Oriented on making people closer

Icebug, the Swedish outdoor footwear company, has become the first climate positive outdoor footwear brand, UN Climate Change News informs.

From their start as a company, Icebug has incorporated sustainability and eco-consciousness into their business practices. This past year, Icebug committed to – and succeeded at – implementing the United Nations Climate Neutral Now initiative, making Icebug the first climate positive outdoor footwear brand. Perception changed dramatically following the events of the summer of 2018, when dangerous wildfires raged above the Arctic Circle and the worst drought in decades heavily impacted Swedish farmers. In the face of worsening extreme weather events, the company felt that the time had come to hold themselves accountable for their climate footprint.

“Climate action is urgent and requires everyone in society to participate. We are glad to see Icebug take a leadership position in pushing the climate agenda within its operations, and by supporting emission reduction projects globally. Through such actions, reduction at home and support for others to reduce further, we can accelerate the movement towards the Paris Agreement goal of a climate neutral global society,” Icebug CEO David Ekelund says.

According to him, although Icebug has emerged as a leader on climate action in the outdoor sector, the original agenda when creating the brand was not environmentalism. The reality of climate change is what has forced the company into that space.

Acting on this conviction, Icebug made the bold announcement that its operations would be climate positive by 2020 and – less than 6 months later – it has already made good on this promise as a participant in the UN Climate Change Secretariat’s Climate Neutral Now initiative.

“When we made the decision, we plunged into the unknown. We didn’t know how much would cost per shoe, but we felt we had to take action. We want other companies to know that becoming climate positive was easier than we thought,” Ekelund explained.

In order to become climate positive, Icebug first needed to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions from its entire value chain. This was no mean feat for the performance footwear manufacturer: one pair of shoes or boots can have 30-40 different components.

However, by finding the right experts to assist them with a life cycle assessment of one of their most popular products, Icebug was able to extrapolate and estimate the greenhouse gas emissions across their operations.

Going forward, Icebug will continue to refine the methodology for estimating its greenhouse gas emissions and set aggressive targets for emission reductions in-house.

“We want the maximum effect, and that can only be achieved if others follow suit. Now it’s time for companies to step up and take responsibility,” Ekelund stated.