Climate change is one of the greatest threats to fish and fisheries on the planet, and according to the Intergovernmental Panel in Climate Change (IPCC), the world would have to curb its carbon emissions by at least 49% of 2017 levels by the year 2030 and then achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 in order to avoid catastrophic climate change effects. That’s why fly fishing apparel brand, RepYourWater decided to protect what they love by going carbon neutral. RepYourWater was founded with conservation in mind by donating a percentage of their annual sales to many nonprofit conservation partners since inception, which is now up to 3%. They have also spent the last four years improving the overall social and environmental performance of their operations and products by going zero waste at their headquarters and introducing their Ethical Assortment, which includes products that are better for the planet and humanity whether they are made from recycled materials, are ethically sourced, made with organic cotton or a combination. In July 2020, RepYourWater took the next step in their sustainability journey by joining the Fly Fishing Climate Alliance as a founding member, and began collecting their 2019 data to calculate their carbon footprint and are now officially carbon neutral for the year 2019.
In order to achieve carbon neutrality, RepYourWater first had to calculate their entire carbon footprint, which included greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from heating, purchased electricity, waste generated in operations, employee commuting, business travel, inbound shipments, shipments to customers, and carbon generated by product manufacturing. By following the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard and working with Emerger Strategies, RepYourWater discovered carbon neutrality was achievable by purchase renewable energy credits (RECs) and carbon offsets. They decided to select carbon offset projects that were meaningful to their business and purchased offsets from: Audubon Birds’ Sanctuary in South Carolina, Native Alaskans Saving Lands and May Ranch Grasslands Protection in our native Colorado through the nonprofit, Cool Effect. RepYourWater co-founders Corinne and Garrison Doctor had this to say about the process of going carbon neutral: “We wanted to do the right thing, but had no idea where to begin, and Emerger Strategies helped make the process simple and efficient. We know and understand that every product we make and use has an environmental impact, and as humans we have an impact on our planet. We wanted to take the steps that were within our control to minimize that effect and will continue to do so. We can never cease in our efforts to earn our customers trust, but we are pleased with the progress we have made so far. That said, we are extremely proud to announce that RepYourWater is now a carbon neutral company and hope that we inspire other companies to do the same!”
Fly Fishing Climate Alliance founder and Emerger Strategies President Rick Crawford, said, “RepYourWater truly exemplifies what it means to care for the environment by not just talking the talk, but walking the walk by giving back to conservation and working diligently to improve their social and environmental performance. Going carbon neutral is a big deal, and because the clock is ticking on solving the climate crisis, the world needs more companies like RepYourWater!”
RepYourWater is currently compiling their 2020 carbon footprint and zero waste data, so be on the lookout for RepYourWater’s 2020 Sustainability Report for more details on how they maintained their zero waste and carbon neutral status.
ABOUT REPYOURWATER
RepYourWater is an apparel brand dedicated to providing uniquely designed, top quality gear for anglers and hunters while increasing support of local conservation and inspiring exploration. RepYourWater donates at least 3% of every sale to its nonprofit conservation partners and is working towards achieving their sustainability goals.
