At the annual conference of the German Ski Association (DSV), the SIS Eco Award, endowed with €7,500, was once again presented – this year to Tecnica Group SpA for its Recycle Your Boots project.
The Safety in Skiing Foundation (SIS) was looking for sustainable projects that implement resource conservation and the circular economy in the ski equipment/hardware sector and thus promote the efficient use of resources. With Recycle Your Boots, which is being implemented by the group’s ski boot brands Nordica and Tecnica, Italy-based Tecnica Group has taken an important first step in this direction with a major lighthouse effect, the foundation said. The project is based on the establishment of a transnational supply chain for the recycling of ski boots at the end of their life cycle and the processing of recycled plastics. In short, instead of several thousand tons of environmentally harmful waste (thermoplastic polyurethanes and polypropylenes, metal and expanded plastic), a sustainable and efficient recycling of raw materials. By setting up a sustainable, transnational system for taking back, separating and recycling ski boots – regardless of the manufacturer – over 43 tons of plastic waste have been recycled, and almost 350 tons of CO₂ emissions have been saved to date.
The decisive factors in the SIS’ assessment were the particular innovation in the circular economy, the efficient use of materials and energy and the combination of recycling and rethought, future-oriented product design. Projects such as Recycle Your Boots contribute to raising awareness of waste management and recycling and the importance of a resource-conserving ski industry.
The award ceremony took place in May of this year as part of the DSV annual conference in Rottach-Egern. Dr. Karl-Friedrich Ziegahn, a member of the Advisory Board for Environment and Sustainable Ski Sport Development, gave the laudatory speech. DSV President Dr. Franz Steinle presented the award to Julia Ossovsky from Blizzard-Tecnica Germany. In her presentation, the marketing manager particularly highlighted the cross-brand collaboration within the project and emphasized the importance of joint approaches for a more sustainable development of the industry.
