Outdoor Retailer Industry Lunch: Historic Investments In Climate Change, New Opportunities For Environmental Justice

With continued discussion of the Build Back Better plan in Congress, policymakers are responding to the outdoor industry’s call to make historic investments to combat climate change, which is a major existential threat to the outdoors, our communities, and the outdoor recreation economy. These proposed funds are committed to build resilience, promote natural climate solutions, support a Civilian Climate Corps, and accelerate the transition to renewable energy. It is imperative that the passage and eventual implementation of Build Back Better also addresses two other related threats to our industry: the disproportionate impact climate change has on minority and marginalized communities and the need to ensure that the outdoors are open, safe and accessible to all Americans. Join us for an informative discussion with key stakeholders, industry leaders, and representatives from Washington, D.C., on how combating climate change, prioritizing climate action, and ensuring more diversity, equity, and inclusion in the outdoors are intertwined and how you and your business can play a key role in the future of an equitable and healthy outdoors.

Moderator: Rebecca Gillis, State & Local Government Affairs Manager, Outdoor Industry Association 

Panelists:

Congresswoman Nanette Barragán, U.S. Representative for California’s 44th congressional district

Clarence Edwards, Legislative Director, Sustainable Energy and Environment, Friends Committee on National Legislation  

Angelo Villagomez, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress 

Taishya Adams, National Policy and Education Director, Outdoor Afro

 

Takeaways from the session include:

  • There is intersectionality between investments in climate sustainability and the potential follow-on impacts on environmental justice and outdoor accessibility across the nation. These topics are intertwined with broader conversations about equity in the outdoors, and amongst outdoor industry stakeholders.
  • Other current policy options and efforts in the Biden Administration to further invest in pivotal environmental justice issues include the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Justice40 initiative. The proposed Civilian Climate Corps has a potential role to play in not only on-the-ground conservation and climate mitigation work, but also localized efforts to build out more accessible green space for individuals in nature-starved areas – paving the way for increased equity in the outdoors.
  • Storytelling across diverse communities is an important mechanism for increasing effective advocacy for climate investments.
  • While sometimes daunting, it is critical to talk about climate impacts, environmental justice, and outdoor accessibility to audiences who may have been intimidated or felt unmotivated about climate action and equity.

Outdoor Retailer Industry Lunch: Engage Into Action With The Outdoorist Oath

The recently announced “Outdoorist Oath” is a new way for ALL people to engage in supporting a thriving planet and thriving people. Watch our panel from Outdoor Retailer Snow Show 2022 to learn more about this action plan to advocate for the planet, inclusion, and adventure. This session provides an in-depth look at why The Oath is necessary and what the founders, Teresa Baker, Jose Gonzàléz and Pattie Gonia with support from their executive director, Gabaccia Moreno, are aiming to achieve through the Oath. Learn more about how you can engage with the Oath now and in the future.

Moderator: Jacob Fisher, Program Coordinator, Outdoor Foundation

Panelists:
Teresa Baker, In Solidarity Project Founder, Chief Trouble Maker and Oath Co-Founder
Jose Gonzalez, Founder at Latino Outdoors, Educator, Creative, Facilitator and Oath Co-Founder
Pattie Gonia, Professional Homosexual, Intersectional Environmentalist, Drag Queen and Oath Co-Founder
Gabaccia Moreno, Conservationist, Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project, and Oath Executive Director

Help Our Community Rebuild: Support the Boulder County Wildfire Fund

On December 30th, 2021 the most destructive wildfire in Colorado state’s history, the Marshall fire, destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and burned more than 6,200 acres in Boulder County, home to OIA’s headquarters and many staff members. Our deepest condolences go out to all of those affected.

Like many of you, we are eager to help those impacted by the wildfire. Join us in supporting Community Foundation’s Boulder County Wildfire Fund. As Boulder County’s trusted philanthropic partner for over 30 years, Community Foundation Boulder County is working closely with government and nonprofit partners to coordinate, align resources and fill gaps to support those most impacted by the wildfires. We chose to support the Community Foundation’s fund because it is community-led, centrally located, and has already stepped in to provide immediate support.

Due to the generosity of tens of thousands of donors to the Wildfire Fund, Boulder County will distribute up to $5M in financial assistance to those whose homes have been destroyed or damaged and an additional $500K to support the needs of evacuees from the fund. Learn more about the fundraiser and donate today.

Happy Holidays from OIA Executive Director

Dear Outdoor Industry Colleagues,

As 2021 comes to a close, I want to extend my deep gratitude to you—our members, partners, and industry peers who are united by a love of the outdoors and the outdoor industry. Together, we are navigating COVID-19 and ensuring the outdoors and our outdoor businesses thrive through our work on outdoor recreation and trade policy, sustainable business innovation, and outdoor equity and participation.

New research from our team—including the 2021 Outdoor Participation Trends Report, a special report on the new outdoor participant, and our holiday season purchasing behavior special report—provides an unprecedented look into how Americans’ relationship with the outdoors has shifted. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, more Americans have turned to the outdoors for their health and recreation than ever recorded, some for the first time and others for the first time in many years. These new participants are likely to be female, young, living in an urban area, and more diverse.

This new data shows that our industry has an incredible opportunity to be inclusive and grow the outdoor economy, while expanding and diversifying our partnerships that amplify the importance of advocacy to protect our public lands and waters and tackle the impacts of a changing climate.

On the advocacy front, we galvanized policymakers and our members to promote policies and programs that create jobs, invest in recreation infrastructure, support predictable and balanced trade, and foster responsible recreation, protection, and care for our natural resources and our environment. In November, I joined President Joe Biden and a group of bipartisan lawmakers and business leaders at the signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which includes significant funding for outdoor recreation.

We are grateful that the outdoor industry has a seat at the table during this process and thankful that our voices were heard. The Summit in Washington, D.C., planned for May of 2022, will build upon OIA’s 2021 momentum with more opportunities for advocacy and engagement. This event will convene outdoor business executives, community partners, and policymakers to collaborate and commit to act on the most pressing issues—and greatest opportunities—affecting our industry: climate change, inclusion, and outdoor equity, with an intentional focus on their intersections within the outdoor economy.

OIA members also made major strides to address the climate crisis. The OIA Climate Action Corps, a collaborative group of 100 outdoor industry businesses working to accelerate science-based climate action and influence policy, set a bold aspiration to become the world’s first climate positive industry by 2030. This new goal seeks to aggressively reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with outdoor gear and to harness the power of nature to remove more carbon than its members emit. The Corps also released its year-one progress report, demonstrating accountability toward our shared industry-wide climate positive goal and emphasizing progress over perfection. As we close out the year, OIA is helping Corps members collaborate to implement renewable energy in the U.S. and across our shared supply chains, in addition to other collaborations.

The Outdoor Foundation announced its second cohort of Thrive Outside Communities, welcoming the communities of Maine, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and the Twin Cities region to the Thrive Outside family. This expansion of communities is possible through the generous donations of OIA members. Outdoorists and community partners across the country celebrated National Thrive Outside Day, with inclusive and accessible outdoor programming and engagement opportunities in our eight Thrive Outside Communities.

As we look to the New Year and the work ahead, it’s clear that a strong and well-supported trade association is critical to accomplishing our shared goals. Thank you to those who stepped up to Leadership- and Support-level membership during the past year.

Our work continues, and we urge you to join us for what’s next. I hope to see you at Outdoor Retailer Snow Show next month, where OIA will host live education sessions designed to inform and enlighten, as well as illustrate how you can get engaged in this work in 2022.

Together We Are a Force,
Lise Aangeenbrug
OIA Executive Director

OIA Policy Alert: Letter to Support Priorities in Build Back Better Act

The deadline to sign-on has been extended to Friday, December 10th!

Proposed Climate and Outdoor Investments in the Build Back Better Act are Pivotal to the Future of Business, People, and the Planet  

Congress will spend the next weeks finalizing the contents of a historic social spending bill. Key provisions in the Build Back Better Act will tackle climate and environmental justice issues head-on and will promote key policies for the outdoor industry’s success. The draft legislation has changed over the past months of negotiation, and as the process heads toward the finish line, we must ensure that those issues that matter to us are retained in the final bill language.  

These historic investments include dollars for the creation and funding for a Civilian Climate Corps; capital and incentives for the development and deployment of renewable energy across sectors; and, increased resources for underserved communities to have access to safe, clean, and accessible green spaces.  

As Congress moves forward on finalizing the legislation, considering amendments, and eventually handing it to President Biden for signature, it is important that our industry’s voice is heard and that these consequential programs are codified and implemented. The vitality of the outdoor industry, our outdoor participants, and our climate are dependent upon this generational opportunity for investment.   

NOW is the time to voice our industry’s priorities for the Build Back Better Act! Ensure your company’s support is heard and add your company’s name to our letter to Congress by close of business on Friday, December 10th.

Read the letter here.

It is pivotal that key provisions outlined below remain in the final text of the legislation for passage. OIA and our members support the following crucial components of the Build Back Better Act: 

  • The creation and funding for a Civilian Climate Corps to bring jobs to local communities, and to advance implementation of the Great American Outdoors Act; 
  • Robust funding for the Department of the Interior; 
  • Funding for pivotal investments in renewable energy, including expenditures in the power sector, as well as tax incentives for the development and application of clean energy solutions across sectors; 
  • Environmental and Climate Justice funding for disadvantaged communities to address disproportionate public health and environmental damage; and, 
  • Initiatives prioritizing the development of urban parks and other place-based programs supporting increased access to outdoor spaces in traditionally underserved communities. 
  • Combined with important investments committed in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Build Back Better Act will ensure that our nation’s lands and waters will get the attention needed to encourage resiliency, health, and sustainable access.
  • The Build Back Better Act will also prioritize catalytic investments in renewable energy, and in rural and urban communities disproportionately impacted by climate change.
  • Finally, the Build Back Better Act will include human-centered investments that will make it easier for people throughout the country to experience the wonder of the outdoors.

Now is the time to speak up about our values and priorities around the future of the planet, our industry and outdoor participants! Sign our letter to Congress before December 10th!  

Current signatories (as of December 10th): 

BBB Signatories as of 4pm MT Dec 10  

 

22 Designs 

Akers Digital  

American Camp Association  

b4 Adventure 

Backcountry Access, Inc. 

Backpacker’s Pantry (American Outdoor Products) 

Backslope Tools 

BearVault 

Bearclub Outfitters 

Bell (Vista) 

Bemis 

Big Agnes 

Blackburn (Vista) 

Board Retailers Association  

Bridge City Kid 

Burton 

CGPR 

CamelBak 

caseSensitive Photos 

Clif Bar & Company 

Colorado High School Cycling League 

Collaborative Trails 

Compose[d] 

Conatus Counsel 

Confluence Sustainability 

Cross Current Insurance Group 

DHTC CO LTD 

Darn Tough Vermont 

Darn Tough Vermont(R) 

Emerger Strategies 

Erem Desert Inc 

evo 

First Name LLC 

flaik 

Giro (Vista) 

Hipcamp 

Honey Stinger 

Hyrdo Flask 

Industrial Revolution 

Industrial Revolution -UCO 

Island Explorer LLC dba Whidbey Island Kayaking 

Jones Snowboards 

K2 Sports 

Klean Kanteen 

Krimson Klover 

L.L.Bean 

La Sportiva N.A., Inc. 

LightHeart Gear 

Linked Adventures 

Miir 

Minneapolis Southwest KOA Holiday 

Minority Outdoor Alliance 

Mountain Khakis 

Myles Apparel 

NEMO Equipment 

New Balance 

Never Summer Mountain Products 

Oberalp North America 

Orvis 

Osprey Packs Inc. 

Outbound Collective 

OutdoorX4 Magazine & XPLORE Journal 

Outdoor Afro 

Outdoor Research 

Patagonia 

Peak Design 

PeopleForBikes 

Playmakers, Inc. 

PolyCore Solutions 

Portland Design Works 

REI Co-op 

Ruffwear 

Rutabaga Paddlesports 

See More Birds Nature Tours 

Sierra South 

SIMBOL Communications 

Simms Fishing Products 

Smartwool 

Snow Peak 

South Coast Tours LLC 

Stanley, a Brand of PMI Worldwide 

The Sporting Life Network 

Toad&Co 

Tools For Trails 

True North Gear 

Turtle Fur 

Vargo Outdoors 

VF Corp 

Verde Brand Communications  

WA Event Management 

WAYWARD 

Waterloo Bicycle Works 

Western Spirit Cycling 

Weston Backcountry 

YAMA Mountain Gear 

YMCA Camp Shady Brook