I generally don’t read the papers on holiday so it was a shock to learn recently of the sudden death of Anita Roddick in the middle of September. Anita Roddick seems to have always been there as an inspirational  backdrop to the sustainability movement - so I felt an immediate sense of loss. But I quickly  reflected that the contribution to positive change she, and The Body Shop, has made over the last 30 years has a momentum that will roll on for the foreseeable future. We take the concept of fair trade for granted now, but its strong presence in the high street and consumer habits started with the pioneering purchasing and product development approaches that Anita was developing way back in the 1970’ and 80’s.

When I look at the burgeoning of CSR interest and practice that is exploding around us now it is remarkable to think that the Body Shop was motivated by a revolution in kindness and facilitating employee volunteering more than 15 years ago.  Of course that was just a part of it.

As Anita has said in interviews, she used her business to revolutionise  business. She demonstrated most famously that things could be done differently in the corporate world, yet still profitably. And if knowledge is power, she personally went to some lengths to acquire it, living with indigenous farming peoples around the globe to understand the forces at work in their markets. Then using that knowledge to shape the pioneering purchasing programme that underpinned the success of the Body Shop brand.

By helping  supplier communities develop sustainable production models for ingredients she made Body Shop products unique and delicious -  thereby introducing millions of consumers to the benefits of fair trade. Anita was a pioneer in mutual marketing.

But she didn’t stop there.  Anita’s company also set out to engage its customers and staff in its ‘kindness’ mission through creativity and meticulously planned communications. She was a forerunner of co-creation.  Millions of consumers have participated effortlessly in fair trade since all that cocoa butter first hit the shelves. But how many customers would have pictured themselves joining campaigns to release human rights activist prisoners across the world? Probably surprising themselves more than anyone, that is just what they did. As thousands of customers per store signed petitions and sent messages to lobby governments the prison doors swung open. Meanwhile, bathtime beauties felt ever better about their consumer choices. Astonishing.

Of course, there were mistakes and maybe some over-claims occasionally. In interviews Roddick seems to have been more than willing to put her hand up to these and assess why they had happened. I guess you have to be brave on all fronts if you are going to be a pioneer, including facing up to your very public slip-ups.

Finally, there was the L’Oreal business. Well, Anita Roddick certainly sold a very successful business for an awful lot of money. Whether she ‘sold out’ is another matter. She reckoned not: in interviews she likened the Body Shop becoming part of the L’Oreal beauty empire to a Trojan horse that would bring change from within. I hope so.

In the meantime the sale made £millions available to the foundations she established to further her causes. I’m sad that after all that hard work and enterprise she won’t be around to enjoy the fun of giving the profits away. But I’m convinced that the ingenuity and sheer gutsiness that she brought to business will impact on many of us for a good while to come.

Anita Roddick’s example of stepping out of line to achieve positive change and encouraging others to effortlessly engage in the process is even more relevant  in a world awash with CSR activities. There is a lot of CSR noise but those who can skilfully identify how to make a real difference in the context of  ground- breaking, mutual business will be equally as successful in their own  way.