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Shift Cycling Culture has launched the Climate Commitment in collaboration with CEOs, urging the industry to acknowledge its responsibility in reaching the UN Paris Agreement targets on climate change.
Founding signatories of the letter are the CEOs of Assos of Switzerland, BMC Switzerland, Brompton, CyclingTips, Dorel Sports Group, Internetstores Holding, Haro Bikes USA//Kenda Tires, Rapha, Riese & Müller, ROSE Bikes, Schwalbe, Selle Royal Group, Specialized Bicycle Components and Vittoria.
In 2015, 195 countries signed the UN Paris Agreement, in which they committed to keep global warming below the critical level of 1.5 degrees Celsius, the letter explains. To achieve this, Greenhouse Gas emissions have to be reduced by 55% by 2030, and 100% no later than 2050.
“To reach this target also in the cycling industry, we need the entire supply chain to be involved,” the letter said. “The biggest part of the environmental impact of our products arises from production; 50-80% of the carbon emissions take place when we extract, source and produce materials and parts. We operate in a linear economy that doesn’t place value on the recirculation of materials, and too often, our customers are left with incompatible and redundant parts and products.”
The founding signatories are inviting all colleagues in the cycling industry to get behind, sign and actively work on the contents of this letter via shiftcyclingculture.com/climatecommitment.
Signatories of the Climate Commitment pledge to:
1. Report: We will disclose our own company’s carbon impacts by measuring our Scope 1 & 2 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, in accordance with the GHG Protocol, by 2023 (latest) and will continue to do so on an annual basis
2. Reduce: We will disclose our plans to reduce our Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by at least 55% by 2030 (against a baseline of no earlier than 2015)
“We recognise that these are just the initial steps of a long journey, and that many of us in our industry have already begun to take them,” said the letter. “However, we believe these initial steps are essential and urgent for us all, and that if every company within the cycling industry takes them, then the cumulative impact would be enormous.”
The full letter can be found here.
