Pittwater Life April 2023 Issue

News
Collaboration a surf changer
It’s 18 months since Pittwater Life
caught up with Wavechanger director
Tom Wilson, together with his friend
and advocate Layne Beachley. Back in
October 2021, Tom described his passion
project as: “A non-profit initiative on
a mission to speed up transition to a
greener, cleaner and planet-friendly surf
industry.”
Tom has been working hard to effect
change in the surfing industry – and
next-level change is certainly now
happening for his eco-baby.
“The biggest news is that we’ve
merged with a like-minded organisation
in Surfers for Climate,” explains Tom.
“We’ve also launched our website and
have benefitted from the reach that
Surfers for Climate have.
“The CEO of Surfers for Climate saw us
as a really good fit, with us concentrating
very much on the product and supply
side of the surfing industry, while they
are trying to effect environmental
change via the surfing community.”
It was by chance the two organisations
got together.
“I called Josh as we’d just done a
podcast with a company they’d been
working with on a very similar subject
and I wanted to make it clear we weren’t
EMISSIONS: Wavechanger’s new report details
the carbon footprint of making surfboards.
copying them,” continues Tom. “I joked
that we should work together on things
and Josh said coincidentally he was
going to be in Sydney the following week
and suggested we catch up.”
What came out of that was the
Wavechanger Club – a chance for
consumers and businesses to support
the impactful environmental work
Wavechanger is undertaking.
“Surfers for Climate had a Sustainable
Supply Club with an existing
membership program and we agreed
to take that over,” says Tom. “For as
little as $3 a month, you get discounts
on products from 40 different brands,
you are entered into a monthly draw to
win great prizes, and you get access to
exclusive events.
“And of course, we promote the
environmentally friendly products that
partners are producing.”
Wavechanger has also just released
a new report, The Carbon Cost of
Surfboards, a collaborative project with
UTS detailing the carbon footprint of
making surfboards.
“There are some really interesting
comparable stats showing how emissions
from making certain surfboards compare
to other world products,” says Tom.
“And not just the materials, but details
such as the energy used in production
and transportation, plus lifetime usage
and maintenance.”
Tom says none of this is about
shaming the surf industry; quite the
reverse, it is about the industry leading
the way.
“We want to put gentle pressure on it
and help it become a shining beacon as
leading the way in sport,” he says.
“Even focusing on initiatives such as
leasing surfboards rather than buying,
or recycling all surfboards and reusing
the materials.”
– Rob Pegley
*More at wavechanger.org
18 APRIL 2023
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