Mission statement development and organizational purpose

Mission Statement

The mission statement is the most important part of a business plan: it communicates the organization’s purpose and identifies its goals, aims and values. It makes clear to all stakeholders exactly why the company is in business and what it intends to offer to people. It describes the standard to which the company will hold itself and is a clear statement that stakeholders can use to hold the company accountable.

The significance of the mission statement within the sustainability dialogue is that it sets the stage for the company’s plan. If the company intends to engage in sustainable practices, it will say so in the mission statement. For example, Tesla’s mission statement is: “to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport by bringing compelling mass market electric cars to market as soon as possible” (Tesla, 2013). By building its brand around the idea of sustainability, Tesla identifies both a market and a product for its aim. Its intention is to bring, in essence, the practice of sustainability to the lives of everyday consumers. The method that Tesla chooses is to do this is through the manufacturing of electric vehicles. Electric vehicles can reduce harmful emissions into the air that cause pollution and harm the environment as well as the health of people who have to breathe in these toxic fumes. In this way, by making and selling electric cars, Tesla is caring both for the planet and for its consumers and communities. It is engaging in sustainable practices, which it places at the core of its mission. As Evans (2017) notes, “sustainability is the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” From this perspective, Tesla is meeting the needs of consumers who require cars to get them around; but it is not doing so at the expense of the planet or of future generations. Cars that are safe for the environment mean that the next generations will not inherit an earth that is too polluted to live in.

This is also Patagonia’s aim—to meet the needs of consumers without sacrificing the planet at the altar of consumerism. In fact, the founder of the company was so intent on sustainability that he worried his own company might be leading to overconsumption so he reached out “to customers to reduce their consumption” (Reinhardt, Casadesus-Masanell & Kim, 2010, p. 1). His concern was to put people and the planet before profits—and that is the sign of a company that truly cares about sustainability. But of course, this kind of behavior is exactly in line with what RILA (2017) states is the job of a sustainable corporation: “the leading companies go one step further by engaging consumers and other stakeholders in the company’s journey, and help consumers to understand the full impact of their product purchases” (p. 53). Sustainability is not just an ideal—it is the mission of the company, and thus the mission statement is deeply interconnected to the sustainability aims of the company—just as it is for Patagonia and for Tesla.

Tesla is working towards creating a sustainable world through the production of energy-conserving goods for consumers. Its mission is clear when the company that its goal is to focus on “not only all-electric vehicles but also infinitely scalable clean energy generation and storage products. Tesla believes the faster the world stops relying on fossil fuels and moves towards a zero-emission future, the better” (About Tesla, 2017). By producing electric cars, the company intends to get rid of fossil fuels in the automotive industry. It intends to pave the way so that other car manufacturers follow suit. The more that Tesla can show that the electric car works, the more in demand it will be as consumers wake up to the positives and possibilities of having cars that do not burn oil or gas.

By focusing on scalable clean energy generation, Tesla is also committed to engaging in a mission of creating alternative energy sources for consumers so that they do not have to rely on energy generation from power plants that pollute the earth or that deplete earth’s natural resources. Tesla aims to achieve renewable energy—and that is why it is named after the famous inventor, Nikolai Tesla, the man who wanted to harness renewable energy by tapping into the earth’s potential. Tesla does not want to harm the earth but rather use its gifts to help people and protect the environment at one and the same time.
To achieve this mission, Tesla also believes in storing energy and creating products that can store energy like the solar power wall, which harnesses energy provided by the sun’s rays and stores them in cells that homes and businesses can then use to help power their daily operations. It is another alternative source of energy that Tesla wants to provide to consumers who are interested in going green.

In conclusion, the mission statement is an integral part of a business plan and for a company that intends to implement sustainable practices, the mission statement is typically aligned with this goal of sustainability. For most companies that make sustainability a goal, it acts essentially as their mission as well. It is certainly Tesla’ mission, as this company seeks to produce cars and alternative sources of energy for consumers who care about sustainable practices and who want to protect the environment while being able to operate in the modern world, using technology and the available means to get from here to there.

References
About Tesla. (2017). Tesla’s mission. Retrieved from https://www.tesla.com/about
Evans, M. (2017). What is environmental sustainability? Retrieved from
https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-sustainability-3157876
Reinhardt, F., Casadesus-Masanell, R., Kim, H. J. (2010). Patagonia. Harvard Business
School, 1-29.
RILA. (2017). Retail sustainability management report 2017.
Tesla. (2013). Mission statement. Retrieved from
https://www.tesla.com/blog/mission-tesla