Rebelle Forward
December 15th, 2023
The Rebelle Rally has long been associated with sustainability, stewardship, and environmental responsibility through conservation, education, and boots-on-the-ground projects. Embedded in Rebelle Impact is the principle of “what happens beyond the competition and score matters most.” To further this idea in 2023, the rally introduced Rebelle Forward, a new addition to the Rebelle family. Rebelle Forward is designed to be a forum to showcase our partners’ work on projects and initiatives that are leading the way in responsible innovations. The inaugural event was held on Saturday, October 21st, at the final Rebelle base camp in Glamis, along with a broadcast on Rebelle Rally Live Presented by Toyota.
Rebelle Forward featured many partners who reach beyond checking the box in sustainable initiatives but go far beyond. In the book of Rebelle, talk is cheap. Action is what matters. Here are a few highlights:
RENEWABLE INNOVATIONS
Renewable Innovations, based in Salt Lake City, has been a key partner to the rally, using its vast expertise to build power solutions to meet the unique needs of the rally. Today, their infrastructure provides EV power to the vehicles overnight and importantly, on-course for fast charging to ensure the vehicles can remain competitive in the rally competition. The company also provides green power to keep basecamp running via massive solar panels and Smart Flowers on its MEC-S. Each year, for the past four years, RI has added infrastructure to the Rebelle’s program. While the equipment has been designed to charge via hydrogen, sourcing that hydrogen has previously proved challenging. This year, RI and Quantum teamed up to build the Virtual Pipeline, bringing 800kg of green hydrogen to ensure sustainable, carbon-free energy was powering the EVs, a seemingly unprecedented feat in the US. This year, the EV Rivian R1T won the Rebelle Rally, powered with 100% sustainable energy thanks to Renewable Innovations, their exceptional team and unwavering commitment to the rally.
PIRELLI
Another featured partner on the show was Pirelli, a company long committed to sustainability. Jenn Brandon, Consumer Marketing Manager US for Pirelli Tire LLC, shared some of their main objectives around their sustainability principles, “For us, it’s the transition to renewable energy in general. So, you’re looking at the entire chain of events that goes into making tires and the customer user journey. We’re making a product that is part of the evolution into the EV economy and how that is going to evolve with the new forms of mobility. Then we’re also looking at how we produce those tires, where we’re getting our sourced materials and how much of the materials can be reused from our own products. We’re looking at 360 degrees of the entire chain.”
Pirelli’s website has extensive information about their initiatives. Read more here.
TOYOTA
Toyota, silver partner of the Rebelle Rally, brought two exciting hydrogen fuel cell vehicles showcasing the sustainable future of mobility. The Toyota Mirai sedan and the impressive Toyota Ocean, a hydrogen-powered semi-truck were on display with engineers walking us through the technology.
YETI
YETI has also been a large part of sustainability efforts the past three years of the rally, providing non- disposable products to staff, competitors, and media. YETI products are build to ensure they are not part of the “throw away” economy. Their products not only never fail on the rally, they also keep a tremendous amount of plastics out of landfills.
IRIDIUM
While mentioning sustainability, it’s important to highlight Iridium, the Official Safety and Communications partner of the rally. The global satellite communications company is the backbone of many environmental and sustainability programs including important animal tracking, weather data, ++.
We will explore the positive impact of Iridium through the 2024 season.
TREAD LIGHTLY!
Also on hand at Rebelle Forward was the Executive Director of Tread Lightly!, Matt Caldwell, who has been a long-time partner for the Rebelle Rally. Rebelle is a donor to Tread Lightly! and many competitors and staff actively participate in the non-profit’s clean-up and trail programs across the United States. Learn more about Tread Lightly!.
We will continue to keep our community up to date on the positive impact our partners, staff, competitors and friends are doing. Have a compelling project Rebelle Forward should know about? Reach out @ info@rebellerally.com.
