Environment News :Jack Wolfskin Cut CO2 Emissions by Half from 2007-11

Jack Wolfskin reports that it became the first company in the outdoor industry to reduce its specific CO₂ emissions by over 50 percent between 2007 and 2011, completely offsetting all of its unavoidable CO₂ emissions. Germany's dominant domestic outdoor apparel and equipment  brand made the claim in its first ever environmental report, which relies on verifiable standards such as the bluesign standard or the Öko-Tex Standard 100.

The environmental report contains in-depth information about the company’s activities in the field of climate protection and the maintenance of biodiversity. 

Jack Wolfskin promotes a responsible approach to the natural environment and shows how enjoying and protecting the environment can be very closely linked. The company supports numerous projects on conservation and environmental education, and is the founder of the annual German Environmental Protection Award, worth €250,000.

Corporate responsibility (CR), or the active perception of social responsibility, is part of the way Jack Wolfskin sees itself as a company and part of its corporate culture. Campaigning for environmental and climate protection as well as maintaining biodiversity is an inherent part of Jack Wolfskin’s CR strategy.

“Our actions as a company will always have an impact on nature and the environment. We must be honest and realistic about that. However, our aim is to keep these negative effects to a minimum. That applies to our business operations and production as well for our products,” said Christian Brandt, COO of Jack Wolfskin and Corporate Responsibility Officer of the Board. 


Jack Wolfskin has high requirements of its products in terms of top quality and excellent functionality at competitive prices, without neglecting its environmental and social responsibilities.

“We are happy to forego ecological labels we have come up with ourselves and rely instead on more meaningful and verifiable standards such as the bluesign Standard or the Öko-Tex Standard 100,” explained Christian Brandt. As of October 2011, all of our underwear has been certified to the Öko-Tex Standard 100. Jack Wolfskin has also been an official bluesign system partner since that date. Our first products with the bluesign label will be available to buy from winter 2012. Brandt continued: “We will continue to expand our range in the coming years and integrate our upstream production chain into the testing and certification process. Additionally, by our 2013summer collection, all of our cotton will come from certified organic sources.”

In 2008, Jack Wolfskin set itself the goal of reducing its specific emissions by 40 percent by 2011 as compared with its 2006/2007 average. As a result, a whole host of measures were implemented, including the complete restructuring of the procurement process, amended production and supplier cycles, a drastic reduction in the proportion of air freight and the switchover of all Jack Wolfskin-run locations in Germany to 100 percent green electricity. The result of these efforts is that the company has been able to reduce its specific CO2 output by over 50 percent.

As the only company in the industry to do so, Jack Wolfskin has been offsetting emissions that cannot be avoided since 2010 through large-scale reforestation projects run by PrimaKlima- weltweit- e.V. – thus simultaneously creating valuable habitats that both humans and the rest of the natural world can benefit from. To date, Jack Wolfskin has planted almost 500,000 trees, covering an area of over 2.1 million square meters.

Another major focus of our activities lies in protecting the countryside and educating people about the environment. Christian Brandt added: “Anyone who, like us, enjoys being outside in any weather and in all seasons gets to know and value nature in a very special way. Having said that, we are aware of the impact of our tours because many regions are suffering from the visible consequences of overexploiting nature, such as tourism and outdoor activities.”

By providing people with knowledge about the significance and value of our biological diversity, we want to motivate people to get out into the great outdoors, enjoy its beauty and take responsibility for maintaining it. In 2011, the company showed its commitment to the topic of climate protection with the foundation of Germany’s first national environmental protection prize, the annual German Environmental Protection Award, worth EUR 250,000, and awarded in cooperation with the German Federal Office for Nature Conservation.

“It currently seems next to impossible to achieve any kind of international political consensus with regard to the fight against climate change and the progressive loss of biological diversity. However, we will not be discouraged or dissuaded from continuing to pursue our goals. On the contrary, it gives us even more grounds to promote a responsible approach,” stated Christian Brandt.

The 2011/2012 Environmental Report is available inboth German and English at www.jack-wolfskin.com/umweltbericht or www.jack-wolfskin.com/environment-report.

(SportsOneSource Media)