American outdoor companies are motivated to implement sustainability practices primarily because they believe the industry has a role to play in the preservation of the environment. This is one of the findings of the first State of Sustainability in the Outdoor Industry report, published by the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA). The document is based on a survey of 120 individual small, mid-size and large companies in the outdoor industry. The survey found that 75 percent of participating companies have at least one employee who is responsible for sustainability efforts within their organization, while 87 percent used the Higg Index as a reference for internal sustainability conversations or benchmarking efforts. More than half of the participating companies (63 percent) are investing in renewable energy, in an effort to cut carbon emissions. Also, large companies indicated that having a proactive sustainability strategy is critical for business success, the report shows.

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