Skiing Business

Ryan Dionne
2011-09-20 14:06:49 | 2519 views SHARE

Protect Our Winters, a non-profit organization fighting climate change, last week made a trip to Washington, D.C. with a small group of athletes and other industry insiders to lobby against global warming.

Skiing Business caught up with professional snowboarder Jeremy Jones, who also happens to be P.O.W.’s president and founder, to talk about the recent trip and the organization’s goals.

You guys just got back from Washington, D.C. What were you doing?
We were there for two days meeting with senators and congressmen to explain the importance of the EPA’s ability to uphold clean air. It’s really important for us to be there lobbying and getting our message across, but it’s always a learning experience too.

Mission accomplished then?
Time will tell how fruitful the trip was, but we were meeting with people that were on the fence in terms of climate change. It was the people who had voted both ways on climate-change bills. We wanted to show them what it meant for not only skiers and snowboarders, but also jobs. After all, many ski towns depend on healthy winters.

It’s too big of a fight to try to transform the minds of people who don’t think climate change is real. It’s hard to argue with that. But if we can change the mind-in our favor-of people who are on the fence, then we gain ground.

What do you see as the biggest challenge in your fight?
More often than not it’s the politics involved. For some politicians, if they recognized climate change is real and voted accordingly, they’d lose their jobs. Amazingly, many of the politicians that don’t support our cause represent states that have ski resorts and economically rely on them. I don’t understand that at all, and it’s frustrating.

Some people think P.O.W. is just another organization on the global warming debate bandwagon. Thoughts?
We’re definitely fighting climate change and proving it’s real by showing the science. And while we may be another organization in the fight, there aren’t enough of us. The groups that we’re up against are bigger and have more money behind them.

That’s why, when we’re on Capitol Hill, it’s nice to be told how happy many politicians are to see us. They’re accustomed to seeing big oil companies and groups that support coal and other non-renewable energies lobbying-not us.

Where do you think change starts, at the brand level or at the consumer level? And where do retailers fit?
Climate change needs to be addressed on every level, and each level is equally important. Smart companies have already started to run more sustainably, and consumers are starting to recognize and reward that.

That’s where consumes come in. They play a huge role and need to embrace the companies that are being more sustainable. If they do that, then more companies will become sustainable and will continue to up the ante with their environment-friendly products.

Retailers, though, play a big role too because they can support Earth-friendly companies via their yearly buys. If retailers demand more from their vendors, then the brands are apt to deliver. But it’s tougher for retailers because they must be sensitive to what their customers want.

Before you mentioned being up against groups with “big money.” Where does P.O.W.’s $250,000 budget come from?
That money comes from a mix of donations, memberships and fundraisers. We’re a nonprofit, so we try to stretch our money as far as we can, which is why we put a ton of sweat equity into what we do.

Where does the bulk of your budget go?
Most of our energy goes into various grants and programs that we create. One of the programs we do is the Hot Planet/Cool Athletes program where a pro athlete goes to schools with a climate change expert to talk about global warming. That program was our biggest budget line item last year.

But to make our money stretch further, we utilize our connections and be smart about our endeavors.

Are you talking about athlete connections?
The power of being a pro athlete can’t be understated. Not only do pros have loyal fans that look up to them and are influenced by them, but pros play a big role in many brands too.

Many brands nowadays have full pro lines, and we have a say in all aspects of those lines as well as in general product development.

So athletes definitely have a lot of power when it comes to company ethos and how sustainable they are. And P.O.W. tries to take advantage of that.