Jessie Macneil-Brown on: Activism at Ben & Jerry's
Jessie Macneil-Brown is Head of Social Mission for Ben & Jerry’s Europe. She has the dream job of mixing activism with Ice cream and is a passionate advocate for other businesses to be a force for good.
Nilesha and Jessie discuss her work at Ben & Jerry’s, her activist roots and her hopes for other businesses to join the fight for making the world a better place.
A career combining business with activism
I have been an activist for as long as I can remember, speaking with people in positions of power about injustices and the changes that need to be made. Growing up in a small rural town in Australia, I have strong memories of visiting The Body Shop, learning about global issues, and seeing a business that did more than just ask me to buy things.
Then, when at university, the father of a very good friend of mine said to me, “Sometimes you’ve just got to get where the money is and move it where it’s needed.” And that is really something I’ve lived my life by since.
Fast forward to living in London, I was working at L’Oréal and doing a Marketing Masters, when a job at The Body Shop came up in the global campaigns team. That’s when I found my niche, using my passion for business to be a force for good.
Ben & Jerry’s – a true activist brand
Ben & Jerry’s has always been an activist brand, and our co-founders, Ben and Jerry, have said as much from the start. They were two hippies who loved ice cream, but they wanted to do business differently and make the world a better place and we continue to do that in every way possible. We talk about a three-part mission at Ben & Jerry’s: our product mission, our economic mission, and our social mission.
I am responsible for our social mission in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and we divide the work we do into two parts.
- How can we have a positive impact in our day-to-day operations? Sourcing ingredients and packaging, trying to progress the industry to be more climate friendly, and prioritising inclusive hiring. For example, we recently co-created ‘Sweet Mango Memories’ with refugee entrepreneurs.
- The influence side of our social mission is all our activism and that is something truly unique to Ben & Jerry’s. I don’t know many companies that invest in activism, let alone hire a team of activists.
Working with the Independent board and Unilever
It’s easy to understand the relationship with Unilever by searching in the media. However, the independent board keeps my team highly focused on our mission, as we regularly report back to them on our progress and any challenges. Given the rapidly evolving political environments in which we work, they bring incredible experience from Civil Society to support us in our work and push us to think better.
Even though the relationship has been a bit of a bumpy road, I have not had a job like this where there hasn’t been tension between the corporate responsibility team and the business – it’s a natural tension.
The future of purposeful business
I’ve seen many companies rolling back on commitments, particularly in sustainability and DEI, due to economic and political pressures. But employees and consumers want to engage with businesses that align with their values. Companies that remain steadfast in their purpose will attract the best talent and the most loyal customers, as people buy into a brand’s values, not just its products.
We’re not stopping, we’re pushing for even greater impact. Our commitment to refugee justice in Europe remains strong, and we’re scaling up our efforts with bigger, bolder initiatives. The need for what we do is growing, and so is the support behind it. We will continue to champion the causes we’ve always stood for, working with movements to drive meaningful social and environmental change.
