Start With Tough Questions

Social mission was so important that when Ben & Jerry’s sold to Unilever in 2000, part of the purchase agreement included what was essentially a forerunner to the benefit corporation structure: an independent board of directors and governance over social mission and brand integrity.

A Certified B Corporation since 2012, Ben & Jerry’s recently broadened its social mission work to include racial justice, which the company explains on its website as “a journey to better understand issues of race in our country, to acknowledge the existence of systemic racism and the implicit biases that all of us carry.” So far that has included taking a stand for Black Lives Matter, sponsoring the Facing Race Conference with event organizer Race Forward in November 2018 in Detroit, and spreading the word about racial equity in its e-newsletter and social media channels — and that’s just the start. Ben & Jerry’s European business is focusing on refugee resettlement and asylum.

“We’ve always reviewed our own company culture and had a lot of conversations about diversity in the company and our supply chain,” Michalak says. “We had a town hall at Ben & Jerry’s with leaders in the (racial justice) movement, who challenged us to consider what we should be asking ourselves.”

By working with nonprofit organizations and other experts in civil and human rights, the B Corp began employee workshops and other programs to raise awareness about racial equity and implicit bias.

“The first stage is really education” on how to build a more inclusive and equitable culture, says Michalak, in his 22nd year as a full-time employee with Ben & Jerry’s. “Concurrent to that, we also looked at our recruiting practices. We realized that we needed to broaden the recruiting channels to allow for a more diverse talent pool to apply for jobs here. We’re looking at all of our practices — marketing, franchise, product development — and how they can be more reflective of a more diverse world.”

While Ben & Jerry’s is pursuing equity work for moral and ethical purposes — “primarily because it’s the right thing to do,” Michalak says — it also serves as an opportunity to expand and diversify its business and workforce to create a more inclusive company.

Ben and Jerry and White Privilege

The B Corp’s founders are champions of social mission work, taking a visible stance to reinforce its importance at Ben & Jerry’s.

In April 2018, founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield spoke at the A.C.T. to End Racism Rally in Washington, D.C., about white privilege and how it shaped their lives and business.

At the rally, they described how their upbringing as white men helped them overcome several challenges of starting a small business and contrasted that with the extra hurdles that people of color typically must overcome when facing similar challenges.

A post on the Ben & Jerry’s website clarifies the issue: “What’s white privilege? It’s the reality that no matter what challenges a white person faces in their life, the color of their skin will never be one of them. It’s hard to overstate the power of this truth, and yet it’s often unacknowledged by or invisible to those who benefit from it the most.”

As the company’s founders share their stories publicly, they hope to raise awareness of racial equity work and encourage other businesses to do the same. Ben & Jerry’s also introduced a special edition ice cream flavor, Pecan Resist, in support of Color of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization and one of its partners in racial equity work.

In a post on its website, Ben & Jerry’s offers a forthright assessment of its workplace: “As a mostly white company based in a mostly white state, we know there’s a lot we don’t know when it comes to racial equity.” It then shares five things learned at Facing Race about being an effective advocate for racial justice:

Listen, learn, act. “Enter into this space with humility.”

“Enter into this space with humility.” Change the narrative. “To powerfully and effectively sustain the movement for equity, we need to lift up and listen to the voices of the people on the frontlines.”

“To powerfully and effectively sustain the movement for equity, we need to lift up and listen to the voices of the people on the frontlines.” Start with the soul. “Help the community understand that they have a right to a clean environment.”

“Help the community understand that they have a right to a clean environment.” Practice self care. “We must always hold each other up.”

“We must always hold each other up.” Take the first step; the rest will follow. “Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone.”

The Facing Race conference and its racial justice work with Race Forward, Color of Change, North Carolina NAACP, Dream Corps and Demos are part of Ben & Jerry’s longer-term effort to improve diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the company, Michalak says. Recent voter rights issues in North Carolina drew the B Corp to advocate for voter rights in that region with partner organizations before the 2016 election.

Ben & Jerry’s was a sponsor of the Facing Race conference in November 2018. (Photo courtesy Ben & Jerry’s)

Ben & Jerry’s worked with the NAACP North Carolina, Common Cause NC and other groups to register voters and counter voter suppression in the state. On a broader scale, the B Corp encouraged democracy reform by promoting voting rights and efforts to get big money out of politics.

“We’re slowly working through the stages of education, support and follow-up to build a good foundation for Ben & Jerry’s to become the company that we envision,” he says.

This includes a more diverse workplace and expanded business networks, but also the company’s products and markets — pointing the way for Ben & Jerry’s to continue to change and grow, Michalak says.

Lessons for Other Businesses

Response to the equity work generally has been positive, Michalak says, and “makes those who are more loyal to us even more deeply loyal. When people have shared values, they tend to have stronger relationships and loyalties.”

But the company’s advocacy efforts also have their detractors.

“Because we do take a stand, and oftentimes dealing with complicated social issues, we have had criticism and ugly rhetoric thrown our way,” Michalak says. “Part of it is you have to have the courage and convictions to stand by our principles. Even though it’s uncomfortable to go through those moments, we try to do that in an understanding way.”

Michalak encourages other businesses to move forward with purpose-driven work — be it racial equity, environmental rights or economic justice — and shares some lessons Ben & Jerry’s has learned over the years:

Devise a plan that allows you to step forward, but step with prudence. “You probably will step in a puddle from time to time, but if you do it thoughtfully you won’t be damaged from it. You’ll be able to learn from it and be stronger as you move forward.”

Be thoughtful and intentional, but not timid.

Find the experts — nonprofits and other community organizations — who know what they’re doing and learn from them.

“It’s always good for any company to really be clear about what it is it stands for and what are the principles it wants to uphold,” he says. “We all grew up in our own cultural experience and education, from our family, neighborhood, era. It’s actually very exciting when you do this work within your company culture. It’s energizing and it’s also scary — you get into uncomfortable areas. But if you open up to it and do the work, it’s very energizing and enriches your company.

“It’s really about working to become the company that we aspire to be.”