Many stakeholders from the outdoor and sports industry want to be part of the solution in the fight against climate change. This is why representatives from the industry attended a panel at this December’s climate conference in Dubai (COP28) for the first time.
The climate conference in Dubai ended in mid-December with a groundbreaking decision. For the first time, an agreement was reached on “transitioning away from fossil fuels.” The program of the mega-event with 70,000 participants also included a panel that directly addressed the outdoor industry for the first time: “The Outdoor Industry: The most important climate and global sustainability solution provider?” with Christian Schneidermeier, CEO of Ortovox, on stage.
Other remote speakers on that panel included Arne Strate, General Secretary European Outdoor Group (EOG), Marie-Laure Piednoir, Global Sustainability and Impact Director Salomon, Emma Zwiebler, Interim CEO WFSGI, and David Ekelund, CEO Icebug. Schneidermeier emphasized the need to reconnect with nature to make capable decisions. Here is the replay of the session:
After COP28, Zwiebler and Ekelund underlined how important participation was for the outdoor and sports industry. Zwiebler: “The industry [outdoor and sports] needs to be more visible at major summits like COP28 so that policymakers have a greater awareness of the importance of increasing levels of physical activity to support a healthy, active and sustainable future.”
UNFCC was looking for solution providers
Ekelund said: “Yes, it’s very important for outdoor and sports to join. This marked the very first time on the UNFCCC program, but it won’t be the last. We’re not a big part of the problem but could be a big part of the solution. We might hold a key on how to live rich lives with small resource use and carbon footprint.”
Ekelund explained how participation in the conference came about: “There’s been a pretty long wind up to this. We were first approached by the UNFCCC organization ‘Mission Innovation’ during early Spring.” The UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) sought solution providers, companies and sectors to contribute to a world where 8 to 11 billion people can live flourishing lives on a regenerative planet. Initial findings at Icebug led to targeting a broader scope, looking at the positive impact in contribution to avoided emissions from the outdoor sector. “At EOS [European Outdoor Summit 2023 in Berlin], we first presented this, and it sparked much interest.”
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Industry wants to attend COP29
Ekelund assumes that COP28 was not the last participation. “COP28 was just the start. We promised to be back at COP29 with concrete results.” An important lever and decisive anchor point for both Ekelund and Zwiebler is the topic of physical activity, which needs to be put on the political agenda. Zwiebler: “Physical activity has been engineered out of peoples’ lives for decades, and we are at a clear tipping point where, without change, 500 million additional people will fall into ill health globally by 2030 and will be more vulnerable to the impact of climate change.”
Collaborations are key to mastering this challenge. The industry cannot elevate levels of physical activity alone. “We need more stakeholders and policymakers to recognize the importance of physical activity and join us on our journey to promote physical activity as a solution to a sustainable future,” said Zwiebler. According to Ekelund, this includes, for example, everyone’s right of access to green spaces. “The reason why it’s important to be at COP is to have that up on the decision-making agenda.”
