Surfing enthusiasts from across San Diego will gather to participate in Rerip.com’s third annual “Future of Surfing” surfboard swap and community fundraiser on Saturday, October 17th in Solana Beach. In addition to the surfboard swap and green product offerings, the event now will feature two skate ramps with demo’s by OB Surf and Skate’s team of skaters and over $5,000 dollars in green prizes and giveaways.
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This FUEL TV exclusive series explores the challenges facing our environment through the unique perspective of pro snowboarder Travis Parker.
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Vail Resorts, which offsets 100% of its power usage with wind energy, came in at number 25 on the EPA’s list of green power purchasers.
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SAN FRANCISCO – Ceres president Mindy Lubber announced that three new companies – Aspen Skiing Company, Clif Bar, and Seventh Generation - have joined the new coalition Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP). The coalition is calling for passage of strong U.S. climate and energy policies in 2009 to spur development of a clean energy economy in America and reduce global warming pollution.
The announcement came at Ceres’ annual conference in San Francisco, last week on April 16. Ceres, a leading coalition of investors and environmental groups working with companies to address sustainability challenges like climate change, coordinates BICEP.
Lubber greeted the newest BICEP members by pointing to the foresight embodied in their much-admired business models. “These companies have already proven that they see the future,” Lubber said “They’re pioneers in sustainable business practices that extend to every corner of their stakeholder communities – from employees and customers to operations and supply chains around the world.
“So it’s no surprise that these companies are joining BICEP in tackling our nation’s climate and energy challenges,” Lubber said. “We welcome these new BICEP members and look forward to their contributions in achieving strong Congressional action to catalyze a clean energy economy.”
Elysa Hammond, who oversees Clif Bar’s environmental impact efforts, said that addressing climate change has always been at the forefront of the company’s sustainability program.
“As a food company we understand that growing food depends on a stable climate,” she said. “We also recognize that the food industry contributes significantly to global carbon emissions and has a responsibility to take action. And as a company run by people who love the outdoors, we recognize that global warming threatens the places we care about most deeply. So we’re honored to join the BICEP coalition of businesses speaking up on behalf of strong and effective climate policy.”
BICEP was launched in November by Levi Strauss & Co., Nike, Starbucks, Sun Microsystems and The Timberland Co. Last month three other companies joined — eBay, Gap and Symantec.
This third wave of companies joining BICEP comes against the backdrop of growing momentum for strong nationwide energy and climate policies. BICEP members say an emphasis on energy efficiency and renewable energy provides the least expensive way forward for addressing climate change and transitioning to a clean energy economy. The group issued a statement last week supporting the core principles of the Waxman/Markey climate and energy bill introduced in Congress March 31.
The coalition’s core principles include stimulating production of renewable energy, promoting energy efficiency and clean energy jobs, requiring the auction of all carbon allowances and limiting new coal-fired power plants to those that capture and store carbon emissions. Details on BICEP’s principles can be found at http://www.ceres.org/bicep.
Auden Schendler, Aspen Skiing Company’s Executive Director for Sustainability, said BICEP’s work in the current climate and energy policy debate makes it “the most important and meaningful part” of companywide efforts to address climate change.
“It trumps all of our other activities,” Schendler said. “We see climate as a key strategic issue facing the ski industry — in Colorado alone winter sports are a $2 billion business and all of it is threatened by changes in climate. In turn those changes affect other parts of our economy like hunting, fishing, whitewater rafting and ranching. That’s why this is job one for us.”
Seventh Generation President Jeffrey Hollender said that joining BICEP is important to his company “because a planet at risk puts our business at risk. We believe the purpose of business is not separate from the project of humanity.”
The new BICEP companies all have long track records of making sustainability a central component of their business models:
n Aspen Skiing Company, owner of the four-season Aspen/Snowmass resort, has been a pioneer in the use of wind power, green building technology and biodiesel fuels.
n Clif Bar has erected 13 wind turbines to offset its carbon footprint and instituted a “Cool Commute” employee incentive program that has resulted in the purchase of 33 hybrid or bio-diesel vehicles thus far.
n Seventh Generation is a leader in the production of non-toxic household products and in consumer education about those products. The company has also blazed a trail by candidly discussing in its public documents and reports its failures as well as successes in reaching sustainability goals.
For more information about Ceres, visit http://www.ceres.org
Disbursement invests in projects throughout the US and Canada
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Sandpoint, ID - Schweitzer Mountain Resort has announced several initiatives intended to reduce the Idaho ski and snowboard resort’s impact on the environment. Schweitzer hired an environmental coordinator, signed the National Ski Area Association’s Sustainable Slopes Initiative, purchased wind energy to operate several chairlifts, enlisted an environmental committee to work on improvements resort wide, and implemented a contest to see how much energy the resort could save last summer.
“It’s important that we in the ski industry recognize the importance of supporting the environment that supports us,” said Tom Chasse, Schweitzer’s President and CEO. “I am glad that we’ve found ways over the last year to take some significant steps to lighten our impact on the environment.”
By signing the Sustainable Slopes Initiative, Schweitzer committed to improving their environmental performance in all aspects of their operations. One step in that direction was to purchase 1000mwh of “Green Tags” that pay for energy to be purchased from regional wind energy producers through a partnership with Northern Lights, Inc. After an assessment of past energy use it was determined that the wind energy credits could be used to completely power Schweitzer’s Basin Express Quad, Great Escape Quad and Lakeview Triple chairlifts for the entire 2008-09 ski and snowboard season.
“Not only is Schweitzer able to reduce our energy consumption by buying the green tags, but also we reduced our energy consumption in August and September by 27% through a resort wide energy challenge,” said Kerri Kuntz, Schweitzer’s environmental coordinator. “It’s really cool to see people from every department on the mountain come together as an environmental committee and come up with great ideas to implement resort wide.”
The committee is working to improve recycling, reduce energy use, improve land use practices, provide transportation options, and increase guest awareness of ways they can contribute.
Resort owner and president to be recognized on October 4th
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Outdoor Industry Delegation Visits Washington DC to Voice Support for Proposal to Protect 2 Million Acres and Nearly 1000 Miles of Rivers
Bend, Ore., September 16, 2008 — A group of four Conservation Alliance members traveled to Washington DC to talk to members of the Congress about the importance of a proposal to protect more than 2 million acres of public land and more than 1000 miles of rivers.
Representatives from The North Face, Osprey, The Forest Group, and The Conservation Alliance spent two days in meetings with 13 House and Senate offices to show support for a legislative package that includes more than 150 public lands bills. Included in the package are proposals to:
• Protect 128,000 acres of Wilderness and 80 miles of rivers on Oregon’s Mount Hood
• Designate 250,000 acres in Rocky Mountain National Park as Wilderness
• Secure Wild and Scenic River designation for 440 miles of streams in Wyoming’s Snake River headwaters
• Prohibit new oil and gas leases on 1.2 million acres of the Wyoming Range
• Protect 92,000 acres of public land in West Virginia and Virginia
• Protect more than 600,000 acres of Wilderness in California’s Eastern Sierra, White Mountains, and desert regions.
• Preserve the Badlands and Spring Basin, 40,000 acres of desert wilderness in Oregon
“This package of bills represents a nationwide conservation agenda,” said John Sterling, Conservation Alliance Executive Director. “Our members understand that protected public lands are important to the future of the outdoor industry.”
The proposal could go to the Senate floor for a vote the week of September 22. If it passes, it will then be up to the House to consider the legislation before Congress adjourns in early October to prepare for the November 4 election.
“We hope Congress takes action on this historic legislation before the elections,” said Sterling. “Each provision in the bill has broad, bipartisan support, which voters will appreciate.”
Before these wildland-protection campaigns took legislative form, The Conservation Alliance supported local, grassroots organizations for their efforts to demonstrate that the places should be protected. Whenever possible, the Alliance supplements funding with efforts by our member companies to voice business support for conservation efforts.
“We have invested our members’ dues heavily in these conservation efforts, and hope to show an ROI by the end of the year,” said Sterling.
Trip participants were Brook Shinsky (The North Face), Megan Waterman (Osprey), Deanna Kavanaugh-Jones (The Forest Group), and Sterling.
About The Conservation Alliance:
The Conservation Alliance is an organization of outdoor businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots environmental organizations and their efforts to protect wild places where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. Alliance funds have played a key role in protecting rivers, trails, wildlands and climbing areas.
Membership in the Alliance is open to companies representing all aspects of the outdoor industry, including manufacturers, retailers, publishers, mills and sales representatives. The result is a diverse group of businesses whose livelihood depends on protecting our natural environment.
Since its inception in 1989, the Alliance has contributed more than $6.5 million to grassroots environmental groups. Alliance funding has helped save over 38 million acres of wildlands; 26 dams have either been stopped or removed; and the group helped preserve access to more than 16,000 miles of waterways and several climbing areas.
For complete information on the Conservation Alliance, see www.conservationalliance.com.
Copper Mountain, CO - Copper Mountain released the Colorado ski and snowboard resort’s 2008 Environmental Report on Tuesday, highlighting Copper’s existing and upcoming environmental initiatives, including the installation of a 4.2 kilowatt photovoltaic system at the Transportation Center, Green Globes certification of the new Woodward at Copper facility and the creation of an employee-based fund to support local youth environmental programs.
“The theme of the report this year is simple – we can all take action in our own lives to get involved in protecting the environment,” said Copper Environmental Manager Jen Schenk. “Copper simplified the 2008 Environmental Report this year by adding some tips on how guests can ‘Get Involved’ in helping us protect the environment.”
During the 2007-08 ski and snowboard season Copper created an employee environmental fund, through which more than $5,000 was granted to four projects to support local youth environmental action and education initiatives. Copper
has recently completed energy assessments for all the facilities it owns to determine areas where energy savings can be implemented, showing a 1% decrease in electricity consumption and a 9% decrease in natural gas usage over the past year.
Copper’s Environmental Report outlines initiatives for 2008-09 as well. Copper’s first solar project has been installed and photovoltaic panels now line the south-facing roof of Copper’s Transportation Center located in the Alpine Lot, providing a portion of the electricity for the building. In addition, construction of the 19,000 square-foot Woodward at Copper facility is underway; Copper will achieve two Green Globes, a third-party green building standards program promoting sustainability in building design and construction.
On select weekends this season, Copper will be offering preferred parking in the Alpine Lot for those carpooling, with guests enjoying VIP parking close to the shuttle buses and a short walk back to their car at the end of the day. Guests will also be given bumper stickers encouraging carpooling.
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