THRIVING PEOPLE, THRIVING PLANET AND THRIVING BUSINESSES: BIDEN, CONGRESS AND THE OUTDOOR RECREATION ECONOMY

Presenters: George Cooper, Forbes-Tate; Rich Harper, Outdoor Industry Association; Taldi Harrison, REI; Amy Horton, Outdoor Industry Association; Mike Ratchford, W.L. Gore & Associates; Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.); Jeannie Renne-Malone, VF Corporation

Description: The 2020 general election was one of the most consequential in U.S. history for the outdoor recreation economy. And outdoor voters responded in record numbers in support of all aspects of our policy priorities. With a new administration and Congress, we now have the opportunity to build on the success of the Great American Outdoors Act and help tackle climate change, protect our public lands and waters, expand access to the outdoors for all Americans and help our industry recover from the COVID-19 pandemic with new investments in green infrastructure and close-to-home recreation and a balanced trade agenda. Join us for an exciting conversation on what lies ahead for the outdoor recreation economy and how we can play a meaningful role.

THRIVING PEOPLE AND THRIVING PLANET: THE 30 BY 30 INITIATIVE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A SHARED OUTDOOR FUTURE

Presenters: Lise Aangeenbrug, Outdoor Industry Association; Raina Thiele, Thiele Strategies; Maite Arce, Hispanic Access Foundation; Whit Fosburgh, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership; Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, Azul; Hans Cole, Patagonia

Description: Join us to find out more about 30 by 30 for People & Planet — an effort to protect at least 30 percent of America’s land and ocean area by 2030. Embraced by national and global thought leaders, the movement is likely to get more attention under a Biden administration. We’ve invited panelists with diverse perspectives — outdoor recreation advocates, sportsmen, tribal leaders and equity in the outdoors experts — to discuss how we can work together to simultaneously and symbiotically support public and private land conservation traditions in the U.S., address climate change, honor the sovereignty of tribal nations and ensure equitable access for current and future generations.

THRIVING PEOPLE AND PLANET: HOW PUBLIC POLICY CAN BUILD AN OUTDOORS FOR ALL

Moderator: Stephanie Maez, Outdoor Foundation

Presenters: Lesford Duncan, Outdoor Outreach; Deb Haaland, Secretary-Designate of Interior; Mike Knopp, RIVERSPORT Foundation; Axie Navas, New Mexico Office of Outdoor Recreation; Matthew Millspaugh, California Department of Parks and Recreation

Description: The Thrive Outside Initiative is focused on reversing the declining trend of outdoor engagement by working at the grassroots level, empowering diverse communities across America to make outdoor recreation an accessible lifestyle for all. While engaging in local communities and networks is critical, it is also imperative to work with policymakers at the local, state and federal levels to ensure that all youth and their families can thrive outside.

Join a panel of outdoor leaders, including Secretary-Designate of Interior Deb Haaland, as we discuss how public policy can increase outdoor participation in diverse communities and how increasing participation, in turn, supports outdoor policy and benefits such as youth development, environmental stewardship, overall health and wellness and more.

CLIMATE ACTION: RUN CLEANER. RENEWABLE ENERGY 101: SOURCING 100 PERCENT RENEWABLE IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK

Presenters: Bret Estep, Tenaska Renewable Energy Advisory Services; Michael Sadowski, Advisor to OIA; Sue Long, Sustainability Initiative Manger, REI

Description: Green Tariffs. REC. PPA. What does it all mean? If your company wants to source renewable energy in the United States but finds the landscape of acronyms and complex terminology dizzying, join this 101 session and let us cut through the clutter to bring you the need-to-know basics.

THE OUTDOOR BUSINESS CLIMATE PARTNERSHIP PRESENTS: CLIMATE ADVOCACY IN 2021

Presenters: Amy Horton, Outdoor Industry Association; Geraldine Link, National Ski Areas Association; Chris Steinkamp, Snowsports Industries America; Representative John Curtis (R-UT); Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO); Brendan McGuire, Vail Resorts

Description: The new administration has the most progressive climate agenda of any administration in U.S. history. There are lots of exciting changes in store, but also lots of hard work from all of us to make the most out of this opportunity to tackle this existential threat. Join us to learn more about the outlook and opportunities for progress at the federal level and how the winter outdoor industry can play a lead role in advancing federal climate policy in the new administration and 117th Congress.

INCLUSIVITY AT THE FOREFRONT: THE TIME IS NOW FOR BRANDS TO CHANGE

Moderator: Lindsay Peoples Wagner; Editor-in-Chief, Teen Vogue

Description: Learn how the fashion industry is taking meaningful action to integrate diversity, equity and inclusion principles and how the outdoor industry can find ways to truly allow everyone to use their voice.

Customers, employees and other stakeholders are demanding more than just words – they are expecting real action and accountability on diversity and inclusion. In response, Lindsay Peoples Wagner, who has shaped the Teen Vogue brand to be a model for inclusivity, social values and community, co-founded the Black in Fashion Council. The council has enlisted the support of the Human Rights Campaign to provide benchmarking around corporate policies and practices pertinent to the inclusivity of Black employees and to establish an Equality Index Score.

In her keynote presentation, Peoples Wagner will walk through the components of this index, flag harmful practices and provide actionable steps to increase inclusivity and make employees of color feel seen and heard. You’ll learn what brands should do (and not do) to authentically reflect and connect with customers, employees, stakeholders and their communities.

WEBINAR: Sustainability in Today’s Digital Climate

We are faced with a new season where selling virtually and digitally is vital. In this webinar, we will introduce you to Accelerate by RepSpark and cover the lessons learned from other brands during this transition.

Get ready as we cover new ways of:

  • Making transactions easier for buyers
  • How going digital is sustainable to your brand
  • Examples of brands adopting this solution and how it’s helped their business grow

 

What is Accelerate?
A B2B eCommerce platform for you to grow your wholesale business sustainably, including:

  • Custom Shoppable Digital Catalogs
  • Virtual Showrooms
  • Sales Order Management
  • Assortments, Line Presentations and more…

OIA members receive free onboarding and a 60 day trial for RepSpark’s Accelerate platform, a $3000 value.

Get Started

Covid Edition: Letter from Our Executive Director

It is hard to believe a full year has passed since the global coronavirus pandemic shut down our nation, ravaged communities and caused economic disruption unseen in our lifetimes. We won’t soon forget the devastation, and there is still much work ahead to repair the damages the outdoor industry incurred. However, as I reflect on the past year, I am inspired by how our community came together to respond to this crisis and to deliver some powerful achievements, demonstrating our resilience and strength.

I am particularly proud of the following actions that OIA and our industry were able to take:

We conducted an industry-wide member survey to understand the business impacts of the pandemic and to learn how OIA can lend a hand with tools, resources and advocacy support. We heard from our members the value of focusing on critical outdoor issues such as equity in the outdoors, climate action, public lands, conservation, the outdoor recreation economy and trade. We also heard the need, loud and clear, for new ways for our community to convene. We have already begun delivering on these issues and will continue to do so in 2021 to demonstrate value to our members.

The outdoor industry showed up to support our critical work. We made many asks of you, our members, in the past 12 months, and we are humbled to share that your support will allow us to continue to serve to elevate the collective voice, influence and power of the outdoor industry. Thank you to those who stepped up to Leadership and Support membership levels.

Countless outdoor industry businesses rapidly pivoted their production to make millions of PPE units—including masks, face shields, gowns, ventilators and other critical equipment— for frontline workers. At OIA, we worked quickly to support our members with tools such as this webinar to help move efforts faster and further. Read the inspirational stories here.

Outdoor Retailer went virtual, and OIA pivoted to provide more than 20 education sessions at the Summer and Winter Online shows. Watch our on-demand sessions on topics ranging from DEI to outdoor recreation and from climate action to participation and trade.

OIA advocated on our industry’s behalf in Washington, D.C., and at the state level for economic disaster relief and delivered resources, such as our COVID-19 Hub and webinar and Campfire Conversation series. We also developed a comprehensive policy platform for the 2020 election and secured key meetings with the new administration and Congress.

Outdoorists committed to #VoteTheOutdoors and followed through. In a time of great political division and polarization, protecting the outdoors is one thing we can all agree on. Together through our #VoteTheOutdoors campaign, we were able to preserve public lands and waters, lower costs for outdoor businesses, help advance sustainable business practices and shape public policy.

Outdoor participation grew. Forthcoming research confirms what our industry was reporting anecdotally: people across the country were able to find a reprieve from the pandemic in outdoor activities like trail running, hiking, camping, fishing, biking and more. I take comfort in knowing our industry helped millions of Americans recreate safely through the Recreate Responsibly coalition and that retailers and outfitters across the country found new and creative ways to continue serving their customers, many of whom were newcomers. Our Special Report, The New Outdoor Participant (COVID and Beyond), will help you learn what motivated these newcomers and offer strategies for retaining them, even after pandemic restrictions are lifted.

The Thrive Outside Initiative released its first annual Impact Report. The Thrive Outside Initiative empowers communities to make outdoor recreation an accessible lifestyle for all. This effort is a catalyst to drive positive outcomes in critical areas such as health and wellness, youth development, social justice and community development—all more important than ever during the pandemic. Read what we were able to accomplish and how the communities adapted in year one.

We committed to building a just and equitable outdoors. As the association for the outdoor industry, we have a voice—and a corresponding responsibility to do more. The police killing of George Floyd and countless instances of racism and racial violence against Black people were horrific, and we know these events are not isolated and are part of a long history of systemic racism and injustice in our country and in the outdoors. Read our statement and commitment to do better, as well as the progress we made in 2020.

The Climate Action Corps grew to more than 80 members. In light of global circumstances around the pandemic, it would not have been surprising to see companies take a step back from their sustainability efforts. But the outdoor industry doubled down on its commitment to combat the climate crisis, and we gained dozens of new and committed Corps members. Learn more about our industry’s collective commitment to measure, plan and reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and share progress annually.

Despite the challenges and setbacks our industry endured over the past year, we also demonstrated incredible resiliency and unity. I am eager to see how this momentum carries our industry toward continued collaboration, innovation and growth.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to our membership team. We are here for you as we collectively work to recover.

Together We Are a Force,

Lise Aangeenbrug
OIA Executive Director

An Interior Secretary the American People Deserve

Outdoor recreation is a cornerstone of American life that relies on the health and wellbeing of the environment. Widespread access to public lands and waters is critical to maintaining and expanding the many benefits of outdoor recreation. As more and more Americans find refuge outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, recreation can be a big piece of the economic recovery puzzle.

Americans of all ages and the outdoor industry keenly understand this – as does President Biden’s nominee for Secretary of the Interior, Debra Haaland. With her stellar track record on public lands and waters, climate change, and environmental justice, the Senate would do well to swiftly confirm her nomination.

Secretary-designate Haaland will marry outdoor policy with this potential for economic growth. Throughout her career and during her time in Congress, she has demonstrated a sharp understanding of the impact of the $788 billion outdoor recreation economy and the benefit it has to communities. She led the charge on the Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation (SOAR) Act, a bill to cut bureaucratic red tape that prevents Americans from accessing outdoor spaces. She also supported the historic and broadly bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) last session, which provided much-needed funding for public lands and waters. In talking about this bill, she highlighted the close connection between environmental policy and economic recovery, saying “spending time outdoors…creates jobs in the outdoor recreation and restoration economies, but without proper federal funding, the parks, rodeo grounds, and National Parks…are vulnerable, as are the jobs that go along with them.”

In addition to increasing access to public spaces, the conservation and protection of the outdoors is of critical importance. 30×30 – the goal of conserving 30 percent of our lands and oceans by 2030 – is a top policy priority for the outdoor industry and for Haaland, too. As an industry that works closely with the Department of the Interior, it’s encouraging to see that she understands the massive opportunity to fight climate change and protect access, all while conserving public lands and waters. The outdoor industry will gladly work with her agency to develop a cohesive public and private sector action plan.

Addressing climate change is also a top priority for the entire outdoor industry. Businesses that operate in outdoor recreation have been feeling the impact of climate change for years and intimately understand the need for an aggressive, coordinated effort to address the crisis. With Deb Haaland at the helm of Interior, we believe progress can be made while leveraging the outdoor recreation economy as one part of the solution to support the traditional energy communities that will be affected by these changes. In her time in the House of Representatives, she cosponsored the Ocean Based Climate Solutions Act and introduced the Climate Stewardship Act, both of which worked to mitigate climate change by promoting natural climate solutions to keep the planet healthy. She also promised to “continue to push for natural climate solutions” going forward.

To effectively address the growing threat from climate change and protect the environment, we need everyone from Democrats and Republicans in Congress to Fortune 500 companies to park rangers to work together. Secretary-designate Haaland has a history of working across the aisle – she’s gotten more Republicans to sign on to her bills than any other Democrat in the House of Representatives. Her proven willingness to work in a bipartisan manner will be a boon for the outdoors, which after all are enjoyed by Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life.

The American people deserve an Interior Secretary that will fight for all of us. From conservation to economic recovery to climate change, Deb Haaland understands the broad impacts of decisions made by the Department of the Interior. For the good of the environment, the economy, and the people, the Senate should quickly vote to confirm her so she can get to work.

Thrive Outside Profile Series: Courtney Baltiyskyy

Q&A: Courtney Baltiyskyy, Policy Analyst for the YMCA of San Diego County

Courtney Baltiyskyy, a policy analyst for the YMCA of San Diego County, knows first-hand how the outdoors can immediately change a child’s mood and provide a way forward. Thanks to the Thrive Outside initiative, the YMCA and quite a few other local organizations are working together to make outdoor experiences not a “nice to have” thing in San Diego, but an essential part of every family’s experience. We asked her how the programming is going and what she hopes it achieves.

Tell us a bit about the Thrive Outside initiative in San Diego.

When the Outdoor Foundation put out the RFP for Thrive Outside grants, that brought all of us to the table to figure out how we can speak the same language and work in the same direction to leverage our collective impact. Along with The San Diego Foundation, which is the backbone organization for our Thrive Outside initiative, we’re also working with U.S Fish & Wildlife Service, the County of San Diego Parks & Recreation Department, the Nonprofit Institute at USD, Parks California, and Outdoor Outreach. We want to increase volunteers, advocacy, the number of individuals who have repeat, meaningful experiences in the outdoors, and programming around trauma response and solutions to adverse childhood experiences.

What does your community need most?

There’s a lot of fear and uncertainty here around water. We see a lot of parents who don’t know how to swim, so they’re afraid for their children to be near the water. But with increased resources and system changes, we can help mitigate that fear, provide access to swim lessons through scholarships at the YMCA so that teachers and parents are more comfortable taking their kids to the beach, and just generally offer water safety awareness so that families know when it’s safe to go to the ocean.

We’ve also been able to address justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in access to the outdoors. Outdoor Outreach, for example, one of the organizations that has benefited from Thrive Outside funding has been working with youth ages 15 to 24 who are leading these conversations. They’re discussing their experiences and helping in the decision-making process as we explore new programming and outdoor outreach, and they’re compensated for their time or given access to scholarships. One of the things they’re asking for is more resources around mental and emotional health. They’ve seen their friends and peers take their lives far too often and far more frequently than we’ve ever seen. They’re also asking to help make systematic change to keep our environment as pristine as when their grandparents saw it years ago.

How have you seen outdoor experiences influence kids you work with?

I’ve seen such a transformation in kids. I’ve worked with kids who had ADHD and were on the autism spectrum, and getting into the outdoors, even if it was just on their school campus, opened them up to such a different sensory experience and really set them up for success. My drive for the Thrive Outside initiative and the partnerships we have is really to make sure that all youth have an opportunity to do that. In the current landscape, there are just too many who disproportionately don’t have the opportunity to experience the outdoors. I spent a few years in the Peace Corps, teaching in Ukraine, and I would also use the outdoors there as a tool to take a break from the classroom during the warmer months. Ukrainian school days are extremely long and rigorous—7 or 8 hours of instruction, plus tutoring—and taking a break outdoors was a great way to unlock learning.

How have the outdoors influenced you personally?

I spent a lot of time in the outdoors through Girl Scouts more than any other agency. My mom was our leader, and I had the same group of friends in Girl Scouts from Daisies all the way until we were seniors in high school. We went on regular camping trips or ski and snowboard trips, and even as adults, with our own families, we’re all still very close. I went to Girl Scout resident camp in the summers and that helped me get out of my comfort zone and try new things. It has inspired me to make sure that my own kids have those experiences and have really mindful moments in the outdoors, as well as to think about how we can be stewards of the environment in a really intentional way.

What’s your vision for the ultimate outdoor access for kids growing up today?

When we consider the broad spectrum of where youth and families are already engaging, I would hope that the outdoors is a component of each of those touch points. So if a family is going through counseling services, the outdoors is a touch point. If you’re going to school, the outdoors is a regular touch point. When people are going to community-based organizations for out-of-school programming, the outdoors should be a huge touch point. I would want to see outdoor experiences intentionally being a part of each experience that a youth or a family has, so that it’s seamlessly integrated into their identity development.