Alpkit Sustainability Report 2023

AKTIVISM

Launched Green Commute where staff get £3 per day for riding, walking or taking public transport to work.

Awarded Ethical Consumer magazine Best Buy alongside Patagonia, Paramo and Vaude.

Highly commended in edie sustainability awards. Adopted our minerals from conflict zone policy.

As part of our commitment to making our range more inclusive we worked with Every Body Outdoors to review our fit and extended our size range from 6 to 20 for women and XS-XXL for men. We were one of just two brands in a recent group test of a dozen leading brands to size larger than 16 in womens.

Sonder Camino Al wins 9 out of 10 in road. cc review.

Launched Ranger jacket – a genuine organic cotton alternative to waterproof hardshell for those who want to minimise fossil fuel derived materials on the hill.

Held fundraisers for Mountain Rescue, donating 10% of total store sales to Mountain Rescue teams.

Opened our 9th store in Kingston-uponThames.

Launched a design project with Nottingham Trent University and carried out work on 3 detailed life cycle analyses of our products.

Plastic bag reduction project. We ship approx. 80% of our product naked from our factories. We estimate this has reduced our use of single use plastic bags by 300,000 bags saving 30 tonnes of plastic a year.

Had our 200th volunteer day.

Our carbon footprint methodology is verified by Nottingham Trent University funded by a European Regional Development Fund initiative.

Alpkit won best brand in Country Walking Magazine awards.

Diversified our ownership with 4,000 customers now part owners of Alpkit.

Alpkit won best brand in TGO Magazine annual awards.

Definition, our flagship and world’s first PFC-free mountaineering jacket, wins Editor’s Choice in Trek & Mountain against comparable jackets literally twice the price from other brands.

Build a better business

What we’re proud of

• We have an active Board with two independent directors representing customers, shareholders and our environmental and ethical policies.

• Extended our size range to XS to XXL and size 6 to 20.

• Moved wheel production to the UK from Taiwan and China with £100,000+ creating skilled work at our factory on the edge of the Peak District.

• Opened our 9th store in Kingston upon Thames.

• 30% of our products are UK made (according to DTI criteria).

• Staff took 406 paid volunteer days to support local projects.

• In a year of disruption and cost price inflation we minimised the price impact on our customers.

• Donations to Alpkit Foundation are now over £600,000.

• Of course, we paid all our taxes.

Alpkit team

Employees (FTE)

This year we will

UK.

• Continue to be a Living Wage Foundation employer.

• Aim to reduce salaried staff turnover to pre-pandemic levels and commit to a target of below 10%.

• Grow our team training, volunteer days and charity giving scheme.

• Establish a sustainability advisory board with representation from our customer shareholders.

• Recover our operating profits to previous levels.

We support the UN Sustainable Development Goals and see 9 as directly applicable to us. This is where we make a positive impact directly through the actions of Alpkit and Alpkit Foundation. These 9 goals are the foundations that underpin our principles and material topics.

BCorp

We are committed to using business as a force for good. We measure our social and environmental performance according to this independent 3rd party standard. We chose B Corp for its high standards, rigour and integrity. We certified last year and our next verification date is in August 2023. Between now and our renewal date, we continually review and monitor our performance using their framework. We compare ourselves to an all-business average and our peer group including Patagonia, Body Shop, Cotopaxi, Kathmandu, Finisterre, Picture Organic Clothing, Allbirds and World of Books.

* 2023 score is our self-assessment using self-assessment tool provided by B Corp. Our scores are independently verified every 3 years. Our last verified score was in August 2020 and the next is due in August 2023. The self-assessment tool is free to use at bcorporation.net

We are responsible and fair in the way we run our business and are investing in the

We redefine innovation around sustainability and design with purpose: repair reuse and recycle are at the forefront of our minds to make world class performance products.

99% of orders now plastic free packaging 80%

What we’re proud of

• Our products score a record 4.75 out of 5 by our customers.

• Increased the recycled content of our products to over 40%. 80% of our clothing now includes at least one significant sustainable feature (majority recycled, environmentally certified, non-mulesing or PFC-Free).

• Continued to use Higg to inform our detailed product decisions.

• Carried out life cycle analysis on a selection of key products with Nottingham Trent University.

• Zero waste to landfill across our entire UK operations.

• Averted 300,000 single use plastic bags in plastic-free shipping from our factories.

• All our contracts use 100% renewable electricity.

• Alpkit Outlet, our eBay store, is growing from strength to strength. Nothing at Alpkit is wasted and our outlet sells returned and damaged stock that we can’t sell as new.

Reduce Reuse Repair Recycle Work with people we believe in

7122 Repairs in 2022 8tonnes

Found

This year we will

• Target 10,000 repairs and 5 tons of Continuum.

• Increase the number of camping and equipment products with recycled content to over 50%.

• Increase the number of products with clear sustainable feature to over 90%.

We work with the best factories in the world. And only work with factories who share our ethos. Our senior team (CEO, MD, Head of Design, Head of Supply Chain and Senior Product Managers) personally know our factories and we regularly spend time with them and review conditions.

We use animal products responsibly. We only use animal products where there is a clear performance benefit. Where we do choose animal products for their performance function, we ensure the most humane farming methods.

Merino wool

We use Merino wool and lambswool in clothing and only use non-mulesed wool.

Leather

We use goat skin leather in some of our gloves. We prohibit the use of exotic animal skins in our products.

Down fill

Treat animals humanely Supplier Screening Checklist

We use goose and duck down in our clothing and sleeping bags and only use recycled or RDS certified down.

Alpkit

Ethics. No toxic chemicalsRestricted Substances List. No modern slavery.

Code

No cotton from risk regions. No minerals from conflict zones.

No sub-contract without consent.

Good working conditions. 100% certified sustainable palm oil.

Shared ethics and environmental plan to protect human rights, improve social justice and reduce environmental impacts.

Works with other recognised US and European brands.

All of our suppliers sign up to this checklist.

Respect our environment

What we achieved this year

• Delivered our Science Based Target for Scope 1 and Scope 2 targets 8 years ahead of plan by reducing our use of gas and move to certified renewable electricity.

• Reduced our carbon intensity by 8% to 23kg.

• Reduced our air freight to 13% of shipments by weight from 31% last year.

• Collaborated with all tier one suppliers to develop environmental plans to reduce our impact.

• Extended our carbon footprint estimates for our entire value chain.

• Offset the estimate of our entire Scope 1, Scope 2 and upstream Scope 3 emissions.

This year we will

• Eliminate gas from our remaining estate. We have one store that has significant gas use.

• Move our owned vehicles to electric in line with our replacement cycle.

• Reduce air freight to below 10% by weight.

• Continue to share our work with the outdoor industry through partnerships.

• We didn’t make as much progress with renewable energy at our Tier 1 factories as we planned and have set a minimum 50% renewable energy target for this year.

• 10% reduction in our upstream Scope 3 on a per item carbon intensity.

Our Full Value Chain Carbon Footprint

Estimating our carbon footprint informs the urgent action we’re taking in response to the climate crisis. It determines how we align to our Science Based Targets and stay within a 1.5 scenario.

Our methodology follows the GHG Protocol and look at the whole-life from raw material to use and end of life. We estimate that 75% of the carbon impact of a product is from the raw materials and manufacture process. Just 20% of the impact is in your ownership and is from how you choose to shop, use, care and ultimately pass on your gear. The single biggest thing you can do is use your gear for longer. Extending the life of our gear say from 3 years to 5 years will reduce your carbon footprint by 40%. And then pass it on or recycle when you’re done with it so it doesn’t go to landfill.

What we achieved this year

• Delivered our SBTi commitment to reduce our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 46% from our 2019 base year.

• On track to net zero by 2050 which is a 90% reduction in carbon intensity. We have reduced our emissions per order by 36% from 2019 to 2022.

This year we will

We will continue to do our bit to reduce impact:

• Screen factories based on ethos and values.

• Make long lasting, repairable and recyclable performance products without compromise.

• Choose environmentally preferable materials.

• Minimise airfreight and transport.

• Move to factories that also use renewables.

• Repair products and offer Continuum to find products new homes when you’re done with them.

Air Freight Volume

Scan for more

This report is just the highlights reel. For more details, scan here.

We seek to minimise the harm of our gear throughout its life without compromise to performance, durability or quality.

DESIGNS ON THE FUTURE

Last year, we collaborated with Nottingham Trent University. We were chuffed to be asked to team up with them. They reached out to us because they know we share the same values. We want to design great products. We’re both obsessed with the details and passionate about doing less harm.

We worked together to teach sustainable design to the designers of the future. And for the final project, we asked the cohort to redesign our bestselling tent, the Soloist. We wanted to reduce our impact, but still outperform.

Simple means sustainable

First, we granted the students access to all areas of Alpkit. We toured them round our head office and our Hathersage store.

It’s easy to design kit that seems sustainable. But if it’s hard to manufacture, that supersizes the carbon footprint. That’s why we took the NTU students to our UK factory, where they learned how to sew a Bandicoot pouch out of scrap fabrics.

“We saw Alpkit demonstrating product development within a company that lives and breathes its brand values.” –

Karen Winfield BA (Hons) MIED, Senior Lecturer in Product Design at

NTU.

Elly’s Story

Elly Cundill, Customer Services Manager

I joined Alpkit in 2017, fresh out of travelling after university, with no real idea what I wanted to do with my career. I knew I wanted to help people, and that I would only work for a company with strong values. Alpkit Customer Support offered me a way to do both!

I’m lucky to have grown alongside Alpkit, firstly as a Team Leader for our Aftersales area, then secondly as Assistant Manager for Customer Support. My passion for people development really grew in this role and I helped guide our customer journey, transform our returns processes, and work more closely with our senior leadership team.

Thirdly, Alpkit supported me in a move to our People Team, where I could build on my passion to develop people. Here, I developed a real affinity for training, and took on responsibility for this in the company, as well as joining the Alpkit Foundation board and leading the Continuum Project. It’s been incredibly rewarding removing barriers between people and the adventures they want to go on.

The brief

We asked the students to do a deep dive into our products and to reduce their carbon footprint. We gave them each a Qark headtorch and a Soloist tent. They did full product tear downs and a Life Cycle Analysis for each product, verifying our carbon footprint.

21 groups presented us their pre-LCAs and post-LCAs, which included their suggested design changes. Some suggestions were as simple as material changes or reductions. But some students went and above beyond. One group redesigned the entire tent! But small changes add up to make a big impact. With the selected design changes, we’ll see an expected carbon emission reduction of 5.55 kg (c.31% decrease). We’re currently working on implementing these changes into our range. This will reduce our annual carbon emissions by 16849.8kg in just Soloist tents alone! Working with academics keeps us ahead of the industry. Helps us take our sustainability principles from great to greater. That’s why we can’t wait to work with NTU next year too.

“I was impressed with the depth of interrogation Alpkit had already undertaken in their sustainability principles and actions, prior to the student project… The resulting student work was lifted to a higher level, because of the level Alpkit are already at.” - Michelle Johansson BA BArch(Hons) Architect (NZ) LFA Sustainability Consultant, ADBE Sustainability in Enterprise (SiE) Project.

The Continuum project was formed to tackle two things: to reduce the amount of usable kit going into landfill; and to get that usable kit into the hands of those who need it most. We accept all sorts of kit like tents, waterproofs, down sleeping bags, and wetsuits.

Neoprene doesn’t degrade and we’re particularly passionate about keeping it in use. We send wetsuits to charities who skilfully turn the neoprene into bags, coasters, or mug cosies. Continuum send clothing and sleeping kit to local homeless charities or to ShelterSuit, who make waterproof items for homeless people by sewing tent fabric and insulated sleeping bags together.

It’s a pleasure to work with such a wide array of fantastic charities, and to see the impact our donations make. I spend a few hours a month liaising with our charities and organising kit sort outs. Our staff team volunteer sorting through donations, and we send them out to our charity partners once a month.

After a short secondment to Customer Support in 2022, I was made Customer Service Manager, joining the Senior Leadership team, Training Group, and Sustainability board. This was a big step and I’m really excited about the increased responsibility.

Beth Pearce, Alpkit HR Manager: “We have a truly incredible bunch of people who keep giving their all for our amazing business. It is our staff who are our brand ambassadors and bring the energy and uniqueness of our products to life. So as we enter this next year we will continue to support the development and well-being of our team; who will always be the greatest asset Alpkit has.”

Sustainability’s the key ingredient in all our products. We bake it into everything we do.

MENDING IS BETTER THAN

ENDING

The longer you keep kit going, the smaller your impact on the planet. It’s the reason we’ve always repaired our own products, and the reason we’ve been repairing outdoor kit from any brand, since 2004. Last year, we prevented over 7000 pieces of kit from going to landfill.

All our stores offer repair and reproof services - and they’re all online too! We repair any brand and we can do any modification you ask for. All time is charged at a fair hourly rate. Just get in touch at support@alpkit.com Pssst, if your kit is feeling unloved, just pass it on with our Continuum Project.

Patches of pride

Repair Hero Cedar did some simple funky patches on these insulated jackets, turning battle scars into stripes.

Sleeve amendment

Small steps to inclusivity can make a big impact. Betws Repair Hero Bea adapted Max’s jacket for her limb difference. It’s the first piece of technical clothing Max has ever had that can be truly hers.

Frankenstein

Repair Hero Viri did a crotch transplant on this Lotic wetsuit. It’s such a common repair, it’s got its own name –the Frankenstein!

Lightning scars

These Kraft trousers were in a bike accident (customer OK – trousers not OK!). The customer asked for a jazzy visible repair. We think this ticks the box.

7122 Over repairs in 2022

2000 £600,000

Over Projects

DofE/

Alpkit only exists because of our wild places and people that make them. Alpkit Foundation is our payback, our social dividend to protect the places we love for everyone to enjoy.

We give small awards to ordinary people doing extraordinary things that make the world a better place. You help every time you buy from Alpkit.

We’ve received 6,600 applications and given over 2000 awards to improve education, environment, diversity, mental health and participation in the outdoors. That benefits over 60,000 people altogether.

It’s humbling to see the effect that this has:

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” Desmond Tutu

Thank you from us to all our customers that make this happen.

Donate or apply at alpkit.com/foundation

Woodland Gatherings

Just one of the 2,000 Alpkit Foundation awards is to Woodland Gatherings helping Ukrainian refugees coming to Sheffield and the Peak District.

As Ukrainian families began to arrive and find refuge in the Hope Valley area, Ruth Dixon wanted to use her Forest School and Wilderness Therapy skills to set up a regular opportunity in a beautiful woodland space for them and their host families to enjoy therapeutic and sociable time in nature.

“I really wanted to offer families throughout the Hope Valley a regular free ‘Woodland Gathering’ afternoon on the 1st Saturday of every month, hopefully with the view to continuing the project into 2023 and for as long as there is a need.”

Supported by volunteers from the local community, the activities are designed for all ages and abilities and include setting up camp, learning basic bush craft skills, campfire cooking, nature craft projects and an opportunity to explore some wilderness therapeutic approaches together.

Ruth looked to give her time and services for free but needed funding for extra resources and provision for transport to and from the woodland site if needed, so she approached the Alpkit Foundation for support.

With an award of £500, she has been able to provide regular opportunities for those new to the area feel welcomed and safe, benefitting whole families to create and nurture positive and supportive links within the community, connecting with nature and an opportunity to learn from each others’ culture.

“Thank you so much. It was amazing day full of positive emotions. You’re making people happy and relaxed, we really appreciate it and looking forward to seeing all of you again.”

WE PUT PEOPLE AND PLANET BEFORE PROFIT

In late 2021 we were looking forward to a world emerging from the pandemic where we can spend time with old friends and family and share our love of the outdoors. But 2022 wasn’t the year we planned it to be. And 2022 reminded us again just how fragile we all are – people, planet and businesses alike.

I’m delighted that this year we’ve:

• Hit our Scope 1 and Scope 2 Science Based Targets 8 years ahead of schedule. We’ve reduced our carbon intensity by over 36% in three years and on track for absolute net zero ahead of SBTi timescales.

• Brought wheel building production back from China and Taiwan which is a £100,000+ investment creating skilled jobs at our factory on the edge of the Peak District.

• Repaired over 7,000 items in our stores and found 2,950kgs of used gear a new home which has averted almost 70 tonnes of CO2e.

• Grown our team from 96 to 119 and continue to be a Living Wage Foundation employer.

• Invested in UK high streets with our 9th store in Kingston upon Thames. But it has been a tough year and we’ve had to take difficult decisions. Our online sales slowed year-on-year. Our growth has come from an excellent store performance and international growth. The slow down in online sales and significant cost increases meant we had to make 6 staff redundant. This has been one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and even in these times we’ve tried to run a good business and treat our staff well.

Despite one of our most challenging years in terms of profitability, I am proud we have given over £140,000 to Alpkit Foundation. This has taken our total donations to £600,000. We’ve now helped 2,000 grass roots projects get people outside.

The highlight of the year has to be our share offer in November. We had a second share offer and now have 4,000 customer investors in Alpkit. Which was then topped off by winning Brand of the Year in two magazines: Country Walking and TGO.

We are far from perfect and there is much to do before we can truly claim to be a sustainable business.

Our priorities are unchanged. This is our optimist’s manifesto:

• Remember who we are: first and foremost we’re an outdoor brand that makes high quality performance products for the outdoor enthusiast.

• Run a good business that treats its staff well and pays its taxes.

• Reduce our carbon footprint, select factories based on their ethics and environmental responsibility, alleviate poverty, modern slavery, deforestation and minerals from conflict zones.

• Choose humane farming methods.

• Repair and recycle outdoor kit from any brand.

• Give back to grass roots projects through the Alpkit Foundation.

• Go Nice Places Do Good Things.

I’m immensely proud of our team and what our small group of people achieve. If you want to get in touch, share experiences or just ask a question then please email me at together@alpkit.com

David Hanney, Chief Exec

PRINCIPLES FOR HOPE

Alpkit is guided by 6 principles knowing that as we use them we do more than build great product and build a great business.

Build a better business

• Value-led governance.

• Fair and honest prices.

• Pay our taxes.

• Responsible brand and marketing.

Work with people we believe in

• Protect human rights and improve social justice.

• Alleviate poverty – improve labour conditions.

• Prohibit modern slavery.

• Prohibit materials from conflict zones.

‘Sustainability Report’ at alpkit.com

We have identified 22 material topics that are important to us using the GRI framework, UN Sustainable Development Goals and after a broad consultation with staff, customers and shareholders. We measure and monitor our growth through this lens to guide our operational decisions to have a more positive impact.

Treat animals humanely

• Only use animal products when necessary, using most humane farming methods. Reduce reuse repair recycle

• Make world class performance products.

• Minimise resource consumption - including plastic free packaging.

• Extend product life – long lasting repairable products.

• Actively encourage reuse and repair.

• Move to circular economy – make products that are ultimately recyclable.

Respect our environment

• Reduce GHG emissions –the decarbonization of Alpkit.

• Choose lower impact materials and production processes – recycled and/or environmentally certified materials.

• Eliminate the use of toxic chemicals.

• Reduce travel and commuting.

• Build positive workplace lifestyles: green our working lives.

Give back

• Support grass roots projects that help people outside.

• Improve education, environment, diversity and participation in the outdoors.