International ‘not-for-profit movement’ Shift Cycling Culture has launched the Climate Commitment in collaboration with a group of bike CEOs, leading some of the largest companies in the cycling industry.
The Shift Cycling Culture movement has a mission to… ‘drive systemic change in the cycling industry and wider community to create a sustainable future for our sport and the places we love to ride.’
It adds that… ‘a transition to a more sustainable future for our sport can only be achieved from the inside out.’
An open letter from bike industry CEOs to the wider industry is positioned as an urgent appeal to acknowledge the industry’s responsibility in reaching the UN Paris Agreement targets on Climate Change, and to do so collectively.
CEO Letter to the Industry
Dear cycling industry colleagues,
As a group of business leaders from across the cycling industry, we have become acutely aware that climate change is not only a future risk, but a current one, which is accelerating before our eyes.
We are proud that cycling plays an important part in decarbonising our world, by enabling people to ride their bikes, enjoy the outdoors and make cities more liveable by taking cars off the streets. At the same time, the way in which we in the cycling industry make and sell products is also contributing to the problem.
We need to change this, but we can’t do it on our own, which is why we’re making an urgent appeal to you, our partners and competitors across the wider industry.
Why this initiative
Shift Cycling Culture brought us together in a leadership forum to discuss our business’ roles in tackling climate change. During this process we have woken up to the fact that it is not just our business we need to change and that in order to contribute to the UN global goals on Climate Change, we will need to speed up our efforts collectively as an industry.
How the collective cycling industry can play a part
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. 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 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.
We recognise the enormity of the challenge of meeting the UN Paris Agreements’ targets, and we will only be able to do so if we innovate together to:
- Reduce emissions related to production
- Create products that will last longer
- Work with customers on maintenance and lifetime extension
- Develop a closed loop system to recover materials
Our commitment
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)
This is just a start
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. 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.
Please join us
This letter is a call to action for ourselves and for you as our colleagues. We invite you to join us on this journey and commit to transformative change in our industry.
Please join us by signing the Climate Commitment, as a first step towards becoming a net-zero industry.
Yours sincerely,
Derek Bouchard-Hall / CEO, Assos of Switzerland
David Zurcher / CEO, BMC Switzerland AG
Will Butler-Adams OBE / CEO, Brompton
Wade Wallace / Founder, CyclingTips
Peter Woods / CEO, Dorel Sports Group
Jayu Yang / CEO Haro Bikes USA
Thomas Spengler / MD, Internetstores Holding GmbH
Simon Mottram / Founder & CEO, Rapha
Dr Sandra Wolf / CEO, Riese & Müller GmbH
Thorsten Heckrath-Rose / Managing Director, ROSE Bikes GmbH
Frank Bohle / President & CEO, Schwalbe
Barbara Bigolin / CEO, Selle Royal Group
Mike Sinyard / Founder & CEO, Specialized Bicycle Components
Stijn Vriends / President & CEO, Vittoria S.p.A.
www.shiftcyclingculture.com/climatecommitment
