Last week, the Outdoor Business Climate Partnership (OBCP), made up of Snowsports Industries America (SIA), the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) and the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) joined over 76 companies on Capitol Hill to advocate for immediate and bipartisan climate action, specifically, putting a price on carbon. We spent two days alongside companies such as Nike, Microsoft, Ben & Jerrys, and many others, representing the largest business gathering on Capitol Hill to advocate for climate legislation in over a decade, incorporating businesses representing over 1.2 million U.S. jobs, and with a combined 2018 revenue of over $2.5 trillion.
In addition to SIA, OIA, and NSAA, the delegation from the outdoor and snow sports industries included Vail Resorts, Colorado Ski Country USA, Rossignol, Phunkshun Wear, Ski New Hampshire, Ski Vermont, Arapahoe Basin and Aspen Skiing Company.
Aside from over 83 meetings with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, two CEO-only roundtable events were held, with Rossignol CEO Francois Goulet and Colorado Ski Country USA President Melanie Mills speaking directly with both Democrats and Republican lawmakers about climate change and its impacts on their business. Present at the meetings were Utah Senator Mitt Romney, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Ed Markey, Rep. Matt Gaetz and Senator Chris Coons, to name a few.
“This week, I had the unique privilege to meet with lawmakers in private conversations, to discuss solutions to climate change and it was clear that they value the input from the business community. As one of the larger brands in the snow sports industry, we have a responsibility to show up, to elevate our voices and achieve the solutions we need”
-Francois Goulet, CEO Rossignol
Throughout the day, in our conversations with lawmakers, we heard that the business voice is important on Capitol Hill, and our lawmakers need to hear more from us. And since our businesses are intrinsically dependent on the health of the planet, our voices are incredibly powerful and persuasive. It was abundantly clear that we need to show up in DC more often.
“In each meeting, we heard that the business voice is a critical part of making the progress we need on climate,” said SIA President Nick Sargent. “SIA is committed to engaging the entire snow sports business community to elevate their influence and dial up their voices on this important and urgent issue.”
The Outdoor Business Climate Partnership represents the majority of the $887 billion outdoor business sector and we’re committed to elevating the collective business voice of our industry to drive progress against climate change.
Thank you to all of the companies and associations that took the time to be part of this incredible day. And thank you to Ceres for hosting us and giving all of these companies a platform to speak out.
