July 6, 2023 Europe’s Largest Premium Outdoor Retailer Publishes Latest Sustainability Report

From meticulous calculations of Scopes 1-3 carbon emissions to efforts to eliminate “greenwashing” from its stores, 2022 has been a busy year for Yonderland’s sustainability efforts.

Yonderland is Europe’s largest premium outdoor retailer, running a total of 190 shops across Belgium, Luxembourg, France, United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and The Netherlands, and eCommerce sites for all 8 of its brands. When it comes to the need to push for greater sustainability, Yonderland needs no convincing:

“Sustainability is a mindset; a way of life. It can come in complicated theories and mindboggling analyses but in the end it’s all in us and part of us. We know and feel what is right or wrong.” These are the opening words by Group CEO Fredric Hufkens to Yonderland’s 2022 sustainability report that highlights a year spent working towards its Climate, Repair and Recycling goals.

Here are a few of the highlights taken from the report:

• Yonderland has been able to estimate its Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, and thus have a better focus on where to put its efforts to reduce its emissions by 50% in Scope 1 and 2 and convince 2/3 of its brands to commit to reducing their emissions. Yonderland has reduced its CO 2 e emissions by 37% since 2019, investing over EUR 1.5m to change its infrastructure and make it more energy efficient.
• Yonderland has submitted its targets to the “Science Based Target Initiative,” to independently certify that it is achieving its climate goals.
• Yonderland has reviewed its communication with customers and vendors, and its processes to eliminate “greenwashing” risks, which for a company that buys and sells products, can be high if its brands do not provide it with accurate information. This information is the cornerstone of “Its Planet” label, so its customers can make a better-informed decision when buying its products.
• Yonderland has reinforced and progress in its care and repair programs, leveraging its expertise in outdoor products. These programs are a cornerstone of the strategy in Bever and Retail Concepts, to extend the life of the great products that it sells to its customers.
• Yonderland has continued with its recycle program, and evolved it to “upcycle” and “re-sell” products that are in quasi perfect conditions.
• Yonderland has continued its efforts to understand where its waste ends, and to increase their recycling rates. In O&CC it is collecting all single-use polybags4 from stores and from its ecommerce orders in its Head Office for recycling, as the local recycling centers across the UK are often unable to recycle LDPE plastics.

“We at Yonderland have taken the deliberate decision to keep sustainability as part of our mission and as a key consideration for investment decisions,” writes Melanie Grünwald, Head of Sustainability at Yonderland.

“Sustainability action is no longer a luxury, or a “nice-to-have” agenda point; it isn’t even about just future-proofing our business model, although you neglect this at your peril – it is about future-proofing the planet’s habitability and all of our livelihood. The stakes could not be higher.”

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