The Outdoor Industry Association Sustainability Working Group (SWG) presented its inaugural Individual Contribution Awards last week during Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in Salt Lake City. Greg Scott of Mountain Equipment Co-op and Nicole Bassett of Prana were recognized for years of dedication to the outdoor industrys sustainability efforts.
Scott has been involved with the SWG since its inception, including serving on the Advisory Council from 2009 to 2012. He has helped lead the Chemicals Management Working Group (CMWG), which is developing approaches and tools to assess and manage chemicals and their potential impacts on humans and the environment across product life cycles. His contributions have been instrumental to the development of SWGs sustainability indexes, which provide a common language and framework for measuring product sustainability.
All of us in the SWG do this work because we recognize how important and fundamental it is to our businesses, said Scott. I very much appreciate the recognition and look forward to continued participation in the development of tools and management systems that can help outdoor industry companies improve the sustainability of their products in a commercially viable manner.
Gregs dedication to the Chemicals Management Working Group has been integral to the success of this important industry effort, said Beth Jensen, director of corporate responsibility for Outdoor Industry Association (OIA). His understanding of complex issues and the time he has invested in this work has been indispensible.
Bassett has served as a leader for several important SWG groups. She has been chair of the Social Responsibility Working Group (SRWG) for the past year, and co-chair of the Organic Content Task Force within the Materials Traceability Working Group (MTWG). In addition, Nicole is a member of the MTWG Steering Committee.
It is so rewarding to see the progress weve made over the last several years, said Bassett. Our success is the result of tremendous collaboration. I am inspired to be involved because of the hundreds of people who are contributing to this great work, so it is a great honor to receive this award.
Nicole has made tremendous contributions to the OIA SWG, particularly in helping guide the SRWG in its creation of several important tools over the past year – even though she is only part-time at Prana, said Jensen. I am so thankful for her leadership and commitment, which have really helped advance the SWGs work.
The Sustainability Working Group is an amazing example of industry collaboration, said Frank Hugelmeyer, president and CEO of OIA. Were thrilled to present Greg and Nicole with these awards to acknowledge their contributions and leadership.
