Commercial, GHG Emissions - September 28, 2020
REI to achieve 14-year carbon neutrality goal on time this year
REI Co-op announced Sept. 24 that they will achieve their 2020 goal of carbon neutrality by the end of the year and launched a new climate platform that will allow them to reduce their carbon footprint by half over the next decade.
The Seattle-based outdoor retailer first committed to being carbon neutral by 2020 in 2006. Since then, REI has taken steps to measure and report their emissions and prioritize projects like green building certifications, on-site renewable energy generation and investing more than $100 million into outdoor spaces that can provide carbon sequestration.
“The climate crisis is the greatest threat to the future of life outdoors and to REI’s business. The science is clear about what we, as a society, need to do to change that future,” Eric Artz, REI Co-op President and CEO, said in a statement. “The world must halve its greenhouse gasses emissions by 2030, so that’s where REI – and the broader outdoor community – must lead. Going forward, we’re embedding the impact of doing business, and the cost, into our business model.”
REI is formally joining Climate Neutral to hold themselves accountable for emissions, starting with those emitted in 2020.
Additionally, going forward, the company plans to increase the work that they do to support carbon sequestration projects, like planting trees in cities and suburbs; reforestation and active forest management; and advocating for cleaner transportation infrastructure and clean energy solutions. They are committed to planting 1 million trees by 2030 as part of the global 1 Trillion Trees initiative and published a new advocacy platform outlining their climate policy priorities for 2021 and beyond.
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