On Wednesday, at the Outdoor Retailer Snow Show, Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), Snowsports Industries America (SIA) and the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) announced the formation of the Outdoor Business Climate Partnership, an alliance that will provide leadership on advocacy and inspire meaningful action on climate change across the outdoor business sector.
Climate change is a threat to the outdoor recreation industry and the $887 billion it contributes annually to the U.S. economy. The group’s businesses, customers and the nearly 150 million Americans who participate in outdoor activities each year are dependent on a stable climate and have a vested interest in being part of climate solutions.
The Outdoor Business Climate Partnership is the first-ever broad collaboration among the trade groups, who now stand united in working to mobilize their memberships to increase action on climate change. The group will join forces to support the passage of comprehensive, bipartisan climate legislation in Congress, the adoption of market-based policies that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and decarbonization of the grid through state and utility level initiatives.
“Outdoor Industry Association and our members have a two-part effort to addressing climate change. Over the last decade, we’ve led the way in developing tool sets to reduce the environmental impacts of the products we sell. These efforts have been adopted by major retailers and brands in the outdoor industry. In tandem, we use our industry’s unified voice to support impactful policies at the state and federal level,” said Amy Roberts, OIA executive director. “Our efforts can be magnified by coming together with these other associations to collaborate and bring a stronger voice to the table in hopes of amplifying our impact in addressing this global issue.”
“As three associations representing outdoor retailers, brands, suppliers, and resorts across the country, we share a common desire to see progress on climate and are joining hands to amplify our impact. This kind of bold collaboration and commitment is what’s needed now if we’re going to effectively tackle this urgent issue,” said Nick Sargent, SIA president.
“This new partnership is an important milestone in NSAA’s continuing efforts to lead on climate change solutions,” said Kelly Pawlak, NSAA president and CEO. “An ‘all hands on deck’ approach is essential in meeting a challenge as significant as climate change, and together we‘ll have a stronger voice to drive change inside and outside of the outdoor recreation industry.”
The announcement was made at the 2019 annual Outdoor Retailer Show Snow, the annual gathering of the outdoor and snow sports industries in Denver.
