We are a proud member of 1% for the Planet® which is an alliance of businesses that are financially committed to creating a healthy planet. As a result, every year the Planet Bike staff has the privilege of sitting around the “advocacy” table to discuss all of the wonderful organizations that are helping to make America a friendlier place for cyclists. We also get to decide which bicycle-related organizations will receive our funding which amounts to 1% of our annual sales.

Last year, the Planet Bike crew became aware of the good work being done by the Capital Trails Coalition. This is a collaboration of public and private organizations, agencies and volunteers working to create a world-class network of multi-use trails that are equitably distributed throughout the Washington D.C. metropolitan region. The hope is that, once complete, the 881-mile trail network will transform public life by providing healthy, low-stress access to open space and reliable transportation for people of all ages and abilities.

Our donation to the Capital Trails Coalition in 2020 helped them complete their first ever impact report. The report was just published and quantifies, among other things, the economic, health and environmental benefits of the completed trail network. The report will help to build excitement and support throughout the DC metro community for the completion of the project.

Some of most interesting nuggets contained in the report include:

• 19,580 metric tons of CO2 emissions prevented every year
• $517 million in public health savings every year
• $1 billion in total annual economic impact
• 3.9 million residents served on an annual basis

The Capital Trails Coalition did the math and it turns out that trails are awesome! To see the full report and learn more about the Capital Trails Coalition follow the link: https://www.capitaltrailscoalition.org/report/