Twenty years ago, EOCA was an idea. Bring the outdoor industry together, pool its resources and turn a shared connection with nature into practical conservation action. Today, that idea has helped raise €6 million for conservation, supporting 221 projects in 67 countries. Behind those figures are local organisations, communities and outdoor businesses working together to protect and restore the places that matter to them. As EOCA marks its 20th anniversary, its new short film brings together voices from that community. It reflects on what collective action makes possible and asks what the outdoor industry needs to do next.
An industry built on nature
The outdoor industry has a close relationship with the natural world. Its products, experiences and communities are shaped by the places where people walk, climb, ride, paddle and explore. Those places are also habitats, homes and living systems on which we all depend.
“Nature is the bedrock of all our economic success,” — Dan Yates, Executive Director at EOCA
That connection carries a responsibility. Through EOCA, businesses can pool funding to support grassroots conservation and restoration around the world. As the film shows, that work reaches across landscapes and species, from turtle conservation in Indonesia to restoring peat bogs in Borneo. It also brings together businesses of different sizes. Robbie Blackhall-Miles (Conservationist, Ecologist and Economist) describes a community in which small and large brands can contribute, with projects supported at different levels.
People are part of the picture
Protecting nature depends on understanding the people connected to it. Habitats sit within wider landscapes, cultures and communities. Conservation needs to work with those relationships.
“Effective protection of habitats is actually about the whole social element that sits around them, the culture that sits around them, the people that use them, the landscape that they sit in. It all has to be functioning together,” — Robbie Blackhall-Miles
The film also captures the personal connection that can turn care into action. Sarah-Jane Brown (Digital Community Activator at Trash Free Trails) describes the feeling after a trail clean in a place that matters to them.
“I’ve never left the trail clean feeling sad. I always feel like a bit of a pat on the back moment because it’s in a place that I value, and it’s in a place that I care about. So of course, I want to protect it.”
That care can reach the next generation too. Sarah-Jane describes children at events picking up litter and drawing their parents into the activity. Small, practical actions can help people recognise their own role in looking after the places around them.
Giving nature a collective voice
Funding conservation is one part of EOCA’s work. Membership also gives outdoor businesses a collective voice for nature and a way to involve their customers and followers.
“Conservation work and rewilding without political action is only tackling half the problem. Conservation has to go hand in hand with protection,” — Dan Yates
The film makes the case for an outdoor industry willing to speak up. Businesses have reach, influence and communities that care deeply about the natural world. Together, they can support practical work on the ground while advocating for the protection that helps that work endure.
The next chapter
Twenty years is a moment to thank everyone who has helped make this work possible. Our members, sustaining members, partners, conservation organisations, volunteers and local communities have all played a part. It is also a moment to look ahead. More than 100 companies are already part of EOCA’s community. There is room for more businesses to contribute funding, add their voice and help more people understand why nature needs their support. The next 20 years start with the action we take now.
Find out how your business can support conservation through EOCA at this link.
INFO: EOCA
