Ruffwear Publishes Year One Climate Action Corps Progress Report, Applauds Goal to Become the World’s First Climate Positive Industry by 2030

June 30, 2021

Ruffwear is one of 100 outdoor companies pioneering a collaborative model to accelerate science-based climate action and influence policy.

BOULDER, Colo. – Ruffwear today released its 2020 Climate Action Corps Progress Report and shared in the announcement of an unprecedented goal to become the world’s first climate positive industry by 2030. A diverse group of more than 100 companies, including Ruffwear, and representing more than $25 billion in annual sales revenue have already united through the Climate Action Corps to address the threat of climate change, demonstrating an innovative model to aggressively reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and harness the power of nature to remove more carbon than its members emit – two decades ahead of Paris Agreement-aligned targets.

Key accomplishments from Ruffwear’s 2020 Progress Report include:

• Completed the measurement of the company’s scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions
• Installed solar panels on the roof of our headquarters office, contributing to a 30% reduction in emissions from electricity consumption
• Committed to sourcing 100% renewable electricity starting 2021

The Climate Action Corps today also released its first Annual Impact Report, which shares topline insights from aggregate industry data. In its inaugural year, 84% of Corps members measured the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their owned or controlled operations (known as “scope 1 and 2 emissions”), 78% have set or are setting targets to reduce these emissions and 49% are actively reducing them through improved energy efficiency and sourcing renewable electricity in the U.S. Recognizing the GHG emissions from the value chain (known as “scope 3 emissions”) as the largest portion of a typical outdoor company’s footprint, 69% of Corps members measured, or are in the process of measuring scope 3 emissions, while 28% are taking actions to reduce this impact – a number due to grow greatly in the coming years through targeted supply chain collaborations. In addition to the guiding principles to “make better,” “run cleaner,” and “transport smarter” – the Corps encourages its members to “grow creatively” – that is, to move from business-as-usual approaches to models that increase revenue without necessarily making new gear.

“There’s no denying that climate change is an existential crisis for the outdoor industry. The question is no longer ‘what will we do about it?’ – it’s how far can we go, and who wants to join us? We want the outdoor industry to lead the charge and inspire other industries. Our efforts alone will certainly not solve the climate crisis – we need every business, government, and individual to act.  With this new strategy, we’ve established a credible, practical pathway, supporting resources, and interim milestones that will guide and accelerate progress for companies no matter how far along they are on the path,” said Amy Horton, OIA Senior Director of Sustainable Business Innovation.

Corps members commit to share progress annually, demonstrating accountability toward a shared industry-wide climate positive goal and emphasizing progress over perfection. The group’s working definition of “climate positive” means its members reduce their carbon footprints according to science-based targets, remove their remaining carbon emissions from the atmosphere (ideally, through nature-based projects), and advocate for robust climate policy.

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ABOUT RUFFWEAR

Ruffwear’s mission is to build performance dog gear to enhance and inspire exploration for outdoor adventurers and their human companions. Since 1994, Ruffwear Performance Dog Gear™ has combined technology, quality, fit, function, and safety to facilitate its belief that every dog is an explorer. Ruffwear is committed to enhancing the lives of all dogs and their human companions by partnering with The Conservation Alliance, in addition to supporting working dog organizations across the globe.

Based in Bend, Oregon, Ruffwear sells its products through specialty pet and outdoor retailers as well as at www.ruffwear.com.

ABOUT Climate Action Corps
The OIA Climate Action Corps was founded in January 2020 to bring together brands, retailers, manufacturers, suppliers and supporting organizations to harness the power of collaboration to address the threat of climate change to the outdoor industry. In partnership with PeopleforBikes, the Corps unites a diverse mix of outdoor businesses of all sizes, product types and in varying stages of climate action to accelerate progress toward reducing GHG emissions, harness the power of nature to remove more carbon than we emit, and advocate for robust climate policy.

Companies interested in accelerating their progress on climate action and contributing to the industry’s climate positive ambition are invited to join the OIA Climate Action Corps by visiting www.outdoorindustry.org/climateaction. OIA also welcomes fellow associations interested in partnership or sharing insights and resources to reach out to climateaction@outdoorindustry.org.