Salomon is committing to improving the environmental impact of its in-person events, athletes and ambassadors. The brand has outlined specific sustainability-related goals to meet by 2025, touching both the protection of local nature and the overall emissions related to sports marketing.
The two-pronged approach around events and athletes will begin with the brand conducting sustainability studies of existing in-person events, which will allow organizers to set specific goals around gatherings such as the Golden Trail Series races, the Salomon free ski team’s annual Mountain Collective and community events like the Salomon Mountain Academy. In addition to these brand events, Salomon will also onboard the hundreds of Salomon-supported community events worldwide to implement this new sustainability program.
Examples for Salomon’s event-related sustainability goals are:
- Clean energy sourcing by switching, wherever possible, to renewable energy
- Waste management through re-use, recycling and reduction practices
- Responsible catering through the sourcing of local, seasonal and organic food with a vegan option
- Optimizing event transportation by offering low-carbon transportation and promoting soft mobility
- Communicating responsibly by banning helicopters for filming and the promotion of events
- Offsetting event carbon emissions and offering a travel carbon-offset option for participants during their ticket purchase
- Communicating responsibly by banning helicopters for filming and the promotion of events
Salomon also commits to reduce the collective carbon footprint of its international athlete team by 30 percent by 2025. Beginning in 2022, the company will offset the global carbon footprint of its international athlete team. Furthermore, Salomon athletes have to agree to participate in more local events to reduce travel and sign a contract that allows the company to measure their individual carbon footprint to reduce it wherever possible. Additionally, athletes will be asked to adjust the amount of equipment they use to their minimum needs and repair that gear whenever possible.
Part of the team putting the plan into action is Salomon athlete Emelie Forsberg. Together with her partner, Salomon mountain athlete Kilian Jornet, Forsberg has dedicated significant time to this cause in recent years. The Kilian Jornet Foundation’s “Outdoor Friendly Pledge”— which calls on athletes, organizers, equipment manufacturers and federations to commit to making outdoor sports more sustainable — helped shape Salomon’s efforts around more sustainable sports marketing initiatives.
