Photo by Jason Alden

Beth Thoren (MBA 1992) was a teenager in Japan the first time she saw the ocean. “I thought it was the most beautiful and fragile thing I’d ever seen,” she recalls. The experience sparked a lifelong interest in the natural world and led Thoren to the US Merchant Marine Academy and an early career as a ship engineer. In time, she moved into business to, as she puts it, “understand how the world worked,” even as her passion for the environment continued. After two decades in the for-profit sector, including consulting work and marketing for Mars Confectionery and the BBC subsidiary Digital UK, that passion created a natural transition to the nonprofit world in 2012.

“I went into business to understand the engine of the economy, but I suppose I always knew that at some point I wanted to get back to nature,” says Thoren, who has served and continues to serve at organizations such as the Soil Association, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and ClientEarth. The skills she developed in business were clearly a boon: “One was strategic-thinking ability,” she says, “and the other was pace, which can be useful in the more collaborative and often-slower world of nonprofits.”

Thoren believes there doesn’t need to be a divide between for-profit and nonprofit missions. In December 2020, she joined outdoor-clothing brand Patagonia as director of Environmental Action and Initiatives, EMEA, a position that unites business goals and social responsibility.

“The tension between being a successful business and doing the right thing for the planet is a source of immense innovation for Patagonia,” Thoren observes. Among the initiatives she’ll be involved with is the retailer’s long-standing work to convince consumers to buy only what they need. A notable moment in this enterprise was an ad for Black Friday 2011 that featured an unusual entreaty: Don’t buy this jacket. The effort encouraged people to keep their gear in use for longer and repair it when required, supported by 35 Patagonia repair centers around the world.

The company’s new Buy Less, Demand More campaign further expands Patagonia’s business in the rapidly growing and increasingly profitable used-clothing market, which can cut the carbon, waste, and water footprint of a purchase by 82 percent.

“Imagine if used Patagonia products become the company’s biggest growth area and if, at the same time, we can help make citizens think before they buy new,” Thoren says. “That will be a win for our business and a win for our planet.”

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First career: Ship engineer. “There’s something extraordinary about being 21 years old, in charge of these massive diesel engines, and having the lives of everyone on the ship in your hands.”

The “aha” moment: A 2010 sabbatical to sail with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, in an activist campaign against whale hunting in Antarctica. “I don’t think I intended to change careers but, afterward, I almost had no choice. Once you’ve seen what nature is supposed to look like, you realize just how degraded and damaged the rest of the world is. I just couldn’t bear to stand back and watch our natural world—and our children’s future—be destroyed.”

Home is: Everywhere. “I grew up in Tokyo, went to college in the States, traveled extensively on ships, and spent years in London. Now I’m in Amsterdam. That has given me a sense of empathy and a feeling of being connected to the whole world.”

Call to action: “Your sense of purpose comes from what you do every day, all day long. You don’t have to find it in volunteer work. You could be taking your business and making it more thoughtful. That’s what I want my classmates to do: Do good within your own businesses.”

On leadership: “Leadership doesn’t have to look bold and powerful. It doesn’t have to meet that stereotype. For me, leadership is about building from your values and using that to be strong and kind.”

The pandemic and climate change: “The awareness of climate change, and the motivation to do something about it, has increased hugely in the last few years. COVID-19 has helped society realize how interconnected we are, and—even more important—given us a momentary pause to consider a different way forward.”

Pandemic project: When COVID-19 hit, Thoren led a pitch to the UK government to create jobs for unemployed and disadvantaged young people, in restoring the UK’s depleted natural infrastructure, based on the US Civilian Conservation Corps. “We’ve had lots of interest in the idea from 10 Downing, but no bites yet.”

Her escape: Ballroom dancing. “I spend so much time in my head; dance puts me into my feelings.”

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