We’re asking this question because Duft Watterson team members recently attended the 1% for the Planet Annual Summit in Los Angeles. As a 1% member, Duft Watterson is aligned with companies that include Patagonia, Honest Tea, Nature’s Path, and others who give 1% of our gross revenue each year to approved non-profit partners. We put our money where our mouth is. Our goal? To build an inspired community of activism and support for environmentalism and social equity.
Duft Watterson has been a member of 1% since 2019, donating to local non-profit organizations that include the Land Trust of The Treasure Valley, Boise Bicycle Project and Boise’s Botanical Gardens. Aside from our financial commitment, this year we volunteered time to photograph 1%’s three-day Annual Summit. We do this because, as a for-profit company, we see the incongruity between being a successful business and being mindful stewards of the environment and people. Between using resources and protecting resources. Between driving an efficient business and taking care of people. 1% and other kindred organizations prove business success doesn’t have to be detrimental to the planet. 1% provides us an opportunity to align with like-minded businesses to create a powerful synergy for good. But it’s not just a membership. It’s a way for us to define the agency both to our community, clients, team members and recruits. As Steve Jobs said, great brands are about values. And our values embrace sustainability and social enterprise, to add meaning to what we do beyond profits. And that’s pretty cool.
For example, because of our 1% membership, we are able to give to the Land Trust of The Treasure Valley to help protect wide open spaces for recreation, but also to ensure that farms and ranches can produce food locally. Last year, we partnered with EarthShare to develop their brand strategy, brand voice and brand design, including logos, color palettes, and iconography. As an early adopter of the EarthShare giving platform, and have since seeded EarthShare accounts for each of our team members. Because EarthShare is set up to allow each of our employees to choose the non-profits they want to give to, we will donate much of our 1% For The Planet commitment through the platform so that our employees can direct much of our donation spectrum to the environmental and social equity causes that are important to them.
Which begs the question: What if we all gave 1% of our revenue, or time, to a nonprofit? What kind of impact would that have on the quality of life for all Americans? Wouldn’t we all then be operating on the same playing field? That’s good for everyone and business.
