Ben Cohen, who with his business partner Jerry Greenfield co-founded the Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Holdings Inc. ice cream empire in 1978, was in Des Moines last week to speak at Drake University as part of its Bucksbaum Lecture Series. We caught up with him and asked him about his business, which was purchased by Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever N.V. in 2000 for almost $326.5 million, and his current passion, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, the parent organization of Iowans for Sensible Priorities. The groups aim to change federal spending priorities to reflect a greater commitment to education, health care, energy independence, job training and deficit reduction by shifting spending from obsolete weapons in the Pentagon budget.

Q: Through Ben & Jerry’s, you showed that a profitable business and social responsibility are not mutually exclusive. What were some of your guiding principles?

A: We factored a social concern into as many day-to-day decisions as possible. Our general belief was that business is part of the community and nothing more than a rich neighbor, and as a rich neighbor we had a tremendous amount of power and responsibility to use that for the general benefit of the community.

Today, business is the most powerful force in the community, but that wasn’t always the case. Previously, it was religion and government, and they had as a purpose to work for the improvement of quality of life. Business never had that as a purpose and its task was to maximize profits, which created a lot of byproducts with negative effects. It wasn’t that they didn’t care; they were just pursuing their goals. No one ever said to watch out for the side effects.

Q: Did you act as a “rich neighbor” through corporate philanthropy?

A: The innovation of Ben & Jerry’s was never philanthropy. We believe in philanthropy, but we don’t believe it is the most powerful tool a business has at its command. We integrated that concern into our day-to-day operation and looked at departments and the needs in the community to see if we could factor a community need into each of our departments.

In finance, we found a bank – South Shore Bank of Chicago – which was greenlining properties others were redlining. We established a major banking relationship, and they used the money to reinvest. We invested in low-income tax credits and the money got used to help build affordable housing. Our product needs milk and cream, and there was a big problem in Vermont of family farmers going out of business. So we made a decision that all of our milk and cream would come from Vermont family farmers. As we introduced new flavors, we found ingredients that, by processing them, have some sort of positive effect – Wild Maine Blueberry to help farmers, or Rain Forest Crunch, which maximizes the use of Brazil nuts. If rain forests are sustained and harvested, they’re as profitable as when they’re cut down and turned over to cattle.

Q: When you started Ben & Jerry’s in the late 1970s, were there people who were sure your model for a socially responsible business would fail?

A: The term had not been invented when we started. The ironic thing is, the very thing that business pundits said would be our undoing actually drove our business.

Q: Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities asks that money be shifted from the Pentagon to other priorities. In this atmosphere of heightened security, what are the major misconceptions about your group and how do you get your message across?

A: It’s anti-military or anti-Pentagon or anti-our troops. In reality, we’re very much in favor of the military and our troops; our issue is with Congress about budget priorities.

As business persons, we’re abhorrent of waste and are conscious that we do business in a constantly changing environment. What we see is the Pentagon not responding to those changes and spending inconceivable sums on the same weaponry built during the Cold War. It has nothing to do with fighting terrorism.

In today’s world, the biggest competition isn’t about military spending. There’s no question the United States is the strongest military power. The U.S. spends more than the rest of the world. The issue of having a strong military is not a question that’s going to determine what’s going to be the quality of life for the kids of the future.

Today’s battleground is economic. It’s a global economy, and we’re all competing for the same jobs. If kids don’t have the education, don’t have the health care and don’t have the job training they need and we continue to be reliant on Mideast oil, those are the things that make is unsecure.

Q: Do people assume the group is part of the Democratic Party apparatus?

A: Our organization began during the Clinton administration. We were against what he was doing. This isn’t about Republicans or Democrats; they’re both guilty of doing the same thing – wasting our money on weapons.

Q: Who are some of your unlikely supporters?

A: The Cato Institute is one of our staunchest allies in cutting Pentagon spending. They might not agree we should put more in education and health care, but they perhaps do agree with us about reducing debt.

Q: Do you have any closing remarks?

A: Yes, a quote from Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower: “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists and the hopes of its children.”