As climbers and mountaineers, we admire the Alps, the mountains and being in nature. However, the activities that we do as an association have an impact on the environment, such as transporting to all the amazing climbing areas.
To ensure that it stays possible to enjoy mountaineering in the future, our association cares about protecting the environment and limiting the unnecessary burden on nature. We try to create awareness about our environmental impact and stimulate more sustainable practices and alternatives.
How we do this:
All food on ESAC-organised activities and trips are vegetarian. Furthermore, we are also trying to cook more vegan, seasonal and organic dishes. This document contains the new ESAC cookbook created by the ECO, which will stay updated!
CO2 compensation
For (climbing) trips, the ESAC has an system in place where members can donate a small amount of money to the Alex Honnold foundation to offset the CO2 emissions caused by the trip. For climbing weekends the amount is set to €1.00. For longer trips, such as WEBI or KKW, we aim to increase this amount as the distance increases. The Honnold Foundation provides grants to organisations advancing solar energy access all over the world to reduce environmental impact and increase social and economic equity. More information about the foundation can be found here: https://www.honnoldfoundation.org/about
During trips and events, we try to separate
our waste by the system that is in place at that location. The waste is
separated using special trashbag-holders with different colours that are easily
distinguishable.
The association never gives out t-shirts or
other merch without asking members if they actually want, and will use, the
merch. All orders for buying merchandise will be order-based, which means that
only the items are bought for the people that have ordered them, and not more.
Additionally, at events, we try to keep throw-away decorations to a minimum. We
also don’t give out physical leaflets anymore during the TU/e intro and our
magazine “the Musketon” is printed only for members who ask for this, and is otherwise
spread digitally.
The ECO committee constantly works on improving ESACs sustainability. We are an advising and executing committee that focuses on implementing sustainable initiatives, improving policy and contacting external parties. We also organise fun events such as ‘Plant Swap Parties’ or ‘Sewing Days’ to repair ripped clothing. With these activities we want to increase the awareness about sustainability, and show our members that it can be fun!
Do you have any sustainability questions / suggestions for ESAC or would you like to join the ECO committee? Email us at eco@esac.nl
