Specialized called on fellow cycling companies to join a coalition to coordinate carbon recycling with the aerospace industry as part of a broader corporate initiative that position the company as the industry most visible advocate for sustainable manufacturing.

 

The California company also announced that it had become the first major bicycle brand to adopt the Eco Index, a system created by Outdoor Industry Association to measure and manage the environmental impact of apparel, footwear and equipment.


We are committed to becoming the leader of sustainable practices in the cycling industry, said Specialized President and Founder Mike Sinyard. As cyclists, we are passionate about our time outdoors, and by nature of the sport, are tied to the health of the planet. We want to ensure this is reflected in how we manufacture bicycles, and ultimately, that the cycling industry becomes the model other industries look to on sustainability practices.


Specialized has hired Bryant Bainbridge as full-time sustainability strategist to spearhead its initiatives. Bainbridge, a Specialized R&D employee in the ‘80s, returns to the company from Nike, where he directed the team that created sustainability metrics for the brand; and co-authored Nikes Considered Index-widely recognized as one of the most comprehensive systems for predicting the environmental footprint of products during the design phase.