San Clemente, CA - Allyn Scura Eyewear announced that it has received companywide carbon neutral certification, making it the first known eyewear company in the world to take this step in the fight against global warming.
Tim Rusmisel, a consultant with Action Sports Environmental Coalition (ASEC), was hired to review organizations qualified to offset carbon emissions. Ultimately, NativeEnergy, the Vermont-based wind- and solar-generated energy company, was selected as the organization to invest in. "There are a lot of terrific options out there,” says, Mr. Rusmisel. "However, the assessment process can be quite time-consuming. Most prospective clients I speak with are genuinely interested in covering their carbon footprint on some level. However, the exploratory process often comes to a screeching halt when they're asked to provide answers to seemingly impossible questions like, 'how many parts per million of each chemical ingredient do your products contain?' We chose NativeEnergy for their unique business model, turnkey certification process and business partners.”
Initially, Allyn Scura Eyewear had two objectives: 1) to become carbon neutral with all future product introductions, and 2) to pick up the tab for the carbon clean up, i.e. to not increase wholesale and retail pricing as a result of the added expense. During the assessment process, however, the decision was made to achieve companywide carbon neutral certification. This includes the reversal of carbon emissions as a result of manufacturing, transportation, freight, and energy consumption from day-to-day operations during calendar year 2007. Reassessment and renewal will be made in CY 2008.
Says Allyn Scura, "Like anyone, I don't particularly look forward to paying bills, but I have to say, I've never been so excited to receive our invoice from NativeEnergy. The satisfaction was at least threefold: 1) finally, we could see the impact our business was having on the environment from a carbon emissions standpoint, 2) we now have a way to monitor this activity, establish a benchmark, and find ways to improve our performance, and 3) while at first, the process was overwhelming, I know now that it really isn't that difficult to complete. I think this is encouraging news for companies considering completing the certification process."
“Carbon neutrality is a good thing,” says partner Scott Iseyama, “but it doesn’t necessarily address per se our overall corporate mantra of Reduce/Reuse/
About ASEC (yes, the organization that just returned this month from Capitol Hill with Sen. Barbara Boxer to brief the Senate on the impact of climate change on the winter sports industry and the importance of youth education to solving the problem!)
ASEC was founded in 2001 by Frank Scura, Bob Burnquist, Jen O’Brien and Damon Way and is supported by action-sports athletes, industry leaders and natural-products companies that aim to answer the question: “What would happen if the action sports industry became a role model for sustainability?”
About NativeEnergy
Native American majority-owned, NativeEnergy is a national marketer of renewable energy credits (RECs) and carbon offsets, offering individuals and organizations a means to compensate for their global warming pollution, or to effectively power their homes and businesses with renewable energy. NativeEnergy’
About Allyn Scura Eyewear
Allyn Scura Eyewear was founded in 1988, and is formed by two key product divisions: 1) original designs by Allyn Scura, and 2) unused vintage eyewear, featuring over 50,000 vintage and antique frames for women, men and children - one of the largest collections of "new-old-stock"
