Outdoor Retailer - January 2021 - 12

THE PULSE
Amy Horton
launches
OIA's Climate
Action Corps
at Outdoor
Retailer last
January.

HEADLINES

Carbon Reduction Made Easy
AT OUTDOOR RETAILER IN JANUARY
2020, Outdoor Industry Association (OIA)
launched the Climate Action Corps as a collaborative model for alignment, action,
and accountability around climate change.
According to OIA, " The $887 billion outdoor recreation industry exists and subsists
at the intersection of a healthy environment
and a functioning global economy, so climate
change poses a double threat to our financial
values and our outdoor values. "
Through the Corps, OIA provides tools for
outdoor industry companies to measure carbon emissions, define target emissions, and
plan reductions. The Corps wants the outdoor
industry to remove more carbon than it emits
by 2050, with product manufacturing, distribution, useful life, and end-of-lifecycle recycling that's carbon neutral or better.
" There have been many pledges, statements,
and commitments, but the Action Corps has

12 OUTDOOR RETAILER

/ January 2021

more teeth, " says Amy Horton, OIA's senior
director of sustainable business innovation.
" Members are expected to measure their supply chain, set reduction targets, reduce carbon
emissions, and share progress annually. "
The Corps launched with 35 founding members, companies large and small.
Today, it has 85 members and it's growing.
PeopleForBikes (P4B) joined the Climate
Action Corps in the fall. Its members now
receive OIA pricing, which starts at $500 and
is revenue-dependent, and P4B helps govern the Corps. OIA plans to eventually open
the Corps to other industries. Housewares
manufacturer OXO is a member. But other
nonendemic companies have been turned
away for now.
It's a good deal. Join the Climate Action
Corps, and your company gets measurement
tools, reduced-price access to consultants, and
the power of collective knowledge. For manu-

facturers, the greatest opportunity for carbon
savings is in the supply chain. OIA hopes that,
through the Corps, brands will develop bargaining power with their suppliers.
One of the most significant Corps member resources is the Climate Action Cops
Guidebook, which provides step-by-step
directions for calculating carbon output.
" Companies don't know their supply chains, "
says Horton. " Until you do, it's hard to get
information from the players to help quantify your impact. " OIA values the guidebook
at $10,000 to $50,000 and says it can save
companies thousands of hours and dollars.
Another critical Corps resource is support
from colleagues who, in most other contexts,
would be competitors. Some members are
well along the path to carbon neutrality, but
many are just getting started. In the context
of the Corps, companies with experience and
sustainability staff work as mentors and as

Billy Jesberg, courtesy of Outdoor Industry Association

Outdoor Industry Association has committed to uniting the industry in becoming
carbon positive by 2050. by Berne Broudy

http:// https://outdoorindustry.org/climateaction

Outdoor Retailer - January 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outdoor Retailer - January 2021