Environmental actions
Several Amer Sports companies continued educating their employees about changing their work-habits to reduce paper and energy consumption, rationalize travel and increase recycling. For instance, Precor HQ reduced its waste by several hundred kilos and achieved significant annual savings by eliminating lunch room disposables while Arc’teryx has changed its product packaging from bags to a more sustainable biodegradable wrap. In 2009 the corporation had an upgraded video conference system installed and now has 27 video centers in active use, reducing the need for air travel.
Increased activity in this area continued through participation in environmental associations, which vary from industry-wide to local organizations. For example, Salomon is a member of the European Outdoor Group and is represented on its product end of life committee, which is working to establish industry standards for product development and disposal. Salomon is a co-founder of the Fondation Eau, Neige & Glace which aims to improve the management of mountain water resources, and as a member of Mountain Riders, a French non-profit organization, Salomon works to raise awareness on environmental issues and for the promotion of sustainable development in the mountains. Arc’teryx is a member of the Conservation Alliance, which has a mission to protect wilderness areas for their habitat and recreation values.
Amer Sports Winter & Outdoor Americas (ASWO), located in Ogden, Utah, partners with several local organizations, for instance one of which mission is to promote, plan and preserve trails and open space in and around the local community. ASWO is also a member of the committee to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality in Utah. ASWO’s employees have founded their own Green Committee, which meets regularly to review the company’s performance concerning environmental targets and to consider new opportunities. Similar committees also are in place at Amer Sports Sourcing and Arc’teryx headquarters in Vancouver. Initiated and supported by the company, the Arc’teryx Green Committee is an employee-based group that dedicates part of their working week towards reducing the environmental footprint of the business, and by researching and identifying problem areas within the company, its members propose and implement more sustainable solutions.
Precor’s new strength equipment manufacturing facility in North Carolina was given the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold status. It has been operational from early 2010 having a reduced energy usage of 40–50 percent compared to the previous one. The company worked with the architects, developers and contractors to ensure the highest possible energy conservation in the new facility.
Amer Sports brands have also created environmentally friendly products and one of the most recent examples is Atomic Nomad Renu skis. Compared to conventional skis, the Nomad Renu uses 30% less fiberglass and epoxy resins. The top sheet is produced with rapeseed oil, while recycled materials are used for the production of the base and steel edges. The special combination of a laminated ash core and a nut veneered top reinforcement makes energy-intensive aluminum components unnecessary and as a result, the carbon footprint has been reduced by 50%.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a technique to evaluate the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product. In 2010 Salomon conducted at least ten product LCAs aiming to better understand and evaluate the production impacts. Suunto participated in the VVT (Technical Research center in Finland) Ekoteho project which also included life cycle analysis to find and apply new methods for improving environmental friendliness in production.