Orca Running

Our footprint

There Is No Running on a Dead Planet

Orca Running went carbon neutral in 2022. Here is how we measured what our races put into the atmosphere, what we did to shrink it, and where we bought the offsets for the rest. These figures cover our 2022 season.

Where we stand

Carbon Neutral Since 2022

Orca Running went carbon neutral in 2022, and carbon negative for that year. There is no running on a dead planet.

The figures on this page cover our 2022 season, measured against a 2019 baseline. They are the most recent numbers we have published; our offset certificates run to March 2023. We are working on an updated footprint and will post it here.

If you want to hear how race producers think about all of this, there is a good episode of the Head Start Podcast on carbon-neutral race production. You can also download a free carbon footprint calculator and run the numbers on your own event.

1% For the Planet

We are a member of 1% For the Planet. We donate 1% of our pre-tax gross revenue to impact the sustainability of our earth and community for generations to come. 1% of every dollar spent at Orca Running benefits the earth.

Our Carbon Footprint (2019 baseline)

Our 2019 carbon footprint came to 162.5 short tons of CO2e — an average of 0.016 short tons, about 32 lbs, per participant across the whole season. The largest contributors were:

  • Participant, volunteer and staff transportation to and from races — 132.8 short tons
  • Freight for race swag — 23.4 short tons
  • Shipping merchandise and bibs — 9.6 short tons
  • Race day operational emissions — 0.3 short tons

Two things are not in that number yet: the emissions from producing medals, bibs and shirts, and the emissions from producing the food we hand out at the finish line. We do not have good enough data from our manufacturers to count them honestly, so we have not.

2019 is our baseline year because it was our last full pre-pandemic season.

Reductions

How We Brought It Down

  • Race day participant transportation. This is by far our largest single source of emissions. We estimated the 2022 total for participant, staff and volunteer travel to and from races at approximately 550 metric tonnes of CO2e. We purchased 550 metric tonnes of offset credits on 12 January 2022 and another 600 on 8 August 2022 — 1,150 tonnes against an estimated 550, which puts us carbon negative for 2022.
  • Zero waste stations. We run a zero waste station at all of our races, to move as much as we can out of the landfill and into recycling and compost.
  • Shoe recycling. We collect old shoes for recycling at all of our races.
  • Race day direct emissions. We switched to a wooden archway, which means no generator running a blower all morning, and our PA systems run on rechargeable power packs charged with Seattle City Light’s carbon-free electricity.
  • Staff work-from-home utilities. We pay extra for 100% wind energy electricity wherever that is an option.
  • Merchandise shipping. We offset the carbon from shipping merchandise through Cloverly.
  • Bib production and shipping. We moved to a smaller bib, which uses less Tyvek, and we offset the carbon from mailing them out.
  • Shirt production. We switched to recycled tri-blend t-shirts, which are 50% recycled polyester.
  • Medal, award and finisher swag production. 20% of our medals are now made locally in Anacortes, using solar power.
  • Trees Not Tees. Through Trees Not Tees, runners can take a tree planted in their name instead of a race shirt. A tree can absorb up to one ton of carbon by the time it is 40.
  • Medal recycling. We pull the ribbons off returned medals and send the metal to Skagit Steel to be melted down and recycled.

Where We Buy Offsets

We purchase offsets via South Pole, a carbon offset company recommended to us by The Nature Conservancy, and specifically from the Crow Lake Wind project. Our earlier certificate, dated 27 March 2023, was issued through Native Energy.

Race day transport for a single participant in an Orca Running race emits roughly 62 lbs of CO2. A portion of your registration fee goes toward offsetting it.

Figures for offsets are given in metric tonnes; footprint figures above are in short tons. 1,150 metric tonnes is about 1,268 short tons.

Want to Reduce Your Own Footprint?

Start by calculating it. We like the calculator from The Nature Conservancy. Once you know your number, download and read this for ideas on how to bring it down.

No Running on a Dead Planet

There are no higher stakes than being kind to the earth; we care deeply about keeping our planet viable for the next generation. To that end, we organize our events with an eye towards minimizing our impact on the planet. Read more here.

No Running on a Dead Planet

Committed to Making All Feel Welcome

Orca Running want to make sure that everyone feels welcome and safe at our running events and in our community. We have a non-binary registration option and a non-binary category for overall awards. If you have a suggestion or idea for how we can improve our events in this regard, please let us know!

Committed to Making All Feel Welcome

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