Outdoor Insight

Winter 2021 • Outdoor Insight • 7 outdoorinsightmag.com Climate Change Front & Center During OR Winter Online T he rallying cry around climate change that kicked off the Outdoor Retailer Winter Online show outlines an industry-wide approach of goal set- ting, partnerships and game-changing innovation. A Climate Action themed program that opened Day 1 of the January 2021 virtual event will extend over a 10 week period into March with a series of climate-related sessions reinforcing climate not only as the key talking point of OR Winter market, but as a defining feature of outdoor brands. "Positive impact for people and planet is the new business as usual," said Amy Horton, senior director, Sustainable Business Innovation, Outdoor Industry Association (OIA). "We need to remove more carbon than we emit." Horton introduced OIA's Climate Action Corps, an organization launched a year ago that currently consists of 185 individuals and 85 companies that together represent about $20B in revenue. It is part of OIA's collaborative industry mission toward being climate positive by 2050 or sooner. Companies that join commit to measure, plan and reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and share their progress annually. Climate Action Corp's five guiding principles are: Learn how to Make Better, Transport Smarter, Run Cleaner, Grow Creatively, Advocate and Engage and more, "Basically If we don't solve the climate prob- lem, then everything else is moot," stated Andrew Winston who gave the keynote address. "Businesses can apply solutions via operations, materials and manufacturing, as well as lifestyle influences. By the time we recognize exponential growth trends, and we are knee deep in a problem, it is often too late, whether that is spread of COVID or rise in climate change. Now we need to move with scale and speed." Winston is a recognized strategy expert and sustainability guru, whose talk, "The Big Pivot – Sustainability and Climate Action in Volatile Times," highlighted how consumer expectations of companies are shifting fast with individuals increasingly focused on corporate transparency and authenticity, particularly when it comes to concerns around sustainability. He noted that 95 percent of the world's largest companies have sustainable goals in place and an estimated 1100 firms have science based goals, with the aim to be carbon negative by 2050. "These busi- nesses are setting ambitious goals for their suppliers, too," Winston added. l LEAVE NOTHING TO CHANCE ® since 1996

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