Bally’s CSR efforts are on top of the world
Welcome to Duty Calls. This regular feature aims to shine a light on some of the most laudable examples of altruism and sustainability within the travel retail industry by companies that go beyond the call of duty. In this issue, Hannah Tan-Gillies explores Swiss luxury brand Bally’s Peak Outlook Initiative and a sponsored clean-up expedition to Mount Everest’s summit.
Earlier this year, Swiss luxury brand Bally launched its Peak Outlook Initiative – a long-term sustainability program that protects some of the world’s most extreme mountain environments and surrounding local communities.
To celebrate the launch, Bally also introduced an exclusive capsule collection with 100% of proceeds benefitting future expeditions. The first drop included a t-shirt with the ‘No Mountain High Enough’ slogan. It is now available online and in stores for €95 (US$105) and is pictured below.
The Bally Peak Outlook Initiative sponsored its inaugural clean-up expedition to Mount Everest’s summit during April and May this year. It was led by Dawa Steven Sherpa and was made up of a team of climbers and guides from the native Himalayan Sherpa ethnic tribe. The team successfully removed over two tons of waste and helped restore the alpine landscape between the Everest Base Camp (5,380m) and the Everest summit (8,838m).
An expedition like no other: The Bally-sponsored adventurers were not in pursuit of personal glory but instead were determined to clean-up the staggering amount of waste left on Everest as a result of tourism [All photography and video by Samir Jung Thapa]
High altitude environments are increasingly threatened by the growing footprint of outdoor tourism. The 2019 season alone saw over 1,200 climbers pass through the campground. “When I first started climbing in 2007, I was shocked and saddened by the amount of waste abandoned in this magnificent landscape,” said Eco Everest Expeditions Leader and Asia Trekking CEO Dawa Steven Sherpa.
“The following year I made it my goal to pioneer a clean-up mission, which to date has recovered over 19.5 tons of trash. Reaching the summit of Everest requires significant resources, so I was delighted when Bally came to our cause, aiding and supporting the first organised clean-up of Everest’s summit.”
Harsh conditions and extreme altitudes have made clean-up expeditions to Mount Everest’s summit very dangerous. So while previous clean-ups have been limited to the area between basecamp and the mountain’s mid-point (6,400m), Bally’s Peak Outlook clean-up expedition has taken it a step further, overcoming impossible odds and successfully collecting more than half a ton of garbage in the mountain’s ‘Death Zone’.
No easy job: The ‘Death Zone’ at Mount Everest is higher than 8,000m above sea level. Its atmosphere is so extreme that it only has a quarter of the oxygen needed to sustain the human body.
Bally has a long history with Mount Everest, and so the brand tapped Jamling Tenzing Norgay to be part of the clean-up expedition. Bally supplied Everest expeditions from 1947, and their Reindeer boots were famously worn by Sherpa Tenzing Norgay – Jamling’s father — when he and Sir Edmund Hillary conquered the summit for the first time in 1953.
The inaugural clean-up expedition is the first of many, and marks Bally’s long-term commitment to preserving these environments. The brand also supported an additional Sherpa crew in June to remove any waste left behind by previous teams. Bally CEO Nicolas Girotto commented: “The mountain lifestyle is not only core to Bally’s heritage but an integral code in the roadmap for its future. I am proud that Bally’s Peak Outlook initiative is just one element of a larger commitment to sustainability.”
“Reaching the summit of Everest requires significant resources, so I was delighted when Bally came to our cause, aiding and supporting the first organised clean-up of Everest’s summit.” – Eco Everest Expeditions Leader and Asia Trekking CEO Dawa Steven Sherpa
The Moodie Davitt e-Zine Duty Calls feature highlights environmental and socially responsible initiatives around the globe where people and the planet are the priority. If you have CSR projects, big or small, that you would like featured in Duty Calls, please contact Jason Holland at Jason@MoodieDavittReport.com
Partner's message
The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 267 | 17 September 2019
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 20 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (Moodie International Ltd).
© All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher.
To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail sinead@moodiedavittreport.com