SUSTAINABILITY
Interview with Christian Thill
PR & Communications Manager at Bergamont
March 29, 2019
IMAGE: BERGAMONT
SUSTAIN EUROPE (SE): One of Bergamont's key mission statements is: "We are part of the change in mobility and help shaping it." Can you please tell us a little more about this philosophy?
Christian Thill (CT): It’s much more of a mission statement than a philosophy.
The rate of change today is ever increasing, especially in regard to the vast areas where digitalisation is occurring. The main concern for us as a bike brand is how we can satisfy the huge desire for individual mobility—a real challenge, especially in urban areas. We believe that the bicycle is key in facing this challenge and think that cycling will be the simplest solution to a complex problem.
SE: Bergamont is a well-established brand with a long history of success in the bicycle sector. How are the skills and insights you've learned along the way helping you to establish a competitive presence in the burgeoning E-Bike scene?
CT: Bergamont’s first E-Bike, marketed in 2010, went by the exotic name of VAGONDA. It was equipped with a rack-mounted Panasonic battery rated at only 9AH 36W and was driven by a front motor. Since then, we have been increasing our expertise year by year. Today, we have a great team of specialists and renowned partners working on our E-Bike innovations. For sure, the E-Bike sector is the one with the highest pressure to innovate. It feels a little bit like the early era of mountain biking, when each season, tons of innovations had been revealed.
The 2019 E-Horizon FS Elite is a full suspension e-trekking all-rounder for every occasion
IMAGE: BERGAMONT
SE: One of the things that has pleasantly surprised us about Bergamont is that as a company you are mindful of greenwashing and its pitfalls. Tell us more about your approach to sustainability.
CT: We take sustainability very seriously. That’s why we don’t pretend to be something that we are not or we can’t ensure. Becoming a sustainable brand is a huge challenge and we have a clear attitude concerning this topic.
Our mindset is to focus mainly on two things: First, cycling as the most efficient and at the same time, most sustainable, way to ensure individual mobility in a big city. Second, that the production, equipment and shipment of bikes has to become far more sustainable.
We believe in taking small steps to get started, which nevertheless have a great impact on the environment. Last year, we banned almost all plastic parts of our E-Mountainbike packaging and lowered the percentage of synthetic material down to 5%. This allows us to avoid several tonnes of plastic waste every year. To us, this easy win was a starting signal for further measures we’ll implement in the near future.
The ultra-light High Strength Carbon (HSC) framed Grandurance Elite fuses high-end, all-road performance with eye-catching design
IMAGE: BERGAMONT
SE: Bergamont is born in Hamburg, a Smart City at the forefront of urban mobility and sustainability. How important has the local culture been in terms of influencing you as a company?
CT: Being a port city Hamburg has always been open minded. St. Pauli, the district where BERGAMONT is located, has an even more extreme mix of many cultures and unconventional lifestyles. Ecological consciousness is widespread in St. Pauli, resulting in a vast range of alternative lifestyles, vegan restaurants, car sharing, DIY repair shops for bikes, zero waste stores, upcycling stores and so on. We are inspired by this dissident attitude and energetic, rebellious minds. We try to do things differently. You could even say this is what we are fighting for.
SE: E-Bikes are being touted as the future of urban mobility and as one of the most effective ways of cutting rising pollution. What is your vision for the future of E-Bikes and where do you think Bergamont fits in, in terms of the bigger picture?
CT: A great source of inspiration to us is a quote from Wentworth J. Adams: “The city is the largest puzzle humankind can offer. A bicycle helps you to solve it.” Just like regular bikes, e-bikes offer a more sustainable mode of transportation. They provide the same agility and flexibility, but offer more riding pleasure and power reserves for your bike ride. Isn’t the thought of a bike ride pure fun, knowing that it keeps you in shape and the air a bit cleaner and less polluted?
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