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Alterra Bought Arapahoe Basin. Can the Resort Keep Its Soul?

POM Administrator — Sat, 23 Mar 2024 11:56:54 +0000

Arapahoe Basin has always been about .

It’s a place where the entire staff shows up at 5:30 a.m. to shovel snow on a powder day, where you’ll find the chief operating officer parking cars or taking out the trash, and where all proceeds from its most popular events go to a local charity or individual in need. During the week, you can park and walk to the chairlift in less than five minutes. You can grab a prime spot in the base area parking lot (“the beach”) by either staking a claim during the pre-dawn hours or reserving it and tailgating with a group of friends all day. Even on a busy weekend, you can park for free on said beach if you carpool, get on the chairlift in 10 minutes or less, and ski some of the steepest, most technical terrain in Colorado. It’s a place with a devout, multigenerational staff and loyal regulars who not only choose over its popular megaresort neighbors—Keystone, Breckenridge, and Copper Mountain—but hold birthdays, weddings, and funerals there.

(Photo: Arapahoe Basin/Ian Zinner)

Every aspect of the Basin’s culture is anti-corporate. So, when news hit this February that , there were some strong feelings among the Basin’s die-hards. And, well, some crying.

“When the headline came through, my visceral reaction was tears,” says Kim Jardim, an A-Basin passholder of 30-plus years. “It was just a few tears, but yes, I cried. It was like, oh no … the Basin. My Basin. My second home. It scared me that the place would change and the vibe would change.”

Nobody knows what’s to come under Alterra ownership. The acquisition is not yet complete and until it is (April at the earliest), Alterra representatives will not speak or speculate about plans. Arapahoe Basin leadership, however, is confident that the vibe—the warm and distinctive culture that makes A-Basin what it is—will not change.

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“I think Alterra is buying A-Basin because they understand what a Colorado gem it is,” says COO Alan Henceroth, who has worked at Arapahoe Basin for 36 years and who, in addition to still partaking in grunt work like shoveling, parking cars, and changing trash bags, also writes almost daily with insider information for Basin followers.

“A number of their senior people ski here regularly. I think they know how special it is and they want to keep it that way.”

Although she reiterated that the company wouldn’t speak to plans until after the deal is finalized, Alterra Vice President of Communications Kristin Rust admits that she holds A-Basin close to her heart.

“I grew up skiing A-Basin in the ’70s and ’80s, so it is a special place to me, indeed.”

Embracing Its Natural Limitations

The biggest fear among long-time A-Basin fans is that Alterra will shift the ski area into the model of so many on the Ikon or Epic Pass, in which the aim seems to be to bring as many people onto the slopes as possible. Some of that trepidation was assuaged last week when , and that A-Basin will continue to offer five days on the Base Pass and seven days on the full Ikon Pass, as it has since it joined in 2019.

This is a huge relief to many diehard Basin fans. Due to its location (bordering the Continental Divide with a summit elevation above 13,000 feet) and limited parking, the Basin can only logistically accommodate so many visitors before it starts to feel overrun. The Basin’s parking lots accommodate about 1,800 vehicles. There are plans for next season (pre-dating the Alterra acquisition) to add about 350 more spots.

“I feel like it’s going to be preserved because you can’t expand it much,” says Tara Richard, who was in the midst of a Basin beach party with girlfriends in early March and was an “A-Basin-only” skier during the 10 years that her kids grew up learning to ski. “The only thing that keeps me from being devastated about the new regime is the fact that they can’t bring in condos. They’re not going to be able to bring in fur coats and shopping.”

Due to its location off of Loveland Pass, Arapahoe Basin has limited parking. An additional 350 spaces will be added for next season, an upgrade that was already in the works before the Alterra acquisition. (Photo: Arapahoe Basin/Ian Zinner)

Henceroth confirms that there are no condominium or base area construction plans in store. After all, the land on which the Basin sits is governed by the U.S. Forest Service.

“I don’t blame anybody for being uncertain or asking if things are going to change,” Henceroth says. “I think that’s totally fair. It’s such a special place. People want it to continue that way. We don’t want to go back to the days of being crazy overcrowded.”

He’s referring to when A-Basin was owned by Dream (formerly known as Dundee Resort Development) and partnered with Vail Resorts to allow unlimited access on the Epic Pass. For a few winters, especially from about 2015-’18, the Basin’s weekend parking was overflowing to the point that visitors were hitchhiking and parking illegally on U.S. Highway 6.

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Realizing that the overcrowding was cramping the Basin’s vibe, the . In 2019-’20, with access limited to either five or seven days depending on whether you opt for the full or the Base Pass. That same season, the Basin also began limiting its own season pass sales with a cap of around 4,100. The resort recently announced that it will again offer a Basin-only season pass (plus a few days at Monarch) for 2024-’25, “priced very closely to this season’s pricing.”

The Future of Ikon

Currently on weekends, the beach parking lot is only available to those who have reserved (or staked out early morning) spots or vehicles with three or more people. The big question is whether, under Alterra ownership, Ikon Pass holders will eventually be permitted more days or even—gasp—unlimited access at the Basin.

“Looking back five, six, seven years ago, we were rough around the edges. We got a little busy. At that point, we didn’t have good controls to manage how many people were here at once,” Henceroth says. “We’re happy with the way we manage our weekends the last couple of years. We’re going to have to keep doing that. Regardless of this sale, we’d continue to do that.”

When asked how A-Basin could maintain its uncrowded, grassroots vibe under Alterra ownership, many loyalists believe continuing to limit access for Ikon Pass holders would be integral.

The Pallavicini double chair opened in 1978, during the ski area’s Ralston Purina-owned era. (Photo: Arapahoe Basin/Ian Zinner)

“I’d say they’d have to limit so many days for Ikon Passes—maybe just weekdays,” says longtime Basin passholder Tom Perry. “I don’t know what else they can do to keep the vibe the same, whatever they can to not impact its legendary status.”

“To keep A-Basin as the A-Basin we love, the limited aspects of Ikon Pass are great,” adds JR Nolan, an A-Basin passholder “off and on” since 1988. “I think because there are no condos and because parking is limited, the Basin can only take so many people. This hill can become as overcrowded as any of them, but I think keeping Ikon Pass days limited would be one of the major ingredients that would make the transition successful.”

Ron Rosso, a longtime Basin passholder who lives in the Denver suburbs and only skis on weekdays, doesn’t think A-Basin will have to limit Ikon Pass access to maintain its status.

“They have avoided the trap of the big resort thing and they should continue doing that,” Rosso says. “The stuff they’ve done in recent years is awesome—Montezuma [Bowl] is awesome. The Beavers are amazing. That needed to be done, but that’s all you need. If you need the big stuff, go to Copper Mountain. Go to Breck. Go to Vail. From people I know who have Ikon, they want big mountains, but they like coming to The Legend.”

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Even then, Russo says, he doesn’t think that the average Ikon Pass skier wants to visit A-Basin more than five, six, or seven times. “They love Winter Park, Mary Jane,” says Russo. “When those areas close, a lot of people want to get away from skiing. They have kid stuff or they go golfing. Even if it’s still bashing [snow] up here in May, only so many people are into skiing.”

In addition to insinuating that the Basin already has all the weekend crowd it wants or can handle, Henceroth indicated that weekdays and early season (the Basin has historically boasted one of the world’s longest ski seasons, often lasting from late October through early June) were the only times the resort would be interested in bolstering crowds.

“We’ve got soft periods, but we’re doing fine,” he says. “We’re stable on our feet all the time, but we’ve been tinkering to figure out weekdays and how to get fall busier.”

A History of Corporate Ownership

As far as regulars panicking that the Basin is going to sell out or lose its soul under Alterra ownership, Henceroth reminds me that there have been other times throughout the ski area’s long life (dating back to 1946), that its die-hards were bracing for the worst. He pulls out an A-Basin history book and turns to a page depicting a sticker created in 1978 when Ralston Purina purchased the resort from former A-Basin operator Joe Jankovsky, who had purchased the area in 1972 from original owners/founders Larry and Marnie Jump.

The sticker names May 30, 1978 (the last day before the Ralston takeover) as “Desperado Day, the last of what will be ‘the good old days.’”

The ski area is home to some of Colorado’s toughest terrain, including the East Wall’s hike-to steeps and chutes. (Photo: Arapahoe Basin/Ian Zinner)

“A lot of people think it’s a mom-and-pop area, but it’s not,” Henceroth says. “We’ve been part of big corporations for a half-century.”

It makes the fact that the Basin has, despite its half-century corporate ownership and the terrain expansions, lift improvements, restaurant additions, and makeovers that came with it, always managed to pass itself off as a mom-and-pop sort of place that much more impressive.

The End of an Era? Unlikely.

“It’s just a really special place, especially when your kids grow up skiing there,” Jardim says. “I can’t tell you how many times my boys left a fleece behind in the lodge or skis on the rack. I’d get a call from an employee who recognized the fleece or drive back up to see if the skis were still on the rack and they were. That doesn’t happen everywhere. And it’s only part of what makes that place so special.”

It is of great comfort to many Basin-for-lifers that Henceroth and his team will likely continue calling at least some of the shots under Alterra ownership.

“I think those tears I cried were just hoping that this is not the end of an era,” Jardim says. “It’s no guarantee that it’s going to change or change for the worse. There’s a very good chance it could keep the vibe. With Alan leading the way, I feel like all of us who love that place so much have a voice through him. I know how passionate he is about the Basin. I know he’ll do everything in his power to keep it as much the same as he can.”

Standing firmly at the helm, Henceroth himself is optimistic.

“I do know that the folks at Alterra really care about this place and they’re buying it because they think it’s so special. They don’t want to blow it up,” he says. “From what I understand, they’re not a top-down organization. Each resort has a lot of autonomy. We’re in a period where we have to be patient.”

“I’m confident that the Basin is going to be as great if not better than it’s always been.”

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U.S. Winter Sports Industry Rallies to Support Ukrainian Refugees

objmigrationbot — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 04:28:06 +0000

As the conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate, the U.S. winter sports industry is rallying to provide supplies and financial support to Ukrainian refugees.

Earlier this month, Snowsports Industries America (SIA) winter outdoor suppliers and retailers to donate gear including gloves, boots, and blankets.

“The devastation in Ukraine is beyond imagination and the toll that it has taken on the people of Ukraine is heartbreaking,” said SIA President Nick Sargent. “We can’t sit on the sidelines. We have to help. Many winter outdoor businesses manufacture the cold-weather gear that can be a tremendous help to refugees who have lost everything, so we are facilitating ways that our industry can step up, either by donating gear or providing financial aid.”

SIA’s call to action is centered around a campaign by the (POG) to coordinate delivery of gear donations. According to POG, the first delivery of retailer donations arrived in Ukraine on March 10, and featured products from Swedish outdoor brand Silva and British clothing manufacturer Rab.

Other major retailers including Keen, Buff, and LifeStraw have also offered support, the group said.

A Call to Action

As the number of refugees and displaced people continues to swell, this month surpassing 3.1 million according to the , the need for resources and financial support is on the rise, POG said.

Gear such as sleeping bags, mats, thermal blankets, flashlights, headlamps, thermal underwear, and winter clothing can make an immense difference for refugees’ safety, the organization stated.

last week called on its members, which include Arcteryx, Berghaus, and Marmot, to lend support.

“This is an urgent humanitarian crisis and outdoor companies can help civilians on the ground who are in need,” the group said. “As an outdoor industry association, we may not have the ability to influence military actions, but we can mobilize our members and the wider sector to aid the innocent civilians who are being affected by those actions.”

The outdoor industry is dedicated to designing and manufacturing products to help people withstand the harshest conditions, and is uniquely positioned to provide assistance, EOG said: “This is not a marketing opportunity, it’s a call to action.”

How Retailers Can Lend Support

SIA is mobilizing the winter sports industry to contribute to the coordinated European effort. Because international shipping delays are likely, U.S.-based companies without a European footprint should prioritize financial donations to Global Giving’s or , the trade association said.

Retailers with European headquarters, or that have retail partners or distributors in Europe, should contact SIA directly with the type and amount of gear they’re able to donate, and will be provided with a shipping address.

The European Outdoor Group and the Polish Outdoor Group did not immediately respond to ��ԹϺ�� Business Journal‘s request for comment.

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The Push to Make the Ski Industry More Sustainable

objmigrationbot — Sat, 06 Mar 2021 05:03:50 +0000

In 2017, Matt Sterbenz was heading up a company he’d founded, 4FRNT, a successful ski brand known for launching the freeskiing movement. 4FRNT’s skis are crisp, light, and torsionally stiff—and, like pretty much all skis, they’re also made of materials that are horrendous for the environment. The vast majority of the brands constructing the tools that move us across snow use some of the most polluting materials on the planet, such as petroleum-based resins, plastics, and carbon fiber. Sterbenz had to use these, too, because no alternative had yet been created. But a businessman named Charles Dimmler was about to hand him a solution.

Dimmler is the founder of Checkerspot, a company that uses algae to bio-manufacture oils that can be used in polyurethanes and textile coatings. Polyurethane makes up the plastic components in a typical ski, and it’s traditionally made of petroleum-based chemicals, so it has a large environmental footprint: According to one German lifecycle assessment, the production of a single ski emits about 60 pounds of carbon (in comparison, burning one gallon of gasoline emits 20 pounds). Ski manufacturing also typically has a very large water footprint, a long supply chain, and generates huge amounts of waste. The irony is striking: Building skis and other winter hardgoods contributes significantly to the climate change wreaking havoc on our ski seasons.

But Dimmler and Sterbenz were about to make a breakthrough. The company that emerged from their collaboration, WNDR Alpine, uses renewable energy to fashion boards with sustainably harvested aspen wood from Utah and polyurethane made from algae, not petroleum. The brand is also reducing waste in its manufacturing process (in 2020, WNDR diverted 1,200 pounds of trash from the landfill). Its efforts seem to be resonating with consumers: Last year, WNDR sold out of the most popular sizes of its Intention 110 backcountry ski. And in 2021, with backcountry skiing predicted to explode (see p. 33), the company expects the same.

WNDR isn’t the first snowsports brand to innovate with the environment in mind. In Europe, Capita Snowboards’ factory runs on 100 percent green energy, and Grown Skis uses eco-friendlier basalt instead of carbon fiber, sustainably harvested wood, and glues made from pine tree resin. Among U.S. brands, Mervin and Niche lead the way. Niche, founded in 2010, builds its snowboards from sustainably harvested wood cut near its factory in Utah, uses basalt as well, and digitally prints its top sheets using water-based inks. It also partnered with a company called Entropy Resins to create its patented Snappy Sap Bioresin, made of renewable materials from the industrial waste streams of the paper pulp and biofuels industries.

Mervin (parent company of Lib Tech, Gnu, and Roxy) uses the eco-friendliest materials available, produces zero hazardous waste, and runs its operation primarily on wind and hydroelectric power. It also formed an extensive recycling program, as well as a sawdust-to-soil compost program. Together, such innovations have taken these brands to the next level in eco-friendly manufacturing. What will it take for everyone else to catch up?

Too Big—and Small—to Change

Some big ski brands are taking steps to make the hardgoods industry greener. Atomic’s North American Brand Manager Sean Kennedy said, “Atomic uses tons, literally tons, of recycled plastics in our ski boot assortment. We also power all of our ski presses with reclaimed wood [from factory scraps], and the excess heat from this process is then recaptured to heat our entire factory and adjacent facilities.”

Völkl has eliminated hazardous substances from many stages of production. Rossignol uses wood cores from certified sustainable sources in its Black Ops skis, 100 percent recycled steel in its edges, and 30-percent recycled plastic in the bases. And La Sportiva switched from carbon to wood in all of its skis, and is using FSC-certified woods for the 2021 line.

Yet the vast majority of brands use plastics and resins made from toxic petrochemicals. Experts estimate it can take 500 to 1,000 years for these materials to decompose in a landfill. So brands still aren’t addressing one of the industry’s key environmental hazards.

“As an industry with a future dependent on consistent winters, our industry is uniting around climate change and we’re working hard to give every brand opportunities to step up to meaningfully address it,” said Chris Steinkamp, director of advocacy for Snowsports Industries of America’s ClimateUnited initiative.

But “stepping up” isn’t that simple, said WNDR co-founder Xan Marshland: “Economically, our industry is a drop in the bucket compared to larger ones, like aerospace or automotive. There’s not much incentive to innovate beyond what’s already available.” According to NPD, the ski and snowboard industry generates $2.3 billion in annual revenue (compared to, say, the apparel industry’s $368 billion).

And even if suppliers did make changes, “larger brands will require more time to get adequate infrastructure set up to support a new [production] process,” said Marshland. For larger brands, which can produce more than a million pairs of skis every year, obtaining enough green materials also appears to be a challenge. Niche, for example, uses a resin-hardener called Recyclamine that allows skis and snowboards to be fully recycled. “I’m not sure the supply chain is large enough yet for everyone to be able to switch,” said founder Ana Van Pelte.

The Upside of Small

In some ways, greening a company is easier for new brands that are starting from the ground up. Mervin founder Pete Saari said, “Working towards sustainability and nontoxic, recyclable boards has been part of Mervin’s DNA since we began in the early ’80s. We knew we were going to be building every day, so we didn’t want to work with toxic resins or materials for personal safety and health reasons.”

The brand was broke when it started, Saari says. “[But while] scarcity and ‘no money’ sounds bad, when it comes to creating motivation to maximize material usage, it’s a strength.” From the beginning, Mervin was able to “scour the world of materials,” looking for ones that met both the company’s performance and sustainability standards. Today, it’s a profitable business.

And now WNDR has created a line of skis with its AlgalTech technology, using plastics derived from oils secreted by microalgae. These plastics replace conventional materials derived from fossil fuels (carbon fiber, plastic, polyurethane), and create a ski that has a short supply line, high performance, and a lower impact on the environment than traditional skis.

But all of these companies still impact the environment simply by manufacturing something. That’s why Cyrus Schenck, founder of Renoun Skis, believes there is no such thing as a truly green ski (or snowboard). In his view, the best thing skiers can do is ride the skis they already own longer. “The average lifespan of a pair of skis is 100 days, yet the average American skis 2.7 days a year,” he said. Most buy skis far more often than once every 37 years.

Schenck scoffs at the idea of stopping ski production entirely, “but a company can offset skis and shipping by buying carbon credits,” he said. Renoun does what it can to green up its manufacturing, but ultimately, Schenck believes the best way brands can minimize impact is by encouraging skiers to ride their boards longer and participate in takeback programs (which WNDR offers) when they’re done.

Getting It Done

Of course, creating products with dramatically lower environmental impacts and encouraging customers to use them longer aren’t mutually exclusive. And Mervin, Niche, and WNDR believe that it’s possible for other companies—including long-established ones—to make changes to shrink their environmental footprints.

The main excuses from bigger brands? Cost, accessibility, and scalability. Four decades after starting Mervin, Saari said, “Even today we find there is some resistance from the business community on sustainable efforts, with [some] studies by business experts saying that consumer purchasing decisions aren’t significantly impacted by environmental efforts or practices.”

Niche’s Van Pelte added, “I don’t want to name any names, but bigger companies than ours have the money and resources to do more and better than we do, and their failure to act on pushing the technology further is really unfortunate. They should be putting their money where their mouths are and stepping up to the plate, if they truly care about the environment as much as they claim to.”

WNDR, for one, is willing to share its technologies for the greater good. “Six or seven brands throughout the snowboard and ski space” have reached out about partnerships to incorporate AlgalTech into their product lines, said marketing director Pep Fujas. This bodes well for giving greener skis a bigger share of the market.

And though it may take time, Van Pelte believes the environmental methods Niche and others use “are absolutely stuff that anyone could adopt and put into practice. It might be more expensive, but the more people who adopt it, the easier and more affordable it will become.”

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Are the Industry’s Two Biggest Climate Programs in Competition?

objmigrationbot — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 00:28:54 +0000

Outdoor industry businesses motivated to address the climate crisis now have a brand-new set of tools to help—make that two sets of tools. In 2020, the Outdoor Industry Association’s Climate Action Corps and Snow- sports Industry Association’s ClimateUnited launched within a few months of each other. They aim to guide retailers, brands, and (in OIA’s case) suppliers in shrinking their carbon footprints through steps like creating emissions-reduction plans, and increasing buying power and influence through collective action. The more the merrier, right?

Which way now? Some businesses face a choice between two new climate programs from OIA and SIA. (Photo: Louisa Albanese)

Well, maybe. Some worry dividing the industry into two groups could weaken our overall influence down the supply chain. That’s significant because manufacturing is a major source of carbon emissions, but suppliers have been resistant to the outdoor industry’s attempts to green it up because we represent such a small share of the suppliers’ total business.

Having two groups also complicates matters for outdoor industry members that are part of both trade groups, or belong to neither. Joining both climate initiatives would set redundant goals, but with different programs and metrics for progress (though a handful of brands, including Burton, K2, and Rab, have doubled up).

OIA’s Climate Action Corps was the first to launch in January 2020. It works with members to meet their carbon-reduction goals via a suite of tools and trainings. OIA and SIA had discussed partnering up, says Amy Horton, senior director of sustainable business innovation for OIA, so the Climate Action Corps tools would be available to SIA members for the same rate OIA members pay ($250 to $25,000, depending on annual revenue and business type).

Instead, SIA launched its own platform last November, ClimateUnited. Chris Steinkamp, advocacy director for SIA, says this seemed like a more financially efficient option, and allowed the association to offer its members a program for free. “We knew part of the barrier to getting companies to do something on climate was the cost,” he says. OIA sees it differently. Anyone who signs up for OIA’s program has to put skin in the game, Horton says: Even for OIA members, joining comes with a price tag.

“We’re all trying to solve climate change,” says Steinkamp. “This was not a competitive thing. This was us figuring out what’s best for our business and our members, but also hopefully bringing more companies on board.”

OIA, again, sees things differently. “The whole vision was, build a big tent, a multi-association effort,” says Horton. “We need to all come together on this existential threat to our industry, whether you make camping gear or running shoes or skis or boards.” She adds that OIA hopes for a critical mass of members to drive its CoLabs, a program that allows members to pool their influence on the supply chain or to purchase renewable power sources.

Steinkamp says he still hopes to collaborate with OIA members on projects like renewable energy purchases, and that conversations between the two groups are ongoing so SIA members won’t miss out on big-ticket projects or on the chance to compel changes in the supply chain. Horton says that without some partnership between the associations, it’s not clear how that would work. That said, “It’s beneficial to bring the industry together on this,” she says. “Our door is definitely still open for that.” At press time, OIA counted 82 members and SIA had 26.

There’s one big area in which having two industry climate groups could be a great thing: political influence. Impactful work has to focus on policymaking, says Lindsay Bourgoine, Protect Our Winters policy and advocacy director. “Spreading out our efforts, that’s what really excites me—having this constant, steady drum- beat on lawmakers around DC and in state capitols,” she says.

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How Banks Are Undercutting the Industry’s Sustainability Goals

objmigrationbot — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 04:25:27 +0000

Let’s get this out of the way: Banking isn’t sexy. It’s harder to talk about than solar power. It’s harder to sell than responsibly sourced down. It’s boring. But think of it like a good mob front: The more mundane the exterior, the more it has to hide. Last year, the Conservation Alliance made waves by leaving Bank of America after a two-decade financial relationship. Four years before that, the Sierra Club Foundation jumped ship on Union Bank for Amalgamated Bank, a little-known institution with limited services. Each of these switches was a cutting-edge, revolutionary statement—and a lot harder to pull off than you might think.

What’s the Big Deal?

For one, it’s a huge pain to switch banks. There are papers to sign, meetings to attend, payroll and bills to move over. Companies just don’t do it. So if you’re a big firm, gathering up your things and walking out is a surefire way to send a message that you’re not happy. And the aforementioned nonprofits were not happy.

After all, Bank of America was providing more than $48 billion per year in financing to fossil fuel companies. A chunk of that money belonged to the Conservation Alliance, which had spent two decades working to prevent Arctic drilling. When the nonprofit asked Bank of America to pledge not to invest in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pipeline projects, it refused the request. Like we said: not happy.

The Secret Life of Money

Here’s how bank investing works: You deposit money in your account. You start making interest, which is a fraction of the interest your bank is making on your money. That’s their business model: Banks keep your savings safe, and in return, they get to invest them in whatever they want—whatever they feel will be most lucrative.

Right now, in this global economy, that’s fossil fuels. It’s fast fashion. It’s deforestation operations and palm oil plantations. It’s Big Tobacco. It’s single-use plastics. It’s all the things that the outdoor industry has rejected—at least, in theory.

“We didn’t want our money to be leveraged to finance the very things we’re fighting against,” says Dan Chu, executive director of the Sierra Club Foundation, which pulled its $30 million in assets from Union Bank in 2016. At the time, Union had just merged with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, which was funding the company behind the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Sierra Club Foundation could keep trying to stop the pipeline, but banking with Union would effectively undo every effort. So, it switched to Amalgamated Bank, which has high sustainability and social-justice investing standards.

Likewise, the Conservation Alliance ultimately moved to Bank of the West, a 1% for the Planet member that has begun divesting from fossil fuels and other environmentally harmful industries.

These switches are great success stories, but in the outdoor industry, they’re rarities.

Where the Outdoor Industry Banks

In reporting this story, The Voice asked 15 brands where they bank. Brands with Bank of the West, Amalgamated, or credit unions were happy to reply. A few others, like Snowsports Industries America and Patagonia, revealed that they were shopping around for a new institution, but declined to mention their current banking partners.

REI did point to its relationship with U.S. Bank, which hosts the REI MasterCard program. And VF Corp. acknowledged working with “many different banks,” including Bank of New York Mellon. Every other brand declined to comment.

A likely truth is that most outdoor companies bank with the biggest in the US: JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citi, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and U.S. Bank (see sidebar).

“The banking system is hard,” says Howard Fischer. Fischer is the CEO of hedge fund Basso Capital Management and co-founder of Gratitude Railroad, an investment firm dedicated to impact investing. “When you’re a company with hundreds of billions of dollars flowing in and out of the coffers, you need a pretty sophisticated bank. With that much money involved, it’s hard not to deal with mainstream banks.” But the status quo isn’t pretty.

“For a big bank that’s a large financier of the fossil fuel industry, five percent of their portfolio might be in fossil fuels,” says Ben Stuart, head of growth and transformation and chief marketing officer at Bank of the West. “Five percent is a big number.”

The Carbon Footprint Fallacy

There’s another, more abstract problem with dragging your feet about a bank switch: The longer banks remain comfortable, the longer the power structure remains intact, says Auden Schendler, senior VP of sustainability at Aspen Skiing Company. That means big banks keep funding Big Oil, Big Oil keeps funding lobbyists, lobbyists keep controlling policy, and things like carbon pricing—which Fischer sees as essential for real climate impact—never become law.

Meanwhile, outdoorspeople remain hyperfocused on small, personal steps like biking to work and recycling—which, says Schendler, is exactly what extractive industries want.

“The fossil fuel industry wants a ski resort to aggressively reduce its carbon footprint,” Schendler says. “It doesn’t impact them at all, and the power structure stays in place. Plus, it means the ski resort is taking responsibility for its own carbon footprint when it’s really the fossil fuel company that’s to blame.” Unless coupled with some kind of real power play, campaigns that encourage recycling and biking to work, Schendler claims, are just distractions.

Conversely, when a big firm changes its bank, that sends a strong financial message—the only kind of message that can really push at power, Fischer says. The switch also sends a message to customers.

An End to Greenwashing

As hard as it is, dumping your bank might be the easiest way to show your brand cares about the environment, says Chu. For one thing, it’s cut and dried. Ask brands about their DEI efforts or commitment to sustainability, and it’s easy to retreat into marketing jargon and greenwashing. But ask them where they bank? They’re either funding fossil fuel extraction, or they’re not. Responsible banking is the outdoor industry’s chance to get real—with itself and with its customers—about its commitment to the environment.

In recent years, the industry has focused largely on greening up its supply chains. Robinson says brands can look at financiers and insurance companies as part of those supply chains—and subject them to just as much scrutiny as shipping or manufacturing partners.

Plus, with increased awareness around responsible banking, making the switch can give your brand a competitive edge.

Ryan Hartegan, founder of Golden State Guiding in California, moved his company to Bank of the West in the summer of 2020.

“I just wanted to do it on a moral level,” he says. “I didn’t want my money, whether it was a drop in the bucket or not, supporting the fossil fuel industry anymore.” What he didn’t expect: the wave of support and attention his brand got after announcing the switch.

“From a marketing standpoint, it was really good for the business. It gave us something else to talk about to show that we’re more than just a guide service,” Hartegan says.

Harsh Realities

For the Sierra Club Foundation, the whole process of switching banks took around 18 months. For the Conservation Alliance, the process is ongoing. But onerous paperwork isn’t the only hurdle.

The responsible-banking industry is painfully young. Patagonia says it’s “actively researching” new banks, but few are big enough to handle a complex global business, CEO Ryan Gellert told OBJ.

“There are divestment activities happening at banks, but I would say there are no green banks of scale,” he says. “What we need is global banks to really embrace a different way of doing things…The harsh reality is I think none of them are all that progressive.”

One issue is that awareness surrounding clean finance is fairly new. Another barrier is that fossil fuels, Big Agriculture, and other “dirty” industries are so lucrative that many banks aren’t willing to kick them curbside, even under an avalanche of public pressure.

Take Bank of America, for example. Even after a dozen global

banks bowed to public outrage and pledged not to fund Arctic Refuge drilling, Bank of America stayed its course for nearly a year, remaining the only major US bank to do so. It wasn’t until November 2020—about a month after Conservation Alliance left—that it formally pledged not to provide project financing for Arctic Refuge oil.

“From a bank’s perspective, it comes down to how much revenue you generate from these activities that harm the planet,” says Bank of the West’s Stuart. “You have to get to the point where the revenue that’s leaving starts to outweigh the revenue the bank is gaining.”

The Tipping Point

To save the planet, banks need to change. For banks to change, it’s going to take a lot: public pressure, bad press, big defections, and a landslide of lost customers, says Fischer. Fortunately, you don’t have to switch your entire operation to start rocking the boat.

If a responsible bank doesn’t offer international wiring or other services you need, it’s probably because they’re not big enough yet, explains Chu. You can move the bulk of your assets to a responsible investing account without completely giving up your old bank. That still sends a message, and it kicks off positive impacts. Relocating your cash not only shrinks the pool of money that dirty industries can pull from; it also helps responsible institutions grow big enough to offer more services and attract other high-profile clients, he says.

If you can start the process, start. And be vocal about it.

“If your bank is doing something you don’t like, tell them,” Robinson says. “Banks need to know that consumers are paying attention.”

What’s the Damage?

Collectively, the 11 outdoor behemoths we investigated (see below) had $5,885,159,000 in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments according to Q3 2020 SEC reports. If 5 percent of each portfolio goes to extractive industries, that’s $294,257,950 funding extraction annually.

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A New Beginning for DEI in Outdoors

objmigrationbot — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 05:00:00 +0000

Camber Outdoors, the Outdoor Industry Association and Snowsports Industries America have made a collective commitment to encourage diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the outdoor recreation and snow sports industries. With the support and cooperation of DEI leaders Teresa Baker, creator of the Outdoor Industry CEO Diversity Pledge, and José González, founder emeritus of Latino Outdoors, this agreement formally declares that each organization will work to create a professional environment in the business of outdoor recreation where all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation, can be successful.

The statement reads as follows:

“We at SIA, OIA, Camber Outdoors and Outdoor Retailer celebrate the many conversations that have evolved within our industry and community. Together we are committed to working alongside diversity, equity and inclusion leaders who work to gather the voices that we need and welcome into our industry. Each of our organizations are committed to using our resources and connections to create structures that facilitate the snow sports and outdoor industries to become more inclusive, equitable and diverse workplaces, outdoor spaces and organizations in general. We encourage every outdoor enthusiast, company and organization who shares in a love for the outdoors to start and/or further engage in this work as well.”

DEI leaders from across the country gathered with Camber Outdoors on day 0 of Outdoor Retailer Snow Show to discuss the path path forward. (Left to right: Tinelle Louis, Kenji Haroutunian, Dr. Carolyn Finney, Teresa Baker, Irene Vilar, Emily Newman, and Dr. Gerilyn Davis) (Photo: James Edward Mills)

Though non-binding and short on specifics, this declaration is something the outdoor industry has desperately needed to move the work of DEI forward. Few would object to the concept of workplace equity, but only a handful of companies including REI, The North Face, and Canada’s Mountain Equipment Co-Op or MEC have issued similar statements of commitment and have taken proactive steps toward making their desired outcome a reality. This declaration from the senior executives of the top trade groups acknowledges the importance of DEI in the long term success of the outdoor industry and creates the basic groundwork from which to create policies and a system of best practices that others may follow to ensure that everyone in the outdoors is welcome.

“I am thankful that SIA, OIA, and Camber have taken the time to hear from me and other DEI advocates and respond to our conversations with such a positive step forward,” said Baker. “May we continue to move forward with sincere efforts, as we welcome others to join us in this work of creating a more inclusive outdoor arena.”

Emily Newman addressed the outdoor industry for the first time at the Camber breakfast on day three of Outdoor Retailer Snow Show. (Photo: James Edward Mills)

On the final day of the 2020 Outdoor Retailer + SIA Snow Show in Denver, Emily Newman, the new executive director of Camber Outdoors, announced that the opening session of next year’s OIA breakfast meeting will focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. In her first public address to the outdoor recreation community at the Camber Outdoors Keynote Breakfast, Newman reaffirmed her organization’s continuing efforts toward DEI.

“Building equitable and inclusive workplaces and industry as a whole is a journey that requires participation from everyone. Our mission of advancing workplace inclusion, equity and diversity is but one element of this important work,” she said in a written statement. “We are energized by these new partnerships as we stand shoulder to shoulder to create an outdoors for everyone by lifting voices, and implementing practices and tools that drive measurable progress.”

After the controversial failed launch of its CEO Equity Pledge a year ago at the 2019 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market, Camber has tried to win back its credibility as a leader in DEI. As the organization in the outdoor industry charged with the mission of encouraging workplaces that are diverse equitable and inclusive, Newman’s organization is building relationships across the industry to share in this culturally sensitive and important work.

“SIA is committed to building authentic relationships with the many voices throughout the winter sports community to better address diversity, equity and inclusion,” said board chairwoman Wendy Carey. “This is invigorating for the future of our sports, and we know we have to lead on this. The time is now, and by having these conversations with all of the key stakeholders, we can act swiftly and take meaningful steps forward.”

To craft its joint statement on diversity, equity, and inclusion, leaders from Camber Outdoors, Outdoor Industry Association, and Snowsports Industries America consulted with activists Teresa Baker and José González. (Photo: James Edward Mills)

Through the combined efforts of each organization Camber aims to avoid the mistakes of the past with a top-down approach. The intention is to encourage other senior executives to take an active role in the DEI efforts of their organizations.

“We believe that collaboration is the key to movement and action. We have begun the work of making the outdoors more accessible and inclusive to diverse communities through the Outdoor Foundation’s Thrive ��ԹϺ�� Communities initiative,” said OIA board chairwoman Nora Stowell. “This is a complex and deeply rooted issue that no single organization alone can solve.”

This combined declaration of commitment is an excellent first step toward the establishment of a community culture that truly embraces diversity. Within hours of its creation Outdoor Retailer show director Marisa Nicholson added her statement of commitment in support of DEI.

“Outdoor Retailer is proud to support our partners and everyone working on these critical initiatives,” she said. “We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in our own team and beyond, so that we can continue to provide an international forum to elevate these important conversations.”

Now that everyone seems to be on the DEI bandwagon, it’s important to understand that a declaration of commitment is only as valuable as a person or institution is prepared and willing to see it through. It’s a fine thing to say that diversity, equity and inclusion matter, but it’s something else entirely to incorporate their principles into the very fabric of a company’s business model. In his address at the Camber Outdoors Breakfast Keynote Blair Taylor, a partner in Workforce of the Future at Price Waterhouse Coopers, impressed upon his audience the reality that there is nothing less at stake than the survival of the outdoor industry itself.

“It’s time for business and community leaders to challenge ourselves, leave our comfort zones and take risks,” Taylor said. “The era we live in today is critical—it will define our future—and companies must rethink the way we do business.”

Taylor agrees that securing senior leadership support is the best first place to start. When it comes to DEI he suggests clearly defining both the business case and the necessity for an approach that is authentic. He warns that lasting change requires a profound shift of an organization’s culture and daily behaviors. They must measure where they begin and how they progress. And perhaps most importantly he prescribes to never go it alone.

It’s now up to each organization to go back to their respective employees, human resource managers, boards of directors and constituents to rethink the way they do business. Having declared their commitment to do better on DEI these four industry leaders have also set themselves up to be held accountable for their measurable improvement. Will things have changed by next year’s show? The industry is now watching. We’ll just have to wait and see.

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Op-Ed: To Be a Force, We Need the National Trade Show

objmigrationbot — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 20:09:14 +0000

For too long now, there has been frequent chatter and some discord around our industry’s ecosystem of national and regional trade shows: the number of shows and their purpose, timing, cost and business need. The persistence of these grumblings means we have issues we need to address. When we avoid these issues, tension arises and ultimately turns to dissension. We are in one of these situations right now. It’s time to come together to creatively develop solutions and bravely embrace whatever evolutions are needed.

Nora Stowell is the board chair of Outdoor Industry Association. She is also Fabric Sales & Marketing Division Leader at W.L. Gore. (Photo: Courtesy)

We should stay focused on this important legacy event. At the same time, the market is changing, and we need to change with it.I’ve worked in a number of industries, and I can honestly say that the outdoor industry is uniquely collaborative. We are most effective when we work together with our diverse perspectives towards a common goal. Whether we are lobbying on Capitol Hill for public lands, developing sustainability standards to combat climate change or taking collective action to get more people outside, we put aside our competitive interests and work together to achieve our goals more effectively and quickly than we could as individual companies.

What does this have to do with trade shows? Well, the national trade show provides a critical convening place for us to do this work together. At Outdoor Retailer each year, we make important connections and discoveries, we are exposed to new ideas and we are witnesses to the culture and shared values of our industry. We come from all over the country and the world, from different backgrounds and different companies, but we leave feeling part of a community.

Without a national convening event, we run the risk of fracturing our ability to influence, support our members and continue to grow our $887B outdoor recreation economy. I know I am not alone in holding this perspective. In fact, in a recent trade show survey published by OBJ, over 73 percent of respondents agreed that we need an all-industry gathering for these very reasons.

As our national gathering, Outdoor Retailer has been the foundation of the industry community for almost 40 years. What started as a business need has also become a critical community connection point and the space to tackle big issues.

As the world changes and the consumer market evolves with trade wars, warming climates and technology advancement, our businesses face risk. Which is why Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), our industry’s trade organization, has a reason for being. We provide value to our members and protect against threats of the future by focusing all of our efforts on our three-pillar strategy: policy, sustainability and outdoor participation.

At OIA, the trade show is central to almost all the work we do. It is where we collaborate and convene to get some of the best proactive work done on behalf of the industry. It is also a large part of how we are funded, as our two most important sources of revenue are from membership dues and trade show royalties.

We need Outdoor Retailer to be successful. We believe it remains the best venue to harness our industry’s innovative thinking, products and marketing, not to mention the community connection that defines us. We should stay focused on this important legacy event. At the same time, the market is changing, and we need to change with it. The trade show will need to evolve, and Outdoor Industry Association, Snowsports Industries America (SIA), and Emerald Expositions are committed to meeting bi-annually to make sure Outdoor Retail stays essential to support the needs of our member brands and retailers far into the future.

In the meantime, our call to action is that you join us in Denver this month and in June and continue to join us in the future to show your support and belief in our industry community. It’s about more than just the business you do there. It’s also about coming together as a unified force to tackle important issues that we face as an industry. At this January’s show, OIA will be announcing an industry-wide collective effort around climate change that will define this industry for generations to come. Working together and taking bold action, we can grow our businesses and be a major force for social, political and economic change.

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