Here’s some great news coming out of Colorado for Earth Day: Aspen Skiing Company recently joined 100 Colorado companies to say “The US Chamber Doesn’t Speak for Me.” Aspen is already known for its commitment to environmental sustainability and we’re proud to have them on board with the campaign.
A huge thanks goes out to 350.org organizer Micah Parkin for the amazing work she’s done to sign up businesses across Colorado. Micah’s been working on the campaign for just a few weeks, but already 100 companies have come on board and momentum is growing by the day. And more thanks to Auden Schendler, the VP of Sustainability at Aspen, who’s been a vocal supporter for companies getting more involved in fighting climate disruption.
Here’s an article in the Aspen Times about the announcement and the growing push to get companies across Colorado to say, “The US Chamber Doesn’t Speak for Me.”
Aspen Skiing Co. Joins Effort to Scold US Chamber
ASPEN — The Aspen Skiing Co. added its voice this week to protests taking aim at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for its actions on climate change.
The Skico was one of 100 Colorado businesses that signed a declaration saying, “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce doesn’t speak for me.” The fledgling effort will continue to try to get Colorado businesses and local chambers of commerce to join the effort, said Micah Parkin, an organizer with the environmental group 350.org.
The Skico joined the effort because it opposes the chamber’s spending of millions of dollars to lobby against U.S. legislation to regulate greenhouse gases, said Auden Schendler, Skico vice president of sustainability.
The chamber spent a reported $50 million in 2009 to oppose regulation, he said. The Skico supports regulation of greenhouse gases and has become increasingly involved in the political process to push for the government to address climate change.
“This is kind of the heart of it,” Schendler said. “They are the enemy — the chamber.”
The Skico isn’t a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce so its signing of the declaration isn’t likely to be noticed directly by the organization. However, the Skico’s involvement might help draw attention to the effort, according to Schendler.
“It’s trying to leverage Aspen’s position,” he said. “When Aspen or Aspen Skiing Company take a position, it gets coverage.”
Parkin said the Aspen Chamber Resort Association (ACRA) hasn’t been asked yet to sign the declaration. She is just gearing up efforts to ask businesses and chambers of commerce across the state to get involved in the issue.
The ACRA is a member of the national chamber. It was asked by the Skico two years ago to consider pulling out because of the national organization’s position on climate change. ACRA’s board of directors declined to cancel its membership but it passed a resolution in opposition to the U.S. Chamber’s position on climate change resolution.
ACRA President and CEO Debbie Braun said there is no immediate plan to take up the issue again. It is conceivable it would consider its membership in the U.S. chamber after its own membership cycle turns over in the fall, she said. That depends on the desires of the ACRA board and its members, Braun said.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is used to heat over its position. Apple is among high-profile companies that have pulled out of the chamber over its positions on climate change. Nike resigned from its position on the chamber’s board of directors, but didn’t rescind its membership.
The chamber says it is acting in the interests of the majority of its members. Critics are trying to show otherwise. Three national environmental organizations stepped up pressure this week on the national chamber. Power Shift and 350.org have teamed with StopTheChamber.com to stage rallies and start the petition drive against the national chamber’s position.
Schendler said 350.org came to the same conclusion as the Skico: To make headway on climate change, you need to engage in the money and politics battlefronts.
Businesses that want to learn more about the effort to lobby the U.S. chamber can visit http://chamber.350.org/.
