One thing that has always struck me as rather strange is that larger outdoor industry companies sometimes are hypocritical when it comes to choosing more environmentally-conscious ways of doing things. You really have to look at the smaller upstarts to find products made with recycled and/or reused materials, fairer business models and intriguing new ways of doing things (Patagonia, still under the commendable guidance of its founder, Yvon Chouinard, would be the big exception to this rule).

Chalk up another exception: Black Diamond Equipment (or, BD). If you’re not a climber or a tele skier, you might not recognize the name, but Yvon’s original company (yup, same Yvon - before it rose again from being sued into the ground back in the day before legal disclaimers, the company was originally Chouinard Equipment) is a very well-respected leader within the industry. I just caught wind of a press release today that announced that BD will be installing solar panels on the roof of their single retail store by their headquarters in Salt Lake City.

BD has always been cool. Unlike the overwhelming trend of outdoor companies choosing to ignore their founders (or even rewriting their history), BD doesn’t shy away from where they come from (in fact, the “c” in their logo is a hat-tip to their roots). Peter Metcalf, the CEO of BD, led the charge against then-governor of Utah (now, scarily, the Secretary of Health & Human Services after a terrifying run as head of the EPA), Mike Leavitt when Leavitt agreed to open up protected land in Utah. The outdoor industry eventually rallied around Metcalf, leveraging their expiring contract with Salt Lake City for the biannual tradeshow. They were successful in the end, but I think that had more to do with Governor Olene Walker, who replaced Leavitt when he was picked by Dubya to head up the EPA.