The Outdoor Industry Eco Index is an environmental assessment tool that includes criteria and metrics regarding environmental aspects of corporate practices, processes as they relate to products. The development of the tool was facilitated by the Zero Waste Alliance.

Status

The first draft of the Outdoor Industry Eco-Index was completed in August, 2010 and the tool and its system are now in the beta test stage. Over 80 companies are involved in the beta test process which is planned to be completed the winter of 2010.

Assistance

The Zero Waste Alliance offers training and support services on all aspects of the Eco-Index to help organizations quickly and efficiently understand and implement an internal system that will make your company an industry leader.

More Information about our support services...

Background

Member companies of the Outdoor Industry Association and European Outdoor Group and their consumers and customers have been increasingly concerned about the environmental impacts of the products produced by the outdoor industry. However, a need was identified by leading outdoor industry companies; There was no clear, shared, industry-wide way to evaluate and/or compare products from an environmental perspective.

The Zero Waste Alliance was selected by the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) and the European Outdoor Group(EOG) to manage and facilitate the process of developing an Eco Index for the industry. ZWA's expertise in industry standards development and large group facilitation including the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) brings a unique skill set as well as lessons learned from other industry efforts to the development of the outdoor industry tool.

The Outdoor Industry Eco Index is an environmental assessment tool that includes criteria and metrics regarding environmental aspects of corporate practices, processes as they relate to products. It is intended to enhance transparency within the supply chain and facilitate communication with suppliers. The Eco Index contains criteria grouped into three separate components (guidelines, metrics and scoring).

More information about the index...

For additional information visit the Eco Index Beta website.

top of page