Initiating Orvis' Sustainability Strategy: Identifying Strategic Priorities & Sustainability Champions Within the Business

Abstract

Orvis is America’s oldest mail-order outfitter and longest continually-operating fly-fishing business with more than $340 million in sales, offering a wide assortment of fly-fishing, hunting, and sporting goods. The company dedicates itself to personal responsibility and strives to the restore, enhance and protect wild places; however, Orvis does not currently have an overarching sustainability strategy. In order to fill this gap, our research strives to capture an understanding of the perceptions, attitudes, and priorities of Orvis associates, managers, and executives with regard to sustainability initiatives. Insights gathered through the creation and distribution of employee engagement surveys, along with industry best practice research and an analysis of Orvis’ Higg Index results, will be used to develop key components of a long-term Corporate Social Responsibility strategy.