Stoneyfield Farm CEO to speak at Bates

Gary Hirshberg, president and CEO of Stoneyfield Farm Inc. of Londonderry, N.H., makers of the popular Stoneyfield Farm yogurt, will discuss “Caring for Community is a Strategy for Business Success” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 20, in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, Bates College. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

Hirshberg, who has overseen Stoneyfield Farm Inc.’s growth from infancy in 1983 to current annual sales of $60 million, has espoused corporate responsibility, sustainable agriculture and what he calls “healthy profits” during his successful tenure. He is the founding chairman of Eartha’s, a natural fast-foods enterprise, and founder of the Social Venture Institute, a “boot camp” for socially minded entrepreneurs. The President’s Council on Sustainable Development and the national nonprofit group Renew America awarded Hirshberg and Stoneyfield Farm Inc. two of the nation’s top environmental honors, the National Award for Sustainability in the category of climate change and the Robert Rodale Environmental Achievement Award.

“I like to make the case that doing good in and with your company can be the most empowering and financially successful strategy you could implement,” Hirshberg said. “It is the companies who do the most good, both internally and externally, who will be the commercial leaders of the 21st century.”