The European Outdoor Groups Sustainability Working Group now has a live website, which gives access to updates of all areas of the SWGs work. The mission of the SWG is to provide business relevant insight and solutions to sustainability challenges facing the outdoor industry and its global stakeholders.
Incorporating a comprehensive lifecycle perspective, the Sustainability Working Group's key areas of focus are:
Improving the ecological / environmental impact of the industry
Ensuring the industry is up-to-date on relevant environmental and health and safety legislation as it relates to products and services
Maintaining dialogue with relevant stakeholders
Facilitating facts-based communication of sustainability credentials, including review of certification and labelling schemes
Providing common positions on sustainability topics for the (EU) outdoor industry
Cortney McDermott, chair of the SWG commented, “In a relatively short period of time we have managed to move quickly forward, we aim to have tangible benefits available to the wider industry as soon as possible. The whole area of sustainability is vital for todays industry, the environmental performance of a product system can be extremely challenging but by working as an industry and sharing information we will solve some of the problems.”
A Sustainability Workshop will be held during OutDoor this summer. The Workshop will take place at 8.30am on the Friday morning of the fair, July 17 and will offer an opportunity for the industry to get involved and hear the latest developments. The SWG is also inviting key industry professionals along to ensure that the event is of benefit to all in the industry. One area that will be covered is the impact of REACH within the outdoor sector and how companies, small and large alike can cope with the regulations being faced.
