Rescue People Protect the Planet

Rescuing people also means protecting their playground

For over 35 years, ARVA has been protecting people by manufacturing the best mutual assistance avalanche rescue equipment. But in the face of climate change, helping people also means protecting their playground.

Today, everyone has a role to play in limiting environmental imbalance. Greenhouse gas emissions are largely responsible for this imbalance, which is why ARVA launched a sustainability programme in 2020 to establish a clear picture of the brand’s environmental footprint so that we can act effectively to protect the natural environment that fuels our passion for the outdoors.

Measure Reduce Offset

Measure

The first step is to take stock, undertake a carbon assessment and understand our footprint. Faced with this situation, the brand must define objectives for reducing its CO2 emissions effectively. Finally, offsetting helps absorb CO2 emissions by implementing solutions that "sequester" greenhouse gas emissions.

Carbon balance

To determine its greenhouse gas emissions, ARVA has taken into account the processes involved in the life cycle of its products, from the raw material to the end of the product’s life. And what is more, it has also the processes involved in the sale of the products.

    • Raw materials needed for electronic products or other technical equipment (electronics, aluminium, plastic, etc.)

Carbon footprint in 2023

Emissions are calculated according to the GHG protocol, which takes into account six greenhouse gases (CO2, N2O, CH4, HFCs, PFCs, SF6) and expresses the emissions in CO2 equivalent.

905 tonnes CO2 E

Brand's activity

46 tonnes CO2 E

Employee's activity

3.7 kilos CO2 E

Per unit produced

97

The carbon footprint of 97 French citizens

511

Return flights Paris - New York

6012

Paris - Marseille by car

Breaking down emissions

Product production and raw materials represent more than 60% of CO2 emissions.

Raw materials
53%
Headquarters and offices
21%
Distribution
10%
Factories
7%
End of life
6%
Product uses
2%
Freight
1%

Raw materials

Aluminium is the raw material that emits most with 31% of emissions.

Aluminium
31%
Yarn (PA, PE, PP, Recycled PE, PET)
31%
Electronics & LCD display
18%
Carbon
12%
Plastic, PC & POM plastic
5%
Other metals
2%
Others
1%

Transport

Transportation between warehouses and shops accounts for 47% of ARVA’s transport impact.

Next, there is FREIGHT (transport of raw materials to factories) with 43% of emissions and transport from factories to warehouses with 10% of emissions.

  • 47%of transport impact from warehouse to store
  • 43%of transport impact is freight (transport of raw materials to factory)
  • 10%of transport impact from factory to warehouse

Sales

The CO2 emissions linked to sales result mainly from employees’ business or daily travel with 70% of emissions.

15% are related to the energy used in offices and 15% for everything else, including advertising, marketing, computing activities, packaging, office waste, and supplier expenses.

  • 70%Employee travel
  • 15%Energy used in offices
  • 15%Marketing, digital, packaging, offices waste and supplier expenses.

Reduce

Following this assessment identifying the activities that emit the most greenhouse gases, ARVA has set itself 14 objectives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Initially, to maximise efficiency, these objectives will focus mainly on product production and raw materials, which represent the largest share of emissions.

Objective

-15 %

CO2 emissions by 2025

Our 14 commitments

  • 2021

  • 2022

  • 2023

  • 2024

  • 2025

  • 2030

Raising awareness through communication

1 / 14

Add an environmental message into the brand’s communications

Progress

100%

Implementation of “eco-design” and “carbon footprint” theme in brand communication
Year
2021

PFC free

2 / 14

eliminate the use of PFCs from the entire backpack range

Progress

100%

100% All of our backpacks are made without PFCs.
Year
2022

Single-use plastics

3 / 14

Measure and display the weight of single-use plastic for each of the products

Progress

100%

We display this information for each product since November 2022
Year
2022

Second Life of Products

4 / 14

Offer a clear programme for products’ second life.

Progress

75%

We launched a take-back program for used products in winter 2022 and are selling refurbished products with an additional 2-year warranty. We are also working on a repair project for eligible products to promote sustainable consumption. Our goal is to provide durable products to our customers while preserving the environment.
Year
2022

Partner commitment

5 / 14

Add a criterion into the recruitment of athletes and ambassadors based on their ecological commitment

Progress

10%

Support of Gaëtan Gaudissard for his film "Conscience"
Year
2022

Aluminium consumption

6 / 14

Beginning of 2024: Discontinuation of swan-neck shovel blades, which consumed more aluminum.

Progress

100%

Objective: Reduce aluminum consumption by 5% for the manufacture of shovel blades.
Year
2023

Recycled aluminium

7 / 14

Beginning of 2024: 47% of the aluminum used is recycled aluminum.

Progress

100%

At the end of 2021, less than 5% of the aluminium used is recycled
Year
2023

Carbon footprint

8 / 14

Refine the carbon footprint by product, so we know the CO2 emissions for each product and can refine the objectives

Progress

100%

We have been displaying this information for each product since November 2022
Year
2023

Upcycling

9 / 14

Beginning of 2024: Research on the dismantling and reconditioning of antennas conducted with students from the University of Savoie Mont-Blanc.

Progress

30%

20% of Beacons produced using antennas from scrapped devices. Reuse the antennas from end-of-life transceivers in the production of new transceivers.
Year
2024

Recycled fabrics

10 / 14

2024: 70% of the fabric used for backpacks is recycled fabric.

Progress

70%

Objective: 100% recycled fabrics: use only recycled fabric for the entire backpack range.
Year
2025

Impact of the ARVA structure

11 / 14

2024: Déplacements en Europe de plus en plus effectués en train.

Progress

40%

Objective: Limit air travel to reduce the impact of the ARVA organisation’s business travel.
Year
2025

Transport impact

12 / 14

2024: Still 30% of exports carried out by plane.

Progress

20%

Objective: Reduce the proportion of air transport in upstream distribution (transport between factories and depots).
Year
2025

GHG emissions from shovels and probes

13 / 14

Reduce by 50% greenhouse gas emissions linked to the shovel and probe categories

Progress

5%

Research on new less-emitting materials in progress
Year
2030

Energy transition

14 / 14

Help our subcontractors to improve their energy mix

Progress

30%

100% of the electricity used to manufacture our shovels is hydroelectric in origin and is produced directly on site. 50% of our backpack production is powered by the photovoltaic panels in our factory.
Year
2030

Offset

Faced with the challenges of climate change, ARVA has measured the urgency of the situation. Changing industrial processes, sourcing raw materials and implementing a second-life programme takes time.

But as with avalanche rescue, every second counts! This is why, in parallel with an ambitious emissions reduction plan, ARVA has chosen to offset its CO2 emissions from 2021 and is starting on a path towards contributing to global neutrality.

ARVA – Commited to collective carbon neutrality

From November 2021, every kilogramme of CO2 equivalent emitted by the ARVA brand will be offset by funding carbon sequestration projects in partnership with ClimatePartner.

Partnering with ClimatePartner ensures that greenhouse gas sequestration projects are certified to international standards, are audited annually, and contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.