Sells more $ 17 billion of such products and services each year, with annual revenue growth increasing by double digits.
Finally, even if there is generally a small positive relationship between social responsibility and economic performance that becomes stronger when a company or its products have a positive reputation for social responsibility, and even if there is no guarantee that socially responsible companies will be profitable. Simply put, socially responsible companies experience the same ups and downs in economic performance that traditional businesses do. A good example is Ben & Jerry’s the ice cream people. Ben & Jerry’s started in 1978 when founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield sent away for a $5 course on how to make ice cream. Ben & Jerry’s is as famous for its commitment to social responsibility as for its super premium ice cream. The company donates 7.5 percent of its pretax profits to support AIDS patients, homeless people, and the environment. Moreover, customers buy Ben & Jerry’s ice cream because it tastes great and because it tastes great and because they want to support a socially responsible company. As Ben Cohen says, “We see ourselves as somewhat of a social service agency and somewhat of an ice cream company.” But-and this is a big “but”-despite its outstanding reputation as a socially responsible company, Ben & Jerry’s consistently had financial troubles after going public (selling shares of stock to the public) 15 years ago. In fact, its financial problems became so severe that Ben and Jerry sold the company to British-based Unilever. Being socially responsible may be the right to do, and is usually associated with increased profits, but it doesn’t guarantee business success.