POW UK Statement: Dacia Sponsorship at Kendal Mountain Festival

Over the past week, members of the outdoor community have expressed their concern in relation to the partnership between Dacia and Kendal Mountain Film Festival.

The open letter calling on Kendal Mountain Festival to reconsider its partnership with Dacia is an important expression of concern from within the outdoor community. With 350 signatures at the time of writing, it reflects a growing expectation that the values we share as an outdoor community should be reflected in the commercial partnerships we support. We stand behind the right of individuals to raise these concerns and call for greater accountability from the organisations and brands that shape our industry.

Climate change is already changing the outdoor places we love and the communities that depend on them. From rising temperatures and changing weather patterns to more frequent and intense extreme weather events, its effects are increasingly being felt here in the UK. Wildfires offer a stark example: between January to September 2026, 28,299 hectares of UK land burned, making this year the second-highest year on record, with 2025 being the most severe wildfire year on record. The Prime Minister has since convened the UK's first Wildfire Summit, recognising this growing threat and the need for the nation to prepare for climate-related emergencies.

Business as usual is no longer an option. If we are serious about protecting the outdoors, the outdoor industry must do things differently from how we travel, as we are campaigning for through our Clean Miles campaign, to how we bring our community together and the commercial partnerships that make it possible.

It is time for outdoor industry events to move away from fossil fuel sponsorship. The values of our community should be reflected in the partnerships we build. These partnerships should support, not undermine, a future in which people and nature can thrive.

Athletes are on the frontline of a changing climate. They see its impacts first-hand and have a powerful platform to speak out. Speaking out, and in the case of athletes Damian Hall and Calum Macintyre withdrawing from the festival, can be difficult particularly when challenging established industry relationships. However this kind of leadership is often what drives change. We should be listening to these voices, not making it harder for them to be heard.

Our concerns about Dacia go beyond its position as a car manufacturer. We are simply not in the position to exist entirely without cars as a society, indeed our Clean Miles campaign exists to remove some of the barriers the outdoor community experience to low carbon travel.

In 2025, Dacia's only fully electric model, the Spring, accounted for just 17% of its UK vehicle registrations and 5% of global vehicle registrations. To put this into context in 2025 the global average share for electric vehicles (including battery-electric and plug-in hybrids) reached 25% of all new car sales and in the UK fully electric cars accounted for 23.4% of the total new car market share. Dacia's current strategy commits to introducing just four fully electric models by 2030, while its ambition for two-thirds of sales to be 'electrified' includes hybrid vehicles, rather than representing a commitment to fully electric sales.

More concerningly, Dacia's UK brand director has publicly acknowledged that Renault Group's strategy is to prioritise the electrification of Renault models while allowing Dacia to retain combustion-engine vehicles for longer. This raises legitimate questions about the brand's environmental ambition and its alignment with the urgent need to reduce transport emissions and protect the places outdoor communities rely on.

We recognise that the Dacia partnership provides financial support to people, organisations and activities that make a valuable contribution to Kendal Mountain Festival. Their voices, work and perspectives must not be lost in this debate, nor should they be disadvantaged by decisions about sponsorship. However, supporting these people and activities should not depend on a partnership that raises legitimate environmental concerns. There are other ways to secure the funding needed to sustain and celebrate the work that makes the Festival so valuable and we should be ambitious about finding them.

As soon as POW UK heard that our Ambassador Damian Hall had withdrawn, we contacted the Kendal Mountain Festival organisers to encourage an opportunity for open and constructive conversation about the Dacia partnership. We were also keen to ensure that the perspectives of people who feel uncomfortable with the partnership, but may not feel able to speak up, were heard and given space.

A public event it taking place on Sunday 22nd November at 9.30am to hear different perspectives and views and we appreciate the time the KMF organising team have taken to take onboard our initial concerns about the framing of this event and reshape it to become:

In an imperfect world, how do we build the best relationships we can between outdoor events, commercial partners, participants and nature?

The discussion will explore the realities of commercial sponsorship, the responsibilities of event organisers and brands, and the evolving expectations of the outdoor community. It will consider what good sponsorship looks like, how partnerships can evolve, and how we balance the needs of events, participants, businesses and the natural environment we all depend on.

At POW UK, we believe that starts with honesty, accountability and a willingness to challenge the status quo. Our industry has an opportunity, and a responsibility, to lead by example.

We want to hear your perspectives. If you are passionate about protecting what you love, we'd welcome your thoughts on two key questions. We'll gather feedback and share it with Kendal Mountain Festival as part of Sunday's discussion:

The outdoor industry has the power to lead the way on climate action - let’s make sure it does.

Absolutely! Although we're taking a smaller presence at Kendal this year, we'll still be there, connecting with our community, sharing ideas and pushing for change.

As a small charity, we're making careful choices about how we invest our limited resources, particularly in the current economic climate. This year, we're prioritising opportunities to turn our advocacy into action, including meaningful meetings with local political representatives. These conversations are an important part of our work and, given how difficult they can be to arrange, we're making the most of taking these opportunities to meet during the Kendal Mountain Film festival.

Our focus remains on low-carbon mobility and making it easier for everyone to travel to the outdoors without relying on a car. Through our Clean Miles campaign and report, we're setting out practical recommendations to improve public transport connections to outdoor destinations, both across the UK and beyond.

Join POW UK Ambassador Robbie Phillips, founder of Adaptive as Standard and UN[PARA]LD Alice Sainsbury and Senior Director of Keen Effect and climate scientist Ann Radil for a panel hosted by Rachael Crewesmith. We’ll be talking about Finding our place: Belonging, adventure and climate action

The Journey Is Part of the Adventure - What if the journey is the adventure? Deuter athlete and POW Finland member Anniina Perätalo is travelling by train from Finland to Kendal. With Dom Winter of POW UK, she’ll compare Scandinavian and British travel and explore how lower-impact journeys can make getting outdoors part of the adventure.

We'll also have a stand in the charity teepee area on Saturday which we have already committed to paying for. A huge thank you to partners including TEKO and StormCare who will join us there and whose commitment to more sustainable practices and shared values helps make our presence at the Festival possible.

We’ll see you out there to continue the conversation on protecting the places we love for generations to come.