Photo by Andreas Chu on Unsplash
In January, the Outdoor Industry Association has announced a new project aimed to get outdoor companies reach net zero emissions by 2050: the Climate Action Corps. Any proactive approach of brands, retailers, manufacturers and suppliers will be supported.
The Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) is a membership-driven trade organization for the outdoor industry. It aims to supporting business innovation and increasing outdoor participation. Each year, OIA publishes an annual report highlighting the organizations’ strategic initiatives and accomplishments of the past year.
“Together we are a force for climate action”, says Amy Horton, Senior Director, Sustainable Business Innovation at the Outdoor Industry Association. “Let’s not lose sight of our long-term vision for a net-positive outdoor industry and embrace the potential opportunity this crisis presents to us – to build resilience and to reinvent our businesses and our industry for the better.”
About the Climate Action Corps
Two months ago, OIA announced a new project: the Climate Action Corps. This initiative allows companies to commit themselves to take care of the environment; once joined, firms must perform the following activities:
- Measure their current carbon footprint
- Set greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets
- Create company-specific plans and reductions over time
- Share their progress annually – consenting this information to be made public in an annual OIA report to ensure full transparency.
To date, more than 60 outdoor industry companies have joined the Climate Action Corps and more are joining each week. Throughout the process, the OIA supports participating companies with a Climate Action Trail Map and Guidebook, which includes measurement guidance and reduction strategies. The OIA aims at aligning companies’ emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement targets – to become climate positive.
Why joining the Climate Action Corps?
According to the OIA website, “you are considering joining the Climate Action Corps because you believe that climate change poses an existential threat to the outdoors and to our industry. You share the vision that a world where our operations and supply chains are as energy efficient as possible; powered by clean, renewable energy; using low-carbon materials and processes; and driven by circular business models will ensure that our natural playgrounds and our businesses thrive for generations.” And this is the best answer one can get.
Take a look here to read the top 5 reasons to join such ambitious initiative.
