PARK CITY, UT, BOULDER, CO, LAKEWOOD, CO (May 13, 2020) Today, the Outdoor Business Climate Partnership (OBCP), an alliance between Snowsports Industries America (SIA), the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) and the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) joined “Lead On Climate 2020,” the largest ever call-to-action from the business community to the United States Congress to protect our nation’s industries from the impacts of climate change.
The group called on a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers to build back a better economy by infusing resilient, long-term climate solutions into future economic recovery plans, while working towards long-term climate solutions. These include enacting policies to support efforts to mitigate climate risk and invest in a net-zero emissions economy, as well as longer-term solutions, including a price on carbon.
CEOs and representatives from more than 330 businesses were in attendance, collectively representing combined annual revenues of more than $1 trillion, a combined market valuation of nearly $11.5 trillion, and more than 3 million U.S. employees.
Participating businesses included Fortune 500 companies such as Mars, Inc., Microsoft, NIKE, Pepsico, Salesforce, VISA,
and outdoor industry companies:
- Alterra Mountain Company
- Arapahoe Basin Ski Area
- Boyne Resorts
- Burton
- Clif Bar
- Jones Snowboards
- Pacific Group Resorts, Inc.
- Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association
- Patagonia
- Powdr
- Ski California
- Ski New Hampshire
- Ski Vermont
- Solitude Mountain Resort
- Vail Resorts
- VF Corp
Click here for a full list of participating businesses.
“Today’s LEAD on Climate 2020 was a bright spot during extremely challenging times. The ski industry is proud to join over 300 companies to share our strong position with members of Congress,” said Kelly Pawlak, president and CEO of the National Ski Areas Association. “We believe now is the right time to utilize our learnings from COVID-19 and come back stronger in our fight against the climate crisis. Ski areas are ready to roll up their sleeves and work with lawmakers to find economically sound and sustainable solutions.”
“The pandemic has given us a glimpse into the future if we choose to remain unprepared for what we know is coming on climate change,” said Nick Sargent, SIA’s president. “It is imperative that all of us in the corporate community drive this change towards a more resilient economy, but we can’t do it alone, we need Congress to be our partners, to tackle this together.”
“While we are hopeful about seeing so many Americans getting outside to finding solace and healing amid this pandemic, we are also worried because that thriving outdoor experience is under threat. Outdoor businesses — and the communities they serve — know that they could come through the COVID crisis only to face another: climate change,” says Lise Aangeenbrug, executive director of Outdoor Industry Association. “The potential of another devastating wildfire season — which could close parks, campgrounds and fishing holes — all on the heels of this past winter sports season that was cut short by the pandemic, put the $887 billion recreation economy at risk. More than 70 outdoor businesses participate in OIA’s Climate Action Corps to mitigate our own impact on the climate, and we’re urging Congress to accelerate our nation’s recovery from COVID-19 while ensuring the future of the American outdoor experience.”
OBCP is an alliance of the three major outdoor industry trade groups (SIA, OIA, NSAA) representing a large portion of the outdoor business sector, which helps to support the $887 billion outdoor recreation economy and its 7.6 million jobs. This influential coalition is committed to elevating the business voice of the outdoor industry to drive bipartisan action on climate.
Today’s effort was managed virtually, with conversations taking place from home offices and remote locations across the country.