Will Marre Applauds REI’s Long-Standing Social Responsibility Strategy

Dec. 28, 2010 - PRLog -- From the beginning REI has built their identity on environmental consciousness, according to Will Marre, acclaimed leadership speaker and author of Save the World and Still Be Home For Dinner.  In his new blog series, Giving is Winning, highlighting companies with strong social responsibility strategies, Marre contends that REI’s passionate commitment to environmental causes has largely contributed to their success.

Marre’s list of Giving is Winning companies stems from his extensive research being conducted with Clemson University and the University of California San Diego on what successful companies are doing in today’s challenging environment that average companies are not.    Through data research, executive interviews and in-the-trenches client projects with many of today’s thriving companies, Marre, is on a mission to show how successful companies are becoming unbeatable through strategies that are good for the community as well as the wallet.

According to Marre, REI is a great example of how giving and winning go together.  Marre explains, “REI’s core business strategy promotes sustainable use of the outdoors, sustainable products and the conservation of nature.  REI’s business model is based on giving its members the best opportunity to enjoy outdoor recreation and also give them back 10 percent of their eligible purchases in the form of rebates.  That’s no small change.  In 2009, $80 million in co-op refunds were distributed to its members.”

In addition REI also dedicates 3 percent of the previous year’s operating profit to its annual giving budget to help conserve natural spaces and create opportunities for outdoor recreation.    

For more information on Marre’s Giving is Winning blog, visit http://www.willmarre.com/blog.  You can also download a free series based on his research findings, “Apple to Zappos: What Today’s Successful Leaders Are Doing That the Rest of Us Aren’t,” at http://www.willmarre.com/wm/21-companies-leadership-resea....

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About Will Marre:

Will Marre is CEO of Realeadership Alliance and founder of Thought Rocket, a new online leadership development platform providing up-to-the-minute leadership research on what successful organizations are doing to thrive in the 21st century. Will Marre is also the cofounder of the Covey Leadership Center where he brought the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People to millions of executives and managers worldwide. He also heads the advisory board of the Human Performance Institute (a Johnson & Johnson company) and is an Emmy award-winning writer of a public television learning documentary. For more information please visit http://www.willmarre.com.