European Outdoor Group’s Sustainability Working Group (SWG) website now live

Zug, Switzerland – The European Outdoor Group’s Sustainability Working Group (SWG) now has a live website — www.europeanoutdoorsustainability.org — which gives access to updates of all areas of the SWG’s work.



The mission of the SWG is to provide business relevant insight and solutions to sustainability challenges facing the outdoor industry and its global stakeholders. Incorporating a comprehensive lifecycle perspective, the Sustainability Working Group’s key areas of focus are:

• Improving the ecological / environmental impact of the industry
• Ensuring the industry is up-to-date on relevant environmental and health and safety legislation as it relates to products and services
• Maintaining dialogue with relevant stakeholders
• Facilitating facts-based communication of sustainability credentials, including review of certification and labelling schemes
• Providing common positions on sustainability topics for the (EU) outdoor industry

Cortney McDermott, Chair of the SWG commented “In a relatively short period of time we have managed to move quickly forward, we aim to have tangible benefits available to the wider industry as soon as possible. The whole area of sustainability is vital for today’s industry, the environmental performance of a product system can be extremely challenging but by working as an industry and sharing information we will solve some of the problems.”

The website is now live at www.europeanoutdoorsustainability.org and is currently accessible to everyone. As the site is developed, further levels of membership will be introduced that will allow access to specific areas of the site. The area currently live is the public level giving an introduction to the SWG and allowing everyone to keep up-to-date. The Group encourages everyone to sign up to the site, when you sign up you will be contacted and asked at what level you would be interested in being involved.



Sustainability Workshop

An important and highly topical Sustainability Workshop will be held during OutDoor this summer. The Workshop will take place from 8.30am on the Friday morning of the fair, the 17th July. The Workshop will offer an opportunity for the industry to get involved, hear the latest developments, and the SWG are also inviting key industry professionals along to ensure that the event is of benefit to all in the industry. One area that will be covered is the impact of REACH within the outdoor sector and how companies, small and large alike can cope with the regulations being faced. This is a key industry event, open for everyone to attend, further information about the event will be available shortly but please mark it in your diary.



Outreach

Two new committees have been set up to look at End-of-Life and also Regulations and Standards, others will be added as the SWG progresses. The Group is looking for new people to join these committees, anyone interested should sign up on the website.



The SWG has also established a relationship with Defra (the UK’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) and was present at the launch of the Clothing Sustainability Roadmap in March. Discussions are also progressing with the US ECO Working Group concerning how the Groups can work together to ensure a cohesive approach to sustainability for an international industry. The SWG is also addressing the compatibility of the US ECO Working Group Index with European requirements and its suitability as an international Index.



The work of the SWG is NOT exclusive to members of the European Outdoor Group; it is operating on an open source basis and welcomes involvement from all areas of the supply chain.



About the EOG

The European Outdoor Group is an association set up to represent the common interests of the European outdoor industry. Founded in 2003 the European Outdoor Group has 46 members, which include some of the largest brands in the world. The combined strength of the member brands, and a close cooperation with national outdoor associations, provides an extremely powerful force to represent the European outdoor industry in a constructive and positive manner.



Further information about the European Outdoor Group can be found on the website:

www.europeanoutdoorgroup.com ; Or contact Vanessa Knowles — vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com



The Sustainability Working Group was established at an open meeting at the OutDoor fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany in 2008. The Steering Group of the SWG is currently made up of representatives from Vaude, Mammut, W L Gore, Odlo, Salomon, Haglöfs, The North Face, Deuter, Globetrotter, Petzl and the European Outdoor Group. Further information about the Sustainability Working Group can be found on the website:

www.europeanoutdoorsustainability.org