Sustainability

Black Diamond Equipment was founded in 1989, and an important purpose of our new company was to make a difference on behalf of our fellow community of users and to do so in a manner aligned with our personal ethos. Therefore, three of our founding 10 commitments were and are:

• To champion the preservation of, and access to, mountain, crag and canyon environments while minimizing our own environmental footprint.
  

• The style in which we accomplish our goals is as important as the goal themselves-this is true in business as it is in climbing.
  

• Be a fierce but highly ethical competitor.

Today, more than 20 years later, we are more committed to those guiding principles than ever; protecting and preserving the recreation lands that we love so dearly by focusing on making our products, manufacturing processes, supply chain, facilities and marketing materials more sustainable and less impactful. Equally important to us is our continued outspoken advocacy for conservation and access causes-locally, regionally and globally-as well as philanthropic support to grassroots conservation and access-focused nonprofit groups.

Black Diamond, led by CEO and founder Peter Metcalf, has become a recognized voice for conservation and preservation ethics in both outdoor enthusiast and mainstream communities-especially in Utah, where Black Diamond's global headquarters are located at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains. Metcalf has boldly taken a stance that wilderness should be protected and valued, rather than exploited and abused by OHV groups, extractive mining companies and land developers. Working with government agencies, landowners and advocacy groups, Black Diamond has led the way in showing that wilderness preservation and business success can be symbiotic.

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WHAT WE DO

We're not out to save the world. We are, however, committed to doing everything we can to not screw it up. In recent years we've taken numerous steps in this direction, from optimizing our Black Diamond Asia facility in Zhuhai, China so that it could consolidate the global distribution of our gear (thereby decreasing our transportation footprint), to taking on a multi-year redesign of our packaging to make it less wasteful, to improving the energy efficiency and recycling capabilities of our manufacturing and office environments.

Discover more of What We Do.

FAIR LABOR

Given that we manufacture product at our headquarters in both North America and China, we are highly concerned with the fair treatment and general environment of all those who make product for BD or on behalf of BD anywhere in the world. To that end, we choose our supplier partners very carefully and have a strict Vendor Code of Conduct that we audit each of our key suppliers on.

Read more about our commitment to Fair Labor.

GROUPS WE SUPPORT

We take a large amount of pride in our efforts to support conservation, education and recreation groups that are on the frontlines of protecting and preserving the wild lands we love and depend on. In addition to donating material and financial assistance to regional and national causes like the American Alpine Club, Conservation Alliance, HERA, Access Fund, Utah Avalanche Center and Youth Outdoor Legacy Fund, we continue to support our climbing roots as founding members of significant climbing grants such as the Mugs Stump Award and the Copp-Dash Inspire Award.

See all the Groups We Support.

 

Yes, there is much work left undone, however, we are committed to reducing our impacts and levering our business towards sustainability over the long-term. We recognize that we have a responsibility to be leaders not only in our approach to building innovative gear, but also as stewards of our environment.