In 2016, I started Emerger Strategies with a simple bet: that the brands making the gear we love could also help protect the places we love — and that doing right by the fish could make them stronger businesses, not just better-intentioned ones.
Ten years later, I’m still betting on that. And I’ve got a decade of proof it pays off.
Why I Started This
Back then, “sustainability” in the fly fishing industry mostly meant a paragraph on a website and a donation at the end of the year. Nice, but not strategy. I didn’t want to build another consulting firm that sold companies a feeling. I wanted to help fishing and outdoor brands make the business case for sustainability — lower costs, stronger retailer relationships, customers who stick around because the brand means something.
Ten years in, that’s still the whole job.
What It’s Actually Looked Like
This isn’t theory. Here’s what it’s added up to:
- $430K+ in operating cost reductions for clients through energy efficiency & renewable energy, and waste minimization work — real money back in real businesses.
- Co-authored sustainability toolkits for AFFTA and the American Sportfishing Association — now used industry-wide and providing sustainability guidance, resources, and educational webinars for hundreds of companies.
- Founded the Fly Fishing Climate Alliance, bringing 50+ fly fishing guides, shops, lodges and brands together to commit to net-zero emissions and helped a dozen achieve carbon neutrality.
- Helped clients like RepYourWater, Z-Man Fishing, Crazy Creek, and Blue Sky move through GHG measurement, reduced GHG emissions, carbon neutrality, zero waste operations, EPR compliance, and retailer sustainability compliance — without needing to hire a sustainability team to do it.
- Built The Sustainable Angler Podcast to educate and inspire anglers and brands to protect the planet, which has over 55K downloads to date.
- Been a 1% for the Planet member since day one — because if I’m asking clients to put their money where their mission is, I should too.
Proving the Business Case for Sustainability
Prior to founding Emerger Strategies, I worked for a biodiesel production startup, then a green building software startup. They both went out of business while I was working there, and I learned a valuable lesson: sustainability for the sake of sustainability is not enough. It muse make business sense.
That’s why I have been obsessed with proving the business case for sustainability since I launched Emerger Strategies because while the market is demanding sustainability, the companies who can’t tie there initiatives to business outcomes will not remain in business very long.
Z-Man Fishing Products Saves $80K in annual energy costs
Took Z-Man through a Sustainability Assessment, then guided Z-Man through energy efficiency and solar installation improvements, which resulted in reduced Scope 2 emissions and cut annual energy costs by over $80K annually.
RepYourWater Increases Customer loyalty by 16.9%
Helped RepYourWater achieve carbon neutrality and zero waste operations. Measured, improved, and credibly communicated their sustainability story — driving measurable loyalty gains.
Crazy Creek Products Improves REI Product Impact Score +40%
Reduced energy costs 8%, cut Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions 26%, and improved their REI Product Impact score by over 40% — protecting a critical retail relationship.
What Ten Years Taught Me
Cut the philosophy. Three things actually hold up:
Sustainability isn’t the product. The outcomes are. Cost reduction, customer loyalty, risk mitigation, retailer readiness — that’s what clients are actually buying. Sustainability is just how we deliver it.
Nobody needs more complexity. Brands don’t need a 40-page framework. They need to know the three things that matter this quarter and a straight answer on how to fix them.
The industry is only as strong as the water it depends on. Every brand we’ve worked with makes gear for places worth protecting. That’s not a marketing angle — it’s the whole reason this firm exists.
What’s Next
Retailers are asking for more. Regulations like California’s SB 707 aren’t slowing down. Customers can smell a brand that’s just checking a box versus one that means it.
The next ten years are about making this easier, faster, and more measurable for the brands who give a damn — without making them become compliance experts to get there.
Thank You
To every client who trusted us with real numbers and real deadlines. To every podcast guest who showed up and told the truth. To every partner who’s been building this alongside me. Special thanks to my wife and to the people who played a critical role in the success of Emerger Strategies and who have made this all possible: Brooks Scott, Paul Puckett, Corinne Doctor, Garrison Doctor, Hilary Hutcheson, Oliver White, Wes Carter and Lucas Bissett. THANK YOU!
Here’s to the next decade — same water, same mission, more brands doing right by both.
Want to see what this could look like for your brand? Book a discovery call →