Who will take the lead?

Imagine you’re out for dinner with friends. Not colleagues, but maybe doctors, teachers and programmers. You discuss world affairs. The fires in Australia. Greta Thunberg. Election year in the U.S.A. There’s a sense of anxiety. You throw a question into the discussion: “Business has incredible power, globally. Which industry do you think is taking the most responsibility for making the world a better place?” Everyone around the table turns silent.

You try your own industry. “Maybe the outdoor industry?” Your friends look skeptical. “I don’t know enough about what that industry is doing,” says one of them.

Because isn’t that how it is? For some years now, it feels like everybody in the outdoor industry is talking about sustainability. But that doesn’t mean everybody who’s interested in sustainability is talking about the outdoor industry. The majority of what happens stays within its own bubble.

Imagine if instead there was an obvious response to such a question, when your friends are gathered around the dinner table. It would probably mean they would visit an outdoor retailer more often. That they would speak about your industry with other friends. Maybe that they would even like to work there!

Also imagine how proud you could feel if you were a part of the obvious answer among your friends.