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June 14, 2007
Chaco Offsets Early Show Travel with Wind Credits
Grassroots Outdoor Alliance members are currently attending the "Early Show," a sort of mini-trade show where Grassroots members and their vendor partners have a few days in Snow Bird for line shows and other business before the madhouse of OR in August. Grassroots just announced that Chaco has offset all members' travel to and from the show through Native Energy.
I was impressed that the release recognized that offsets are "not a total sustainability solution for the Early Show event," but rather part of a larger sustainability program for the show. Specifically, the money Chaco donated will go to an interesting program where Midwestern farmers are given the opportunity to purchase, with the help of capital from Native Energy, wind turbines that provide for their energy needs without relying on fossil fuels. The press release has a few more details:
Chaco and the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance chose to buy offsets from Native Energy for a number of reasons. First, Native Energy is known for its transparency, and the entire offset purchase amount will go toward a Native Energy project called “Farmer-owned Distributed Wind Turbines.” This project was chosen because it benefits independent farmers who have been working family-owned, heritage farmlands for multiple generations. Native Energy was also selected because of the depth of resources it offers to businesses of all sizes. The Grassroots Outdoor Alliance and Chaco are actively encouraging the membership to incorporate other sustainability services from Native Energy into their retail businesses as well as communities and events, as the organization takes collective steps toward educating its membership about sustainable business practices. The Early Show will include an educational overview on Native Energy for its membership to facilitate this connection.
Turns out, even the location (Snow Bird resort in Utah) has an environmental slant, and recently won sustainability awards from both the EPA and a ski industry group. Check out the Grassroots Blog for full details.
Rock Creek is a proud member of the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, and we're encouraged to see the group take a leadership role in the ongoing improvement of our industry. Check out our environmental statement for more on what we're doing to reduce the harm we cause.
Trail Work, Access & Environment | By Mark McKnight | 4:51 PM
