Gary Hirshberg, the “CE-Yo” of Stonyfield Farm, the world’s leading organic yogurt producer, discussed “Stirring it Up: How to Make Money and Save the World” in a free talk Nov. 11, 2008 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Click here to see the complete lecture.
Hirshberg delivered the 2008-2009 Hillard Gold ’39 Lecture at 7:30 p.m. in Morehead Banquet Hall in Morehead Planetarium, sponsored by the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Hirshberg focused on how companies can help save the planet while achieving greater profits, and how consumers can use the power of conscious consumption to encourage “green” corporate behavior.
“Gary Hirshberg embodies what has come to be known as social entrepreneurship,” said Buck Goldstein, University Entrepreneur in Residence and a senior lecturer in the department of economics. “The Stonyfield Farm story, as well as his other projects around the world, will be an inspiration to the entire university community.”
In his book, “Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World” (Hyperion, 2008), Hirshberg describes how he built a successful $300 million-per-year business by incorporating environmental principles and practices, and how other companies can accomplish this, too. He argues that making a business “green” saves companies money in the long run, while boosting consumer loyalty and reducing advertising costs.
Hirshberg has won awards for both corporate and environmental leadership, including Global Green USA’s “1999 Green Cross Millennium Award for Corporate Environmental Leadership.” He was named “New Hampshire’s 1998 Small Business Person of the Year” by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Hirshberg joined Stonyfield Farm a few months after its start in 1983. Initially, he directed the Rural Education Center, the small organic farming school from which Stonyfield was spawned. In 2001, Stonyfield Farm entered into a partnership with Groupe Danone, and in 2005, Hirshberg was named managing director of Stonyfield Europe, a joint venture between the two firms with brands in Canada, Ireland and France.
A New Hampshire native, Hirshberg was one of the first graduates of Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., and has received six honorary doctorates.
Hirshberg is also the chairman and co-founder of O’Naturals, a natural fast food restaurant company. He served on the advisory panel for Newsweek magazine’s Global Environmental Leadership Conference.
The Hillard Gold ’39 lecture series honors alumnus Hillard Gold and is made possible by the gift of James Gold ’72 and Jonathan Gold ’75, who established the series to honor their late father.
Hirshberg’s talk is co-sponsored by the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative and the Center for Sustainable Enterprise.
