Trek, one of many world’s greatest bicycle manufacturers, not too long ago launched its sustainability report for 2021. Remarkably, this seems to be the primary time a serious bike firm has printed such a doc.
Whereas another producers make broad sustainability pledges or tout their success in lowering packaging waste, Trek’s report provides an bold array of concrete environmental commitments and a complete evaluation of the carbon footprint of its bikes.
This fills in an vital hole in knowledge. However many corporations in different sectors have been releasing such environmental affect assessments for years. Why is that this the primary time we’re seeing such a report from a serious bicycle firm, particularly on condition that biking is so broadly touted as inexperienced?
That notion is a giant a part of the reply. Bike producers have had a free journey when it comes to monitoring their very own environmental impacts largely due to the belief that biking is inherently environmentally pleasant.
To make sure, biking is among the least environmentally impactful types of transportation. Trek mentions this in its report, claiming, “In the event you journey about 430 miles you’ll have in any other case pushed, you’ve saved the carbon equal of what it took to make your bike.” And Trek is correct: compared with automobiles there isn’t a contest.
An older and broadly cited determine (based mostly on a Dutch research and utilized by the European Biking Federation) for the manufacturing footprint of bicycles is 96kg of carbon dioxide equal (CO2e). Based on Trek, the manufacturing of a primary mannequin of its bestselling bike – an entry-level mountain bike – emits about 100kg of CO2e.
The report supplies a brand new determine for e-bikes. Whereas the ECF estimates a producing carbon footprint of 134kg, Trek’s figures present that electrifying any bike provides about 65kg of CO2e to manufacturing emissions. Making a primary commuter e-bike would subsequently produce about 165kg of CO2e.
However in contrast with the manufacturing affect of a automotive, the variations between a standard bike and an electrical one are marginal. Making a small hatchback produces about 5.5 tonnes of CO2e. An electrical model provides one other 2-4 tonnes owing to the battery and electrical motor. And manufacturing an SUV produces as much as 13 tonnes.
A lifecycle evaluation makes the disparities even starker. Assuming a lifetime journey of 19,200km, a bicycle’s emissions come out at about 25-35g CO2e/km (relying on meals footprint, which will be extremely variable). With Trek’s up to date determine and assuming an EU common electrical energy combine, e-bikes are available in at 21-25g CO2e/km (sure, e-bikes will be much less carbon intensive than standard bikes, assuming the rider is doing much less work).
A typical automotive produces about 220g CO2e/km over 180,000 lifetime kilometres. Electrical autos are higher, averaging about 160g CO2e/km (relying on a rustic’s electrical energy emissions). There may be little knowledge on the lifecycles of e-scooters, however an estimate of a typical case in Germany is about the identical as an electrical automotive, at 165g CO2e/km.
Nevertheless you narrow it, in contrast with different types of transportation, bikes have a a lot smaller carbon footprint. However does such a comparability all the time make sense? Along with its entry-level mountain bike, Trek supplies footprints for full-suspension mountain bikes, carbon-fibre electrical mountain bikes, and its top-of-the-line aero street bikes.
Whereas it markets its bikes as taking part in a essential position in decarbonising transportation techniques, a whole lot of these fashions aren’t meant as alternate options to automobiles. In truth, a few of them may be pushed to the place the place they’re used.
That is the problem: in some instances, bikes should not transportation alternate options in any respect. They’re a way of recreation, even a type of luxurious items. In fact, many individuals do use bikes for on a regular basis transport. However in addition to evaluating bikes to automobiles, it may be illuminating to match one bike to a different.
Trek in contrast the aluminium and carbon-fibre variations of its bikes and constantly discovered that making the latter produces almost 3 times the emissions. The identical goes for wheels.
The report additionally exhibits that every technological “development” that’s added to a motorbike – carbon wheels, digital shifting, the addition of a motor – comes with an environmental price. This culminates in a £10,000 electrical mountain bike with a 320kg manufacturing carbon footprint.
Some may say that in relative phrases even essentially the most extravagant bike has a low carbon footprint. A car-free one who rides their carbon-fibre street bike for enjoyable on the weekend may have a a lot decrease private footprint than an individual who drives their automotive out of the town to go mountain climbing. That is what makes one-to-one comparisons tough.
The larger image makes issues much more sophisticated. A single article of clothes, for instance, has a tiny carbon footprint. However you additionally want to think about the broader system of clothes manufacturing, one which relies on exploited labour, a fast-fashion ethos and destroying unsold items.
From this angle, the bicycle business doesn’t look that completely different. It’s constructed round a yearly manufacturing cycle, with “new” fashions typically amounting to little greater than a unique color of paint. It makes use of a technique of pressured obsolescence; requirements are routinely up to date, making it laborious to search out substitute elements for older bikes. A mannequin that was, in fact, perfected by the automotive business.
There are a lot of smaller bicycle corporations that buck this pattern, which are centered on perfecting a restricted vary of sturdy merchandise. However sadly they make up solely a small section of the biking business.
The local weather disaster is accurately understood as a systemic drawback. Our private transportation emissions, making up a sixth of complete emissions in Europe, stem from a system based mostly on the automotive. Bicycle producers will play an important position in altering this. However merely changing most automobiles with bikes is just not sufficient.
Reaching the mandatory stage of decarbonisation – that’s, full decarbonisation – requires rethinking all of our socio-technical techniques: an power system based mostly on fossil fuels; a producing system based mostly on abroad labour and world transport; a meals system based mostly on energy-intensive meat manufacturing; and an financial system based mostly on relentless consumption and development.
Bicycle corporations, regardless of making a helpful product, are nonetheless absolutely entrenched in these different techniques. To Trek’s credit score, maintaining monitor of its environmental impacts is a essential first step to understanding its position in them, and it’s doing greater than most when it comes to making adjustments to its manufacturing practices. Hopefully extra corporations comply with swimsuit. However pursuing sustainability by accounting for the carbon emissions of a £10,000 mountain bike appears to overlook the forest for the bushes.
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Bernhard Isopp is a lecturer and researcher within the division of science, know-how and society on the Technical College of Munich, the place he works on questions of sustainable mobility.
