October 10, 2022 EOS 2022: A New Direction for the Industry?
For two days, over 350 key people gathered at the European Outdoor Summit in Annecy. Sustainability was the main theme and the message was clear: We must act faster – together. Suston’s editor-in-chief Gabriel Arthur reports from the Summit.
The Imperial Palace is, as the name suggests, a stately building, overlooking Lake Annecy and the surrounding Alps. Here, the European Outdoor Summit (EOS) was inaugurated on Thursday morning on October 5th by Mark Held, President for European Outdoor Group (EOG), which has been organizing the event since 2014. The annual industry meeting had been temporarily paused in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. In previous years, the target group was primarily top management, but with this new start it had been broadened. Among the more than 350 participants, there were many more sustainability managers and experts than before, and this was reflected in the agenda of the conference.
The opening talk was given by Dr. Jason Hickel, professor at the Institute for Environmental Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and author of the best-seller “Less is More: How degrowth will save the world” (Read Suston’s interview with Dr. Jason Hickel). Degrowth – and more specifically why and how the outdoor industry needs to start selling fewer, not more, products, was also the main message.
The message is largely reminiscent of what the environmental movement and large parts of the scientific world have promoted for decades. But while they have often stood outside calling in, to various industries and companies, Dr. Jason Hickel has managed to formulate himself such that he is welcomed in. And once inside, he doesn’t hold back, urging the outdoor industry to go ahead of other industries in the Degrowth movement, because of its obvious connection to nature.
While some attendees looked a little pale, the majority were enthusiastic. The European Outdoor Summit 2022 had the title “Finding balance and success within disorder.” Maybe the time has come for more radical messages like Dr. Jason Hickel’s?
Dr. Jason Hickel held the fiery opening keynote speech at the European Outdoor Summit, pointing out some harsh truths behind the state of the world – and what needs to be done.
Next followed the various keynote speakers, talks in smaller groups, networking, mingling and a number of scenic excursions. (My favorite was an evening kayak tour on Lake Annecy, looking at the Alps in the South). Not everything revolved around sustainability – but it came close.
How does the European Union’s ambitious climate and circularity initiatives affect the outdoor industry, and how can the industry be involved and influence the legislators? How can companies conduct philanthropy in a more systematic way, for example through 1% for the Planet? Diversity challenges, single use plastic solutions and “Regenerative Leadership” were among the other topics. And I lost count of how many presenters began by saying something like “we are on the brink of a global climate catastrophe – we have to act now.”
Yngvill Ofstad, Sustainability Manager at Bergans of Norway, summed up the general feeling in the room well:
“It’s both a feeling of ‘Wow – now things are starting to happen!’ and at the same time ‘Wow – so much needs to be done…”
More than a “Sustainability Kickoff”
After the closing keynote presentation, the participants poured out into the lounge area – where the conversations continued.
“Before the pandemic, we took these kinds of conversations for granted. Now it is so valuable that they are coming back,” said Julian Lings, Senior Sustainability Manager at VF Outdoor (including brands like The North Face).
“The informal talks, like when you go running with others in the morning, is actually what I appreciate the most at events like EOS. You can get into deeper conversations than you ever would on Zoom or Teams.”
On Friday afternoon, I myself was lucky enough to go on a trip up the mountain slopes on the east side of Lake Annecy, led by Benjamin Marias, Vice Mayor in Annecy and founder of the sustainability consultants cooperative Air Coop, one of the drivers behind the transition of the regional outdoor industry. The climb was breathtaking in two ways – physically, and mentally when we saw the lake and the surrounding mountains. The Imperial Palace was also visible below, where the event had been held. While catching my breath, I thought that the event felt like a kind of international “Sustainability Kickoff,” following the two years of the pandemic. And at the same time I think about the risks of a kickoff. It can feel incredibly inspiring on the spot – then everyone goes home and works as usual.
I hope that I and the other 350 participants can follow the advice we took home: “Have a nice, quiet weekend – but then pick up some of the ideas and thoughts you got at the event and get to work.”
Gabriel Arthur (left), together with two leading experts within outdoor and sustainability, Joel Svedlund (middle) from Sweden and Benjamin Marias (right) from France, discuss the event during a run in the mountains.
Photos: Gabriel Arthur
