Clif Bar
 
Clif Bar produces all-organic snack bars, drinks and other products for avid sports seekers. Founder Gary Erickson, a rock climber himself, is devoted not only to organic foods, but to running his company in an earth-friendly manner. Like Patagonia, Clif Bar donates 1 percent of earnings to community and environmental causes. “What makes us different from other profit-driven companies is that we work towards a balanced community, brand and business,” Executive VP of Human Resources David Jericoff tells the Berkeley Daily Planet. “Our commitment to the environment is one of our fundamental principals. We are careful to use mostly organic products so as to not leave any footprints on the earth.” Another similarity to other companies we’ve looked at is that Erickson still owns his business. He almost sold out to competitors in 2000, but USA Today writes “As he waited to sign the contract that would make him rich, Erickson started to shake. He couldn't breathe. He took a walk around the block and began to weep.” Like many successful and eco-sensitive CEOs, Erickson just couldn’t bring himself to sell his baby project. Clif Bar has had trouble in the past few years, hurt by the Atkins craze and a slowing economy, but the company trudges on.
 Clif Bar has planted thousands of trees, and like Timberland, is committed to planting enough trees to erase the atmospheric footprint made by employees traveling to and from work. The company cares about its people too. There was a rumor when they vacated their Berkeley offices that they left because there were zoning issues preventing them from building a day care center to serve working parents. Jericoff has denied this story, but all in all it’s not terrible publicity for Clif Bar that it was trying to help out its people. In addition to working at a great company, employees have access to free yoga, rock climbing, child care (they built a unit at their new facility) and an on-site salon. You can read about some of the other perks on this blog (http://laurendo.wordpress.com/2006/08/09/clif-bar-and-alameda/). The San Francisco Chronicle also reports that Clif Bar held out for a new location with enough space to be powered almost purely by solar energy (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/09/BAGFQKDI4N1.DTL). You can read more about Erickson and his new book here (http://www.ruggedelegantliving.com/a/003066.html). His notable quote? "Successful entrepreneurs take who they are and what they already know and create surprising combinations." http://laurendo.wordpress.com/2006/08/09/clif-bar-and-alameda/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/09/BAGFQKDI4N1.DTLhttp://www.ruggedelegantliving.com/a/003066.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1shapeimage_1_link_2
Monday, September 11, 2006
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