The Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI) will begin advising the European Outdoor Group’s (EGO) Sustainability Working Group Standards and Regulation Committee under an agreement worked out by the two trade organizations.
FESI, which is based in Brussels, represents 1,800 companies with more than €60 billion in annual sales before European authorities on regulatory matters. EOG represents 50 global outdoors brands active in Europe. Both organizations have recently lobbied against extension of duties on footwear imports from Vietnam and China.
“FESI is in a unique position to access the information that our industry needs,” said Mark Held, Secretary General for EOG. “They monitor all legislative initiatives relating to the sporting goods industry at a European level and by working together we can provide an easily accessible resource.”
FESI’s input will be used by the EOG’s Sustainability Working Group to shape a web tool that will help members track EU regulations. The tool is scheduled to launch in February. The working group was formed in 2008 to help member companies measure and improve the environmental impact of their supply chains in anticipation of increasing government scrutiny. The association is currently helping its U.S. counterpart, the Outdoor Industry Association, develop an Eco Index the industry can use to set and reach their own sustainability goals.
FESI will act as an early warning system for the EOG’s Standards and Regulations Committee, ensuring that the EOG is able to provide the industry with timely, relevant information, said Reiner Hengstmann, global director social and environmental affairs PUMA, Supply chain and chairman of the FESI committee for the environment.
