tax," decided in 1985, was 10% of profits or 1% of revenue, whichever was higher. Projects funded by Holdfast illustrate the ambition: the E.O. Wilson "Between the Rivers" project in Alabama, the Okefenokee swamp in Georgia, Bristol Bay in Alaska (against the Pebble mine), the Vjosa national park in Albania (a project in which Gellert has been personally involved for a decade), as well as projects in Australia, South Korea, and Japan. Patagonia does not retain the acquired land — "we put money behind the acquisition and that land is then entrusted to different organisations." For the Capacity Score, this structure is Level 3 with clear Level 4 signals. Restructuring ownership so that all surplus profits serve the environment is an N4 governance act — economic activity structurally funds regeneration. But the product itself (outdoor clothing) retains a net negative impact on the planet. Gellert admits it: "Every product we sell has a negative impact on the planet." The ownership structure is regenerative; the economic activity remains extractive. 1.4 The signal of deliberate growth: "the cement of leaders is dry" Gellert's most distinctive positioning lies in his theory of change. Whereas Menegaux federates — Global Compact France, GPSNR with Continental AG, Aliapur, 12 CNRS laboratories — Gellert has abandoned the idea that corporate leadership will follow. "Some of the least productive time I've invested is talking with leaders of other companies about different ways of doing things. Some of the most productive time is talking to employees of other companies and students." — Ryan Gellert, Kim interview The cement metaphor is structural: "With leadership, often the cement's pretty dry. With students and employees, it's very different." This is a bottom-up theory of change: model a more responsible form of business, then inspire employees, students, and customers — not CEOs. The vehicle of transformation is not sectoral federation (N3) but exemplarity and open-sourcing. On growth itself, Gellert reframes the concept: "I'm the biggest advocate for growth in the room. It's growth in impact that is most important to us. Revenue growth can enable that in part, and in that way it's a necessary evil." The company grows modestly, by choice: no paid advertising on Meta platforms ( "genuinely fertile ground to reach customers," but Patagonia has chosen not to be there), selective distribution choices, no race for partnerships. The organic cotton example illustrates the limits of this approach. Patagonia made the transition 30 years ago, when less than 1% of the world's cotton was organic. Today, "the reality, I believe, is that it's still roughly 1% of cotton grown in the world." Thirty years of modelling have not shifted the system. The cement of leaders was already dry in 1995. The other strong signal is the supply chain decarbonisation strategy. More than 90% of Patagonia's carbon footprint comes from the products it makes — "not our facilities, not transportation, but at the mill level, overwhelmingly." Those mills are all on the other side of the planet. None belong to Patagonia. And Patagonia represents a small share of each mill's business. Despite this, the company is "pioneering with factories" in transition programmes from coal to renewables, creating a model other brands can use. The strategy is carbon insetting, not offsetting. For the Capacity Score, the signal is double. On one hand, Gellert has the most advanced lucidity in the sector on the limits of exemplarity: 30 years of organic cotton have not changed the system. On the other, his theory of change remains that of exemplarity — model, open-source, inspire. The N4 shift would involve moving from "modelling so others follow" to "co-constructing the systemic conditions for change to become inevitable." Gellert funds the grassroots activists who create that pressure, but the company itself remains in the posture of a model, not a co-architect of the system. 1.5 Leadership portrait — synthesis Gellert is the most mission-aligned leader in the outdoor sector. The Holdfast/Purpose Trust structure embodies a commitment that Michelin's commandite structure cannot match: 100% of surplus profits go to the environment, not a percentage. The mission > profit hierarchy is inscribed in the legal architecture, not merely in discourse. Level 3-4 capacities. Ownership structure dedicated to the environment (N4 in governance). Lucid confrontation with the political context without compromising the mission (N3). Coherent bottom-up theory of change. Public admission of limits ( "every product has a negative impact" ). Supply chain decarbonisation strategy through insetting. Large-scale grassroots funding. Repair and second- hand resale programmes in sustained growth. Identified limits. The product remains extractive (raw materials, Asian manufacturing, global transport). The exemplarity theory of change has not shifted the system in 30 years (organic cotton). Confrontation with political power, while lucid, offers no co- construction. Regenerative vocabulary is absent — Gellert speaks of "protection," "conservation," "repair," not contribution to living systems. Impact growth is not formulated in terms of regenerated capacities on a territory. The absence of a relationship with the administration deprives Patagonia of any institutional lever. ▲ To move to the next level: → Narrative priority N3 → N4: shift from "protecting the natural world" to "Patagonia's economic activity actively contributes to the vitality of living systems." Protection is defensive (conserve what remains); regeneration is contributive (increase the capacity of the milieu). → Posture N3 → N4: from exemplary model ("we do better, imitate us") to systemic co-architect (co-building with institutions, competitors, and communities the conditions for the outdoor industry to regenerate the ecosystems on which it depends). → Narrative N3 → N4: integrate both registers (activism and business) into a single regenerative framework. Level 4 is when "telling the truth about threats" and "without margin, no mission" are no longer two separate narratives but the two faces of the same model
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