During OutDoor in July and Outdoor Retailer in August the European Outdoor Group’s Sustainability Working Group and the Outdoor Industry Association’s Eco Working Group held information sessions to introduce brands, designers and suppliers to the Beta Phase 1 version of the outdoor industry’s Eco Index and to encourage participation in the pilot testing program this autumn.

The Eco Index pilot program is open to all outdoor companies and will begin in late August 2010. A series of webinars will also be held throughout the autumn for pilot program participants.

Feedback will be gathered from pilot program participants via the Eco Index website as well as through the webinar series, with the Phase 1 Index scheduled for formal release in early 2011.

A first for the outdoor industry, the Eco Index is designed to help companies benchmark and measure their environmental footprint, allowing them to identify areas for improvement and make informed sourcing and product life cycle decisions. In development since 2007, the Eco Index tool encompasses guidelines, performance indicators, footprint metrics and a comparative scoring system against a six-stage lifecycle approach.

The aim is to enhance transparency within the supply chain and allow for easy adoption of best business practices. The Eco Index framework is modular, so companies can start small and work their way through it as they are able based on their level of knowledge and resources.

Mark Held, secretary general of the European Outdoor Group commented, ‘The outdoor industry’s success is inherently linked to the health of the planet, ensuring the continued existence of the places we hike and climb is vital. The industry has a responsibility to lead the move toward implementing more sustainable business practices that protect the livelihood of the industry and the environment.

Suppliers, brands, and retailers alike are facing increasing pressure to reduce the impact of their products throughout the product life cycle. The Eco Index provides guidance, methodology, and tools for outdoor companies to assess their current practices and prioritise their efforts to implement more sustainable solutions. For outdoor retailers in particular, another challenge is wading through the wide variety of brand-specific sustainability measurement systems and labels currently in existence. The Eco Index will provide retailers with a common language to identify the environmental impacts of the products and brands they carry.

“I think so many companies want to do the right thing environmentally but not every company has the ability to understand what the right thing is,” remarked Jill Dumain, Director of Environmental Strategy at Patagonia, Chair of the US based Eco Working Group Advisory Council and a member of the Steering Group of the European Sustainability Working Group. “We’ve been able to bring together the best minds and the best ideas and come up with an index that is really progressive and that everyone has agreed upon. Partners along the supply chain can work towards the same goal and change within the industry will happen at a quicker rate.”

The Eco Index beta website is available at, www.ecoindexbeta.org – the site has been developed on behalf of the Groups by California-based SourceN and Oya Group.

If you would be interested in Beta Testing the Eco Index please email: vanessa.knowles@europeanoutdoorgroup.com