Mammut Race To Zero: the race against climate change
With the collaboration of Strava and Climeworks, Mammut wants to engage runners around the world in a challenge against climate change.
“We want to encourage action on climate change and remind everyone that we are in the most important race of all time: the race to zero.” Adrian Huber, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Mammut.
Following its “do our best, remove the rest” climate strategy, Mammut has invested heavily in researching innovative solutions to minimize carbon emissions throughout the supply chain. The fruit of these efforts is the collaboration with Climeworks, a pioneer and leader in the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which in 2021 in Iceland put into operation Orca, the world’s first and largest direct air capture and storage facility, making large-scale carbon dioxide removal a reality. With Climeworks’ support, production emissions are not simply offset, but are physically eliminated through direct air capture (DAC) technology, which after removing CO₂ from the air, plans to safely store it deep underground, where it mineralizes and turns into rock permanently.
In the wake of this collaboration, Mammut has embarked on a major initiative, challenging athletes on the Strava platform to “race to zero” during the month of May 2023: the goal is to run 100 km to raise awareness of the urgency of action on climate change. As a partner, Climeworks will eliminate 10 tons of CO₂, upon reaching 10,000,000km reached by the sum of individual participants’ contributions. Throughout the month of May, Mammut has scheduled running events and meetings in various European cities, such as Ortisei, Annecy, Zermatt, Innsbruck, Zurich, Munich, Oslo and Reykjavik.
Drawing on its long experience in the mountains, the Swiss brand, has also designed a new trail running line to offer runners lightweight, high-performance and, above all, carbon-free garments. The launch of the new line is part of the journey toward sustainability and decarbonization undertaken by Mammut, as is the making of a documentary following the journey of three women and their attempt to run across Iceland. An incredible story of collaboration and perseverance, a challenge not only physical but also highly symbolic. Covering some 340 km of wilderness from Akureyri to Vik, the three protagonists gathered to test the new collection’s trail running equipment and their own physical, as well as psychological, limits. The documentary, created in collaboration with photographer Dominik Hodel and director Tom Gibbons, is scheduled for release in May 2023.
To participate and learn more here is the link to the initiative and the link to Mammut website.
