In 1928, Herbert Fisk Johnson, Jr. became the third-generation family leader of the company his grandfather founded, S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. at the age of 27. H.F. Jr.’s grandfather built a small parquet flooring business into a global wax giant, and left all his wealth to charitable and community causes. His father was a pioneer of employee rights and benefits, such as profit sharing, forty-hour work weeks, paid vacation and health and life insurance, with a benevolent spirit that led him to create the community service organization which became United Way. While stepping in to fill some large shoes, H.F. Jr. would prove to be a scientist and businessman with unusual vision, even during challenging economic times.

During the Great Depression, under his direction, the company demonstrated a deep commitment to employees by refusing to lay off workers, expanding benefits and continuing to deliver quality products through increased research and development.

A man ahead of his time, H.F. began to wonder about the sustainability of the carnauba wax harvest in the rainforests of Brazil, the source of the company’s most important raw material. He traveled to Brazil in 1936 to explore this issue. Upon his return, Johnson published a book about his experience, which reflected a sense of corporate environmental responsibility, that at the time was unprecedented. He also established a philanthropic nonprofit trust, The Johnson Foundation. At about the same time, he commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design a new home for his family, called Wingspread. In 1959, a new nonprofit enterprise emerged inheriting The Johnson Foundation name and the family’s former home.

The new Johnson Foundation benefited from the family’s support, and constituted a distinct, philanthropic corporation with its own singular purpose – to operate Wingspread as an educational conference center, devoted to the free exchange of constructive and purposeful ideas.

Since its founding in 1959, a wide range of conferences have taken place on the grounds of The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread. The following organizations have their roots at Wingspread:

• National Endowment for the Arts
• National Public Radio
• International Criminal Court
• Presidential Climate Action Plan

The leadership and legacy of the Johnson family continued under Samuel C. "Sam" Johnson (1928 - 2004) who served as Chairman of The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread for more than forty years. Like his father and generations of his family before him, Sam was dedicated to helping make the world a better place through his personal and professional endeavors.

In 1975, Sam made environmental history by removing chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) from his company's products three years prior to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency CFC ban, and twelve years before the historic Montreal Protocol curbed CFC usage worldwide. A founding member of both the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and President Clinton's landmark Council on Sustainable Development, Sam was a tireless champion of green business practices, dubbed "corporate America's leading environmentalist" upon his induction into the U.S. Business Hall of Fame by Fortune magazine. He was the recipient of dozens of international environmental awards, including the United Nations' Lifetime Environmental Stewardship Award and the Charles A. Lindbergh Award for contributions furthering the balance between technology and the environment. Sam's philanthropy reflected his deep and active commitment to his Southeastern Wisconsin community, with charitable donations topping more than $200 million during his lifetime.

Today, a new generation of Johnson leaders are driving the charge to bring their family's vision of a better world to reality. They are:

• S. Curtis Johnson, Chairman of Diversey - a leading global provider of commercial cleaning and hygiene solutions, is one of twenty-one industry Climate Leaders committed to collectively reduce CO2 emissions from their operations by 50 million tons next year. He has also contributed $1 Million toward the Global Water Roundtable, a powerful new tool designed to improve the way water is managed through the establishment of rigorous, realistic water stewardship standards.
• H. Fisk Johnson, Chairman & CEO of S. C. Johnson - a global household consumer products leader, is championing greener product design with the patented Greenlist™ process, a unique raw material rating system to ensure continuous product improvement through the use of cleaner, safer ingredients and packaging. The process has received wide-spread independent acclaim and is available to other companies through royalty-free licenses. Under his leadership, S. C. Johnson has also reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 27 percent since 2005 and become a U.S. Climate Leader.
• Helen Johnson-Leipold, Chairman & CEO of Johnson Outdoors and Chairman of Johnson Financial Group - global outdoor recreational products and financial services leaders respectively, is driving efforts to strengthen communities and help protect the environment. The Johnson Building, headquarters for both enterprises, is a model of sustainable architecture employing maximum energy efficiency technologies and recycled resources throughout its interior. She is founder and Chairman of Next Generation Now, a unique family resource and childcare center in Racine's central city neighborhood striving to provide at-risk children a healthy start in life during their early formative years and Chairman of the Board for The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread. It was under her guidance that The Johnson Foundation's new strategic focus on the environment came to life. Joining her in that effort was her sister, Winifred Marquart and her mother Imogene P. Johnson, both members of The Johnson Foundation's Board.

The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread is supported through the generous contributions of S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. and JohnsonDiversey.