Cycling Industry Club chair Tony Grimaldi (CEO of Cycleurope) vice-chair Raymond Gense (Director of Future Technology & Public Affairs at PON Bicycle Group) and new member James Smith (Commercial and Sponsorship Director at Primal)

New strategic goals were set out during ECF's Advocacy Summit at EUROBIKE last week, the annual meeting of the Cycling Industry Club (CIC). New and old members of the CIC decided to strengthen their collaborative work towards stronger and more impactful advocacy.

One of CIC's newest and most influential members, PON Bicycle Group, contributed its valuable experience from the automotive industry as an example of how the cycling industry can better value and grow cycling. "More than 30% of a company's earnings are influenced by government legislation," stated Raymond Gense, PON’s Director of Future Technology & Public Affairs, quoting a 2013 McKinsey report. "In every market you need legislation and politicians' support to be successful."

During the summit, ECF gave industry representatives an exclusive preview on its newest study on fiscal incentives for home-work travel. The aim is to convince governments to create a level-playing field for all modes of transport that are used for commuting, including more and better tax incentives for cycling.

Another key focus in the Advocacy Summit was the Green Jobs Project – an ECF study which aims to improve advocacy and investment by evaluating the economic strength of the sector. This first real step in the collaboration between the industry and advocacy estimates that hundreds of thousands of new jobs could be created through cycling investment.

“We are helping governments and cities create better places to ride – and more riders means more demand for bikes and equipment", said Kevin Mayne, ECF Director of Development. "We are supporting cycling innovation by achieving international support for bike-sharing, e-bikes and cargo bikes while constantly putting cycling onto the new technology agenda”.