We’re absolutely thrilled to share that we’ve hit a very exciting milestone! Thanks to your support, we have now planted 250,000 trees under our ‘Buy One Plant One’ pledge with Eden Reforestation Projects. For every product purchased from Reid, whether it’s a bike, a scooter, or any water sports, we pledged to plant a tree in its honour. It’s a promise to give back and make a lasting impact on our planet and the environments we love to ride in.
Read on to learn more about Reid’s sustainability practices and why it means so much to us.
BUY ONE PLANT ONE
We want to ensure that the environments and world we love to explore stays sustainable, so for every Reid purchased around the world, we plant a tree. We have responsibility as a good-manufacturing business to offset the carbon that we are using to make our already sustainable products and what better way to do this than planting a tree. It is a powerful countermeasure to the widespread deforestation and burning of forests driven by human activities globally. We want to ensure that future generations, including our children and their children, can continue to enjoy the outdoors in the way nature intended. This goes beyond business; it’s about taking a stance for what is morally right.
We believe that every small action can make a big difference, and we are committed to doing our part to preserve the planet.
WHAT MOTIVATED REID TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENTAL PLEDGE & WHY IS SUSTAINABILITY IMPORTANT TO REID?
As we work primarily in the bike industry, we are lovers of the great outdoors and want to protect this for future generations. Whilst we design and manufacture products that promote more environmentally friendly travel and leisure, we also appreciate that there is still an environmental cost for the manufacture of these products. So we created our environmental pledge to demonstrate our commitment to reducing our own environmental impact and promoting sustainable practices. We hoped that it would inspire others in our industry to do the same. Many already do, but sadly not all.
Rob Akam, CEO of Reid Group
HOW CAN INDIVIDUALS PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY?
Individuals can make conscious efforts to live more sustainably, through basic choices they make each day such as recycling more household waste, or choosing products that use recycled materials in their packaging, or of course travelling by bike instead of a car.
There has been a big shift in consumer spending towards brands that are more aware and take more responsibility and action around their environmental impact too. This directly shows individuals choosing to be more aware of the environmental impacts their tangible goods create. This is a great thing for the planet, as it is businesses that can make a huge difference globally. So they should take their responsibility seriously about being more sustainable and environmentally friendly, and lead by example. If you don’t, customers will continue to shop elsewhere and buy from businesses that do promote CSR.
Rob Akam, CEO of Reid Group
WHAT OTHER CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) INITIATIVES HAVE YOU IMPLEMENTED AT REID AND WHY?
When we launched our Environmental pledge a few years ago, it was related to Reid branded products only. Over the last three years, our Private Label Products business has grown to eclipse the volume of Reid branded products we make. So from January 2023 we decided to include PLP in our pledge. This has massively increased the volume of trees we have been able to have planted. Other measures beyond this that we have implemented are:
- We removed over 75% of plastic from our bike packaging in the last two years, and continue to work to reduce this further.
- We have carried out a supply CSR audit with our primary bike manufacturer in Asia using independent auditing companies.
- When international air travel is essential, we offset the CO2.
- We hire electric cars when overseas where feasible (journey dependant).
- We have had an electric car charge point at our UK office for staff to use to encourage staff who travel by car to go electric.
- We encourage staff to travel by bike and of course charge at work.
Rob Akam, CEO of Reid Group
As we conclude this milestone of our sustainability journey so far, we want to extend our deepest thanks to you, our incredible Reid community. Together, we have planted 250,000 trees through our ‘Buy One Plant One’ initiative, a testament to our shared commitment to a greener future. Let’s keep the momentum going and pave the way for a future where our planet thrives.