Ulrich Eichelmann has seen many rivers during his life as head of RiverWatch, an organization dedicated to protecting the world’s waterways. He spent time on the Tigris River through Turkey and Iraq, on the Tagliamento in Italy, and traveled along the Danube as it winds through Europe. Yet none, he said, are a match for the Vjosa River. From the Greek Pindus Mountains, its tumultuous springs flow 169 miles to Albania’s Mediterranean coast, calming as it approaches the sea.
“The river is kind of like an intact living thing,” Eichelmann said. “It starts young and fast in the mountains of Greece and ends like an old river near the Adriatic Sea.”
The Vjosa is undammed, a rare feat in a world where the majority of rivers are confined by barriers. While hydroelectric dams can provide so-called “clean” energy, they also destroy ecosystems and emit emissions. methane. Fish may become trapped, unable to reach their spawning grounds, while neighboring communities may be displaced. The Vjosa, however, remains one of the last free-flowing water systems in Europe. The entire watershed is still intact and likely to remain so, thanks to a public-private coalition that created Europe’s first wild rivers national park in Albania, battling dozens of planned dams along the way.
Support from outdoor clothing company Patagonia was integral to this effort, providing both resources and advocacy that helped turn local activists’ bold vision into reality. In 2015, activists launched the Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign to raise awareness of the environmental impacts of a hydroelectric boom in the Balkans. But the coalition needed international attention, and in 2018 Patagonia joined, providing much-needed funding and creativity that helped transform the campaign into a global cause.
Andrew Burr
His quiet support is typical of Patagonia’s long history of environmental activism. But until now, the company has never attempted to measure its full impact, whether its successes or its failures. That’s about to change: Patagonia just released its “Work in Progress Report,” outlining the company’s improvements and challenges, and sharing a roadmap for others in the private sector. “Corporations have created many of the environmental problems we humans face today,” said Ryan Gellert, CEO of Patagonia. “We have a huge responsibility to do something about this.”
Gellert recognizes the paradox of a company striving for a healthier planet while selling consumers products they may not need. “I can sit here and make the argument that we should grow as fast as possible so we have more money to distribute,” he said. Conversely, as a producer of clothing that requires fossil fuels, he sees the argument that “the best we can do for the planet is shut down.” The truth, he says, lies somewhere in between. Explaining these nuances – and how to prove that business can be a positive force for change – is what the company hopes to unveil in its 134-page report.
Patagonia’s environmental activism began close to home in Ventura, California, where the company made its first grant in 1973 to the Friends of Ventura River, even providing the group with office space in its nearby headquarters. “We have a very long history of protecting rivers,” Gellert noted. When plans to divert the nearby Ventura River threatened both its health and the surf spot at its mouth, Patagonia employees began showing up at council meetings. This experience taught them that they could shape local conservation decisions and that rivers united a community’s entire ecosystem. This led to the company’s “Earth Tax” in 1985, which set aside 1% of all sales for local environmental groups – a model that later helped inspire the “1% for the Planet” movement.
Patagonia’s work has grown to include causes around the world, from defending Tasmania’s Tarkine Rainforest in 2018 to adding five new marine protected areas in Korea in 2023. The company also encourages its own employees to volunteer and complete nonviolent direct action training, as well as cover their bail. Although this approach alienates some customers, it has become a central part of the company’s philosophy.
The company expanded its grant program with the Holdfast Collective, a collection of nonprofit trusts that now own 98% of Patagonia. He uses every dollar received to protect nature and champion causes and candidates who prioritize the planet. Its goal is to distribute the company’s profits to causes like saving the Vjosa, to which it has contributed almost $5 million since 2023.
After its European team raised the alarm about Vjosa’s future, the company helped produce two films and financially supported the Save the Blue Heart campaign. They started a petition that gained international attention, including from celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio. Simultaneously, the company decided to also donate money to the Albanian government, allowing it to support grassroots advocacy while helping to shape policy decisions. The result of this symbiosis was the government’s announcement in 2023 of the creation of the Vjosa Wild River National Park.
Nick St. Oegger
This victory, Gellert said, shows the power of Patagonia’s leadership philosophy. He remembers the team’s first visit to the river almost 10 years ago. They spent their first night camping along the river, before taking the next few days to raft the rapids and participate in a local protest. At the time, Gellert wasn’t sure he could save the river: finding a way to engage with political leaders required patience and years of dialogue, especially as Albania faced contested elections. Gellert met in person with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama several times to discuss the future of the Vjosa, serving as a mediator between local defenders and the government.
Engaging with communities along the Vjosa was also key to keeping dams away, said Olsi Nika, executive director of EcoAlbania, a coalition member organization. The river is home to some 100,000 people, who depend on it for fishing, agriculture and cultural traditions, as well as more than a thousand species. With the help of Patagonia, EcoAlbania brought together residents, artists, scientists and lawyers to build an effective front against dam construction, resulting in the first ever environmental lawsuit filed in Albania.
The courts ultimately ruled in his favor, blocking a blockade and setting an important legal precedent. Nika – who with collaborator Besjana Guri won a Goldman Prize for their river advocacy this year – said the victory opens the door to future lawsuits. “We are following dozens of cases currently before the courts to oppose the construction of hydroelectricity. »
The role of Patagonia, since formalized by a memorandum with the government, remains crucial. Two years later, the Vjosa was designated a national park. Pressures on local water supplies are mounting as developers rush to build resorts and accommodations just outside its borders, said Besjana Guri, who recently left EcoAlbania to found a nonprofit focused on empowering women and youth. “Today we can have small threats,” Guri said, “but if they are not managed well and if people are not fully aware of them, they can become big threats. »
Nick St. Oegger
The country has approved a 10-year plan to manage the park’s more than 31,000 acres, said Daniel Pirushi, head of environmental policy and development for Albania’s Ministry of Tourism and Environment. Visitors will be strictly zoned into specific areas. Sensitive sections of river will have limits on the number of outsiders who can arrive. The government is also working to improve sanitation systems in rural communities along the Vjosa basin to combat pollution.
In December, the government established an official office to assist with park law enforcement and environmental monitoring. A visitor center is planned to present local exhibitions and activities that would raise public awareness of the uniqueness of the ecosystem. “Creating a national park, especially one of this scale and complexity, cannot happen overnight,” Pirushi wrote in an email. “Protecting the Vjosa is not a symbolic act but a concrete and evolving process based on science, politics and partnership. »
Patagonia has learned that working together is what makes this type of sustainable environmental protection possible. Having reached a milestone with the Vjosa campaign, the company seeks to inspire other businesses, particularly those in the outdoors, whose work is closely linked to the health of the Earth. As Alison Huyett, a senior strategist at Patagonia who led the report, said, the goal is to show professional audiences that “activism doesn’t have to be scary.”
We are in business to save our planet. Founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973, Patagonia is an outdoor clothing company based in Ventura, California. As a Certified B Corporation and founding member of 1% for the Planet, the company is internationally recognized for its product quality and environmental activism, as well as its contributions of more than $230 million to environmental organizations. Its unique ownership structure reflects the fact that Earth is its sole shareholder: profits not reinvested in the company are paid out as dividends to protect the planet.
