LSP Environmental Studies Community Event Reports

Conscious Capitalism: John Mackey Chairman and CEO Whole Foods Market

There is nothing like grocery shopping- the colors, the smells, but most importantly the food. Grocery shopping is so much more than buying those delicious treats for the table- it is an experience. At least that is Whole Food’s CEO John Mackey believes.
We all know Whole Foods, its green sign has become a symbol for natural and organic grocery around the United States. Whole Foods Market has snuck its way into our consciousness and has become the symbol for the green movement in organic produce. However, unknown to most is the man behind these whole foods, the 25 yr-old who had a dream in 1980 to open a natural foods market in Austin, Texas. With 10,000 feet to work with and a goal to sell only foods from local growers- John Mackey and his girlfriend Renee Lawson began what we know as one of the top 12 supermarket companies in America. Some thirty years later, Mackey has built a $5.6 billion Fortune 500 company and as started initiatives that deal with sustainable food in the global marketplace.
On Wednesday, October 8th John Mackey gave a speech at NYU for the “Social Entrepreneurship in the 21st century,” and although he did talk a great deal about food, his lecture based itself upon the concept of “conscious capitalism.” He started out by stating, “Happiness is a bi-product of other things, like food. Profit is also a bi-product of other things: higher business, customer satisfaction, and social/environmental sustainability.” A market for him needed to be a more humanized and holistic experience where the biggest stakeholders were the customers. He started with core values (which are printed on each bag):
1. Selling the highest quality natural & organic products available
2. Satisfying & delighting our customers
3. Supporting team member happiness and excellence
4. Creating wealth through profits and growth
5. Caring about our communities and environments
Mackey’s mission is simple: Whole Foods, Whole People, and Whole Environment. In order to do that however he created a different business paradigm: conscious capitalism.
What is conscious capitalism? It is a business with a deeper purpose beyond maximizing profit; although, Mackey did mention repeatedly, “we still want to do that to!” Conscious capitalism is the move to optimize value. Enough with industrious capitalism- no more running a business like a machine that doesn’t care about its parts. The goal is to run efficiently and productively while taking care of the people that matter most, the customers.
To run a business based on purpose and empowerment is different in our age. It is the way of the future. As developed nations are technologically advancing and progress is nipping at our heels: John Mackey has found a way to bring together peace and love through food. It was a good time to attend the lecture, because in a midst of such an economic crisis as these September/October bailout months have been, it is comforting to know that there are capital markets and business paradigms that are looking out for other people, rather than just themselves. In fact that is the art of conscious capitalism, to create love- love of self and others.
Whole Foods Market really has acted upon these initiatives. “The Whole Planet Foundation’s mission is to create economic partnerships with the poor in those developing-world communities that supply our stores with product. Through innovative assistance for entrepreneurship- including direct micro-credit loans and tangible support for other community partnership projects- we seek to unleash the energy and creativity of every human beings we work with in order to create wealth and prosperity in emerging countries.” Whole Foods holds community-giving days where five percent of net sales are donated to local nonprofits and educational organizations in the communities. Their “Whole Planet Foundation” is following Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohammed Yunus’ micro-credit initiatives that lend money to women in third world countries in order for them to create and build self-employment projects. The range of global communities that Whole Foods Market helps is from Africa, to South-East Asia to Central America and North America. Nowhere is untouched by their good deeds.
As, I sat in back I wondered what I could do for my community. First of all, I knew that I would be heading to a Whole Foods Market as fast as possible. But there is something to be said of conscious capitalism in our day and age. With population at 6 billion people, it is time to start caring about feeding our world. Mackey’s speech if anything, taught that conscious capitalism starts with the individual.

http://wholefoodsmarket.com