Hungry but socially minded students convened at the Freeman Center for Jewish Life Monday night to hear Ben and Jerry's co-founder Jerry Greenfield speak on corporate responsibility, the state of global business and the arduous task of selling ice cream during a Vermont winter.
Greenfield primarily discussed the need for businesses to be socially responsible and to give back to the community, especially in an age where business represents the dominant source of power in society. "First it was religion, then it was government, and now, business is the most powerful organization in society.... It controls the media through dominance of the airwaves; it controls our democracy through campaign contributions, and it controls legislation through lobbying," he said. "At least religion and government exist with the good of the people in mind. Business exists to make a profit."
Greenfield argued that companies should think beyond the bottom line.
"You have to redefine the bottom line and look not at just how much money you make, but how have you helped the community in which you operate?"
In keeping with this philosophy, Ben and Jerry's gives 70 percent of its untaxed revenue away to not-for-profit organizations. Greenfield added that the average U.S. company donates 1.5 percent of its pre-tax revenue to not-for-profits.
The company has also addressed animal rights and environmental causes such as the misuse of Bovine Growth Hormone and the growing number of corporate takeovers of family farms, which he said are needed to sustain rural communities. The company actively supports these causes by not using unfit dairy products and by denouncing such practices on its ice cream packaging.
Furthermore, Ben and Jerry's used to have a policy that mandated that the highest paid official could make no more than five to seven times as much as the lowest-paid worker in the company. Unfortunately, the policy was abandoned when Ben and Jerry's was not able to hire a CEO who would follow it.
Ben and Jerry's first went public by selling shares at low prices all across Vermont, so that the community could profit with the company. However, the company was recently sold off to Unilever Corporation because it was unable to meet the demands of shareholders.
Greenfield summed up his philosophy toward the end of the hour-long speech. "I realized that there's a spiritual aspect to business, and that it comes from people working together to create something, and that together we can do more than just sell ice cream. We can meet another set of needs for our customers. We can use our power to solve our social problems," he said.
Greenfield's visit was sponsored by the Community Service Center and other campus groups to highlight Community Service Week, which began last Thursday and ends this Wednesday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.