The founder of Lululemon Athletica Inc. and billionaire Chip Wilson is donating $100 million to the BC Parks Foundation to help protect and enhance the province’s nature.
The donation, which was announced Thursday at an event held in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, will be made through the Wilson 5 Foundation.
The commitment is part of the launch of the BC Parks Foundation’s 25×25, a multi-year campaign to protect 25 per cent of land and water, in partnership with Indigenous people. The foundation was launched in 2018 with the goal of improving and expanding the province’s park system.
The donation will begin work immediately in three ecosystems, Falling Creek Sanctuary, Sanctuary Teit and Bourguiba Springs.
Wilson previously made a $4 million donation to protect the coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem and earlier this year made a $100 million commitment to medical research into facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.
The announcement comes a day after Patagonia founder and billionaire Yvonne Chouinard said he was giving the company to a trust and nonprofit that would use its profits to tackle climate change.
In an open letter, Chouinard said 100 percent of the company’s voting shares will be transferred to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and 100 percent of the non-voting shares will go to the Holdfast Collective, with funding coming from Patagonia.
“We had to find a way to put more money into fighting the (climate) crisis while keeping the company’s values intact,” he wrote in the letter.
“Honestly, there were no good opportunities. So we created our own.”
As companies and business leaders continue to be called out for greenwashing—when organizations spend time and money on creating a green image rather than taking tangible steps to minimize environmental impact or ameliorate the climate crisis—Lian Keddy, professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University doesn’t believe this is it.
“For Chip Wilson, I think his donation to protect pristine habitats is critical and helps to continue both conversation and action on the climate crisis and biodiversity conservation,” Keddy said.
“In the case of Patagonia, I think it’s really consistent with who they are as an organization and a strong recognition of the crisis we’re in.” They have shown that you can create innovative solutions to difficult problems.”
Keddy said he hopes such moves will prompt others in their financial position to do the same.
“I think when creative solutions like this come up and we discuss them, it shines a light on our human ingenuity. I find that very inspiring and it puts pressure on other billionaires to talk about what their plans are,” she said.
“Especially in light of the huge inequality we’re witnessing today, rising inflation and the pressures everyday people are feeling, I think those with billions in wealth need to think hard about the impact that wealth will have.” I’m optimistic that these won’t be the last big announcements we see.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 15, 2022.
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