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Stonyfield Farms: A Case Study of Sustainable Development in Business TodayIn our modern industrialized world driven by economics, businesses hold a powerful rolein determining how resources are managed and consumed. If businesses start promotingsustainable development, part of the ecological challenges our planet faces may be helped. TheWorld Commission on Environment and Development defines sustainable development as,“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of futuregenerations to meet their own needs”. Given this definition, it may be difficult to understandhow a business could act sustainably and remain economically successful when its focus is toincrease profits. In this essay I will analyze Stonyfield Farms, a leading organic yogurt producer,to demonstrate how a business can increase profits by promoting sustainable practices.This case study will explore Stonyfield Farm’s sustainable business model by analyzingthe company’s background, ecologically focused mission statement, external practices, and howthey all contribute to the company’s success. The report will illustrate how certain values andworld-views expressed in the field of Environmental Ethics are applied, and contribute to thecompany’s overall success. By the end of the case study, I will successfully demonstrate that acompany that adopts an ecological approach towards business can be both profitable andsustainable.
 
Overview of Company:Stonyfield Farm is a leading organic yogurt producer that has adopted a sustainable businessmodel, which has led to the success of the company. In 1988, the company moved toLondonderry, New Hampshire in the United States where they remain today. The company has alegacy of environmental stewardship and profitability. The business is one of the largest in NewHampshire, and supports the local dairy farming industry. Stonyfield Farms has received manyenvironmental awards for its sustainable business practices, and CEO Gary Hirshberg isinternationally recognized as a successful eco-entrepreneur and advocate for responsible business.Company BackgroundThe formation of the company was extremely influential in shaping its approach tosustainable business. Stonyfield Farm began as an organic farming school called the RuralEducation Center, which taught sustainable agricultural practices. Current CEO Gary Hirshbergand Chairman Samuel Kaymen founded the school, and started producing and distributingorganic yogurt to help fund the school. As the business grew, both realized that a successfulyogurt company could serve sustainable agriculture and the environment better than their schoolcould - so both decided to shift their focus to growing the business instead.
 
Both the company’s founders came from ecology-focused backgrounds. Kaymen was aspecialist in organic and bio-dynamic agriculture, and former Director of the Bio-DynamicFarming and Gardening Association. Hirshberg was an environmental activist, windmill-maker,and formally served as the executive director of The New Alchemy Institute – a research andeducation center dedicated to organic farming, aquaculture, and renewable energy.Before the company even began, both founders were passionate about educating andspreading knowledge about sustainable agriculture. The academic background of both thefounders is important because it established their deeply seeded ecological world-views prior toentering the business. One would not aspire to open an agriculture school unless they sawintrinsic value in the environment and nature. The ecological thinking of both founders isimportant because it laid the fundamental framework of Stony Field’s approach to sustainableeconomic development. Their background also provides awareness to what sustainability froman ecological perspective means, and how it could be achieved. Overall, the ecological thinkingof both founders laid the groundwork for a successful and sustainable business model.Mission Statement and Business ProcessesWilliam Rees promotes a type of strong sustainability, where society ought to use theinterest from the planet, rather than the planet’s resources. Although not entirely followed, the
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