NEMO, a designer of outdoor gear and accessories built to improve adventures, turns 20 this month and is celebrating by becoming Climate Neutral Certified. After years of work, education, research and collaboration with partners, NEMO is working towards climate positivity.
“The past 20 years have been an incredible journey — from starting NEMO as a senior in college focused on tents, to expanding the product line to include sleep systems, camp furniture, and accessories, we have been able to maintain our rule of always bringing product to market that’s unique and improves our experiences outdoors,” said Cam Brensinger, founder & CEO. “We are majority family-owned and determined to make a lasting brand, so we look far beyond the quarterly report to problems that will face our business years and decades from now. And at the top of that list is climate change.
“And though we believe the only real long-term solution is in reductions to greenhouse gas emissions, offsetting creates an economic driver for change and addresses our impacts in the meantime while we tackle the very tough challenge of making our products in cleaner ways,” Brensinger said. “For that reason, we’re pleased to announce our partnership with Climate Neutral. Addressing the impacts of our business is a difficult journey, but the world has avoided it for far too long and it’s time to take bold action. Going forward, we will put as much creative energy into how we make things as what we make. Today’s adventures shouldn’t come at the expense of tomorrow’s.”
Climate Neutral’s certification process builds on recognized standards for carbon measurement and neutrality. All certified brands must measure cradle-to-customer greenhouse gas emissions each year to maintain certification. Then, a brand must buy eligible verified carbon credits to compensate for all its emissions, directing investment into critical projects that remove and avoid emissions from energy, industry, and natural systems.
Finally, brands must commit to reduction action plans to cut future emissions within a 12-24-month timeline, reporting progress on those plans annually. All the brand’s certification data are publicly available on Climate Neutral’s website, and the process is repeated annually when companies must recertify.
To guide its efforts, NEMO defined five areas where it can best make an impact:
- Design and Innovation – Committing to design and manufacture products in ways that use fewer resources and produce less waste and fewer harmful outputs. Reducing environmental impact and creating long-lasting, easily repairable items.
- ResponsibleSourcing – Leveraging the brand and sales volumes to reduce impacts across NEMO’s global value chain.
- Carbon Accountability- Annually measuring and reducing emissions as much as possible, and taking financial accountability for any remaining emissions by strategically offsetting with carbon credits.
- Advocacy for People and the Planet – Using NEMO’s brand platform to influence society and politics with the goal of reversing climate change. Promoting social justice, equity, diversity and inclusivity—both internally and with the brand’s
- Corporate Governance – Assuming a moral and fiduciary responsibility to address climate and social impacts with the financing, strategy and oversight of the company.
