The EUROPEAN OUTDOOR GROUP (EOG) has reported significant progress from a project it is facilitating to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase renewable energy usage within the outdoor industry supply chain. The groundbreaking Supply Chain Decarbonisation Project (SCDP) is part of the EOG’s wider Climate Action Programme.
It’s a pre-competitive collaborative initiative that has already secured active involvement from ten major brands during its pilot phase. SCDP, launched in early 2021, is following a three-stage process. The first was a mapping exercise of the brands’ top tier 1 and 2 supplier networks. This confirmed there is a degree of crossover in the facilities used by those companies involved.
The second stage, which is currently underway, involves the engagement of an external partner to conduct facility audits and identify greenhouse gas (GHG) emission hotspots. The final stage will see the participating organisations jointly supporting and financing facility improvements.
SCDP exploits the fact that while supply chains are global and diverse many outdoor companies are sharing production facilities. In this context, the brands supporting the project are:
- Collaboratively engaging with their shared suppliers
- Engaging in peer-to-peer knowledge sharing
- Taking real action towards the decarbonisation of the industry.
Working together in this way should enable organisations to significantly reduce their individual financial outlay per facility intervention. This may encourage less experienced or financially constrained brands to take part in similar supply chain facility improvement projects.
Dr. Katy Stevens, head of CSR and sustainability at the EOG, said, “What we are doing here is unique and it really shows the value of the EOG as a facilitator, as the brands would not be willing to disclose the information to each other, but are happy to do so to the association as a neutral body. We know that our brands have shared suppliers and we see SCDP as a real opportunity to leverage change.
“We had expected to see some commonality in the suppliers used by different brands, but were genuinely surprised by the level of that. This was from only 10 brands, and just their top 15 suppliers. If we can roll out this initiative across the whole industry, there will be a lot more crossover, with shared experiences and even more cost effective opportunities for collective decarbonisation.”
Dr. Verity Hardy, sustainability project manager at the EOG, added, “In collaboratively approaching facilities, our brands may have a greater influence in what infrastructure or technology improvements are made at each facility, and be seen as trailblazers in tackling GHG emission reduction. We are pre-emptively and proactively aiming for the outdoor industry to be part of the solution, as opposed to waiting until such time as European legislation forces companies into action.
“This project offers organisations an invaluable framework for joint action against climate change. The complexity of textile supply chains requires out of the box thinking to tackle the challenges of reducing the footprint caused by the goods produced and sold. SCDP not only offers a space where it is possible to strive for changes within the supply chain together, but also a great example that can be inspirational for other companies and networks.”
SCDP outdoor brand partners
Amer Sports
Burton
Deuter
Fenix Outdoor
GORE-TEX
Haglöfs
Helly Hansen
Mammut
ORTOVOX
Vaude
European Outdoor Group
The European Outdoor Group was founded in 2003 by 19 of the world’s largest outdoor companies, all of which recognised the need for a cohesive, cross border approach to representation of the outdoor sector. In a world of increasing internationalisation, legislation, environment, the media and trade are all now multinational issues.
The combined strength of the EOG’s 110 members provides the group with an extremely powerful force to represent the European outdoor industry in a constructive and positive manner.
