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PartnerNews | Sustainability at Scott

Interview with Sustainability Manager Adrew Goodman

by Lorenzo Rieg 03/22/2022
Sustainability is an important and topical issue that we at PowderGuide also address time and again with our partners. Scott is quite active in this area and strives to produce its own products as sustainably as possible, but also pays attention to things like working conditions at suppliers and producers along its own supply chains. We spoke to Andre Goodman, Scott's sustainability manager, about this topic.

Advertising // This post is part of an advertising partnership between Scott and PowderGuide // Advertising

PG: Who are you, what are you doing at Scott and how did you end up there? Can you give our readers a short overview?

AG: My name is Andrew Goodman, and for the past three years, I have been developing SCOTT's Corporate Responsibility program "RE-SOURCE BY SCOTT." With a decade of experience in the outdoor sports industry and an academic background in corporate social responsibility, I was offered the opportunity to work on the strategic development of the program and what a great ride it's been so far. This program was a new initiative for our organization. Whilst SCOTT had always been undertaking many responsible activities, we felt that our stakeholders required more insight and understanding of the work we do at SCOTT, and the RE-SOURCE BY SCOTT program was created to provide the platform to communicate our work towards Corporate Responsibility.

What does sustainability mean for Scott, and what is the company doing in regards of sustainability?

We believe in doing things the right way and for the right reasons. This philosophy defines us and everything we do. We are committed to improving the impacts of our products and business practices, preserving the environment for future generations, and stimulating positive change in our communities. RE-SOURCE BY SCOTT was put in place to develop and promote Corporate Responsibility. This program focuses on three key pillars: People, Product and Planet.

When we committed ourselves to this program, we felt it was important to start with the foundations, looking at managing and evaluating our supply chain and adapting our material choices. For us, the real sustainability process starts at the very beginning in the R&D phase. Innovations will enable us to change the way we work with materials and elevate our production processes.

We started off with a handful of products in our SCOTT Winter Sports apparel collection, however now it has expanded to include other brands and across divisions. This growth has been possible by having implemented a clear strategy and criteria for our more eco-responsible products.

As a group, we have a long history environmental and social stewardship. Examples like our decade long partnership with the UCI Solidarity, our youth cycling development programs or product packaging efforts are but a few of a long list of engagements we have done over the years. We look forward to continuing to push our CSR ambitions to greater heights and making them an integral part of our brands' identities.

Can gear and infrastructure intensive outdoor sports like skiing and biking really be sustainable? And if yes how?

I think that yes for sure, they can become more responsible. It is not something that is easily done, and it is not something that a single individual or brand can do alone. It is an effort that must be done from all sides: from transportation providers, electricity companies, brands and consumers. It is only together that we will be able to make our sports more sustainable. Over the course of the last few years, we have seen the term sustainability used as to define a trend, however we see it more as an obligation of the 21st century. It is not something that can be pushed back for later and every individual and organization has a role in moving towards a more sustainable future. Are we going to do mistakes? For sure. However, the biggest mistake would be to do nothing. We are committed to our CSR program re-source by SCOTT and we look forward to growing into an integral part of the business.

How important is reducing the footprint of gear? I would guess that most of the footprint for skiing is in the infrastructure and in the travel to the snow?

There are impacts all along a product's value chain from the material extraction, the production and transportation and all the way to the use phase and the end of life of the product. We focus on reducing the impact of the process we control: the material choices of our products and the selection of our value chain partners. In this regard we do our utmost to improve the impact of our products and processes and look to find viable solution to create performing products designed in a more eco-responsible manner.

Reducing the overall impact along all the different phases is a collaborative effort from producers, retailers, end consumers, and resorts. Only by working together towards the common goal will we be able to surmount this environmental crisis.

Regarding the new new Superguide 95 Sk, which is also labeled RE-SOURCE and is largely made of recycled materials, did you calculate the change in the footprint achieved through this?

Yes we did. We use material databases that enable us to better understand the potential impacts of our material choices. In the case of the skis, we looked at the different material choices that a traditional material would have versus the recycled or renewable alternative. What we found was that we were able to save between 20% to 40% on the carbon footprint of the material by opting for the more eco-responsible alternative. We also did our due diligence regarding the sourcing of the materials and collected all the necessary documentation to support the claims. This is not only done for the recycled content but also for the more eco-responsibly sourced renewable materials like the flax fibres and the wood cores, which are both sourced from Europe. This product is only a beginning. It has been learning experience which will enable us to grow and apply these learnings into our next products.

I had a look at the Scott RE-SOURCE website and saw that you are working a lot on your supply chain. What are you doing there and why is it relevant?

Ensuring that our products are made using responsible materials is one aspect of sustainability and our CSR activities, however, as was mentioned previously another key pilar of sustainability is the social aspect. We consider that all people involved in our value chain should be treated fairly with dignity and respect. important step is to ensure that they are also produced in such a way that the people producing our products are treated with dignity and respect. A few years ago, we joined the Responsible Sports Initiative (RSI). This initiative has enabled us to gather experience with other brands and share in the evaluation of our supply chains. We are also regularly evaluating the social and environmental performances of our value chain partners in order to meet the changing regulatory landscape and expectations of our stakeholders.

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This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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