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Sustainability

  • Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at Orion Trail Events. We have built the company on a core foundation of beliefs and values that we hold dear. So you will find that this page also doubles up as our about page.

 

  • Our company aim is to help you complete the Southwest Coast Path in 'ultra-style' (remember, we coined the saying first). This means we have based our entire race calendar around ultra marathons that are all situated on parts of the SWCP.

 

  • we also want to give back to the planet as much as we can while we do this. So we have come up with a set of steps which will help us achieve this, bare in mind this is only the beginning:

 

  • Firstly, Orion Trail Events has been registered as a coast path-friendly event, which donates £1 of every entrance to the Southwest Coast Path. In the future, as we grow, we are hoping to upgrade this to become a 'mile marker’. Check out their page for more information  (insert link)

     
  • We have also registered with 1% for the planet, which means we pledge to give 1% of our gross annual turnover to charitable causes that are working hard to save our planet. More information about this can be found by clicking the link. (Insert link).

     
  • We intend to donate a portion of the entrance fee to the national trust as we pass through a lot of their land during the races. If you don’t already know about the national trust, we highly recommend clicking through to their website and having a look, the work they do is fantastic. (insert link).

 

But these organisations are just the beginning, and we hope to keep expanding as we grow.
 

How else are we planning on helping the planet, I hear you ask?

 

  • Well, all fruit at our aid stations will be purchased from Riverford organic fruit and veg. Those who don't believe organic is the way forward, well, simply put, you need to do some more research.

     
  • We have also teamed up with Veloforte to provide you with all-natural energy pre-, during and post-race. All their bars and chews are wrapped in material that can be TerraCycled (hyperlink), so we will be providing collection points at each of our aid stations.

     
  • Lastly, for now, we are also using 100% recycled polyester t-shirts. We can't stop plastic usage, but the least we can do is recycle and reuse what we use. This will help to reduce the amount that makes it into our oceans or landfill. We also understand that most event t-shirts end up in landfill, so to stop this, we aren't doing event-specific t-shirts. Instead, we have opted for well-designed, high-quality company-branded t-shirts. These will be available to purchase as an add-on from our shop if you like the design and want to wear them to race or to train in. Check them out here (insert link)

 

  • While we are on the subject of our shop, we should also mention that everything in our shop is either organic, recycled, or recyclable. We won’t use any products that we don’t believe can help the planet in some way.

     
  • Another avenue we are exploring, which will help reduce waste, is working with event clips, this British company makes reusable, recycled plastic bib clips. Instead of us providing pins that always get discarded, We wanted to give you another little goody that you can take away from the event that you can use again and again!

     
  • We recognise that travel to and from events is by far the most significant part of our carbon emissions as a company, so we are looking into discounting our race entry price if you car share, travel by train or bus to our events, watch this space for more information coming soon.

     
  • As a company, we are also looking into purchasing an electric van to get us to and from during the events. Fingers crossed, we find an affordable option.

     
  • Finally, how we run the race's logistics have been thoroughly thought out. We will have you all meet at race HQ, which will be situated at the finish line of all races, and we will bus you to the start as part of the price of the entry. This will significantly cut down on the carbon emissions of everyone trying to move back to the start line after they finish the event.

    We hope these steps we are taking are held in great value to you as our valued customers. We strive to do better and do more as the years roll on. So as always...

    Keep those eyes peeled