A BETTER TOMORROW STARTS TODAY!
We all know that snowboarding, like many things, is not sustainable. Regardless, along with many others in the snowboard community, we are continuing to make the right steps to make an actual change and not just a “green marketing claim.” Creating change in all aspects of our business from the People, Work Where You Live strategy, Our Factories, Materials we use, Production Processes, to Shipping strategies. Every little thing makes a difference, a marketing message is excellent and inspiring, but the most important thing is action.
Sustainability is defined as the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance.
We at Nitro care about the environmental impact and social responsibility of our business and our passion for snowboarding. We focus on quality to extend a product's lifespan, we do not excessively overproduce only what is on-demand, we consider energy consumption and carbon emission when shipping product around the globe. We source alternative and sustainable materials to substitute those based on fossil fuels and higher carbon emissions.
People are what make Nitro and we believe that every person in the company, its supply chain, and distribution should be respected and treated fairly. Together with all of our partners we bring our core values to the table first and work with factories on equal rights, fair pay, and opportunities for everyone participating in the process of supplying you a valuable product.
Sustainability doesn’t stop at the product level we believe it encompasses everything and for us, social responsibility is not just a point on the corporate checklist. Nitro has been sustainable for over 30 years and we will keep pushing to be a reliable partner, from supplier, employee to customer. Expect great things from us with an even greater focus on keeping the community alive.
NITRO´S GOAL TO CONTINUE TO BE AND DO BETTER
So the question is, do you offer “sustainable” products?
Yes, we do. Our main focus is not only on a single product for marketing purposes rather on
the whole supply chain and every area involved.
An overview of what we currently do for each product group:
SNOWBOARDS
TOPSHEET FINISHES
We are using water-based inks for over 70% of our board top-sheets and over 30% of our bases. 15% of our bases use no ink.
70% of our boards have topsheets that are either uncoated or finished using a solvent-free lacquer with a Volatile Organic Compound rating of VOC:0.
RECYCLED MATERIALS
Over 85% of our running bases are made using recycled raw material.
WOOD CORES
FSC Certification: We are using FSC certified woods already in production. All of our wood cores are FSC certified, which was a sustainability goal we reached last season.
RESOURCES
We are heating our presses with water, not with oil or electricity. Our grinding system uses a closed water circuit with integrated filtering systems. This saves energy and resources.
We have started using thinner topsheets than most other Brands, saving raw materials and weight.
We have installed a 700 KW solar power station on our board factory's roof, enough energy to power the factory, offices, and apartments of our factory staff. This solar power project was a goal we set 2 years ago and we are proud to say we have now reached it.
BINDINGS
Minimal Waste
We use 20% recycled material in our plastic parts.
All plastic parts are injection molded, a zero-waste process.
We banned any plastic packaging and use only recycled cardboard to protect our products. ink to print our binding boxes has been reduced by 95% compared to past years.
BOOTS
Minor Phthalate
Our boots are mostly made of PVC free materials and the glue is benzene free.
We believe that one of the core reasons Nitro has been around for 30 years is that we treat everyone in the supply chain with the respect and by bringing our core values to all of our business partners. We make sure all of our production partners are aware of our core values, which means it is important to us that our factory workers work in a safe and healthy work environment, receive fair labor compensation, and be treated with respect. It is important to us that every single person involved in producing our finished products work in a safe and fair labor environment.
ENGAGE – REDUCE OUR IMPACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Organizations We Support:
MYCLIMATE – NEUTRAL BUSINESS FLIGHTS
Myclimate is a partner for effective climate protection, globally and locally. Together with industry partners and private individuals, myclimate wants to shape the future of the world through advisory services and educational programs, as well as its projects. It does so in a market-oriented and customer-focused way as a non-profit organization.
Our de-centralized company structure doesn't force our employees to make long (car) commutes. Many colleagues walk to the office, take the bike, or work from home. Nitro has been cultivating this approach for over 30 years now.
PLANT FOR THE PLANET
We join them in their new goal of the “Trillion Tree Campaign” (as they have already planted 13,6 billion new trees in their previous Billion Tree Campaign) to help create a forest system that will capture 25% of human-made carbon emissions every year. Together with your help and our upcoming programs, you can be apart of this mission as well. Stay tuned for more updates and programs.
Thank you to the Plant-For-The-Planet organization for creating a program where Nitro can give back to the planet and the roots of snowboarding. A big thank you to all of our Nitro supporters for making our world a better place by supporting projects like this.
SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT