In March, Salomon TV released The Curve of Time, an environmental-themed film in which Salomon freeski athletes Chris Rubens and Greg Hill have a conversation with their future selves, contemplating a sobering environmental forecast and the impact their thirst for adventure has on the very environment that sustains and fulfills them.
In late 2018, Salomon will follow The Curve of Time with details of its new Play-Minded Sustainability Program, addressing the company’s immediate and longterm objectives and intentions in several areas relating to sustainability. The company will outline a plan through 2025 that focuses on grassroots efforts to support the people and places of the outdoor sports community. The Play-Minded Program will have a four-pronged approach:
Mind the Players:
Salomon will educate people with knowledge, inspiration and solutions for more responsible ways to play outside. By 2025, the brand’s goal is to invest 1% of company revenue to educate what it calls “the players”, those who practice outdoor sports.
Mind the Playground:
Salomon will, by 2025, reduce its carbon emissions by 20 percent from its 2015 statistics.
Mind the Playmakers:
The brand will continue to ensure the well-being of its employees and remain committed to making a positive impact on its local communities and suppliers around the globe. By 2025, Salomon will maintain the high level of employee satisfaction with the company (currently 80 percent of employees are “satisfied” or “extremely satisfied” with Salomon as an employer); dedicate 2.5 percent of payroll spend on training and coaching; ensure that 100 percent of suppliers meet or exceed the minimum level of the brand’s social compliance standard; and increase the percentage of waste that is recycled/reused across operations to 70 percent.
Mind the Toys:
Salomon has set the following objectives to meet by 2025 in order to lessen the environmental impact of its products: Ensure that 100 percent of new Salomon products will be designed to one or several of the company’s circular economy principles; guarantee that the environmental performance of every Salomon product is visible to the consumer; and ensure that 100 percent of top tier materials suppliers have signed or otherwise demonstrated compliance with category-level Materials Compliance Programs and Restricted Substances Lists (RSLs).
Hill and Rubens are encouraged that their sponsor is taking steps to build a more sustainable business.
“As an athlete trying to being more sustainable, it is nice to work with companies that are also trying to help,” says Hill. “It is inspiring that Salomon is taking steps to be more responsible toward the environment and people. The world needs us all to change—individuals, large companies, everyone—and it is exciting that we are all looking at solutions.”
