Paper was first to market with 100% post-consumer papers of unparalleled brightness and printing specifications, including the first-ever 100% post-consumer recycled coated papers, book publishing papers and more. Its product innovation and market success has caused major paper manufacturers to take notice and to enhance the environmental design of their products -- indirectly widening New Leaf Paper's environmental impact. Thus, the company's business activity both generates immediate environmental benefits and serves the company's greater mission by pioneering markets and shifting the behavior of its competitors.

An example of New Leaf Paper's innovative strategy is its development of New Leaf Everest, the world's first bright white letterhead paper made with 100% post-consumer waste and processed chlorine free. This paper was developed in partnership with a large customer, Bank of America. Leveraging the bank's buying power, New Leaf Paper worked with its supplier to produce a beautiful letterhead paper using 100% post-consumer waste. New Leaf Everest became the market leader and now five paper companies have followed New Leaf Paper's lead with competing brands. There has been a rapidly growing, competitive market for writing, text, and cover papers made with 100% post-consumer fiber ever since.

New Leaf Paper also led the paper industry in quantifying the benefits of using post-consumer recycled fiber, with the New Leaf Paper Eco Audit. From 1998 through 2006, New Leaf Paper saved the following resources by manufacturing paper using post-consumer recycled fiber instead of virgin fiber:

New Leaf Paper sets out to model the behavior it hopes to see in its competition and in the paper industry in general. Its strategy is one of continuous leadership and innovation in driving better and better environmental specifications in its products without losing sight of meeting the demands of the marketplace. This strategy has been critical in driving the company's financial and social performance. Since its founding, the company has never sold any paper made with 100% virgin fiber, and every product line serves the company mission while meeting the business needs of our customers.