Petzl - Impact Report 2025

2025

Impact Report

A project that goes beyond

climbing

In Tanzania , the organisation supports an orpha -

nage caring for children in highly vulnerable si -

tuations . Climbing and outdoor activities become

spaces of trust , play and rebuilding . “ For many

children , climbing gives them a reason to get up

in the morning , a sense of pride and a future they

can begin to imagine , ” observes Lucho . In Angola ,

the initiative has made it possible to fully renovate

a school , buy bicycles to make it easier for children

to get to school , and distribute school supplies to

more than 1 , 200 young people .

“ This project goes far beyond climbing . It embodies

the responsibility we bear towards the people who

live close to the places where we spend our leisure

time and practise our activities . ”

Supported by Petzl through funding and equipment

donations , the project relies on the organisation ’ s

commitment in coordinating partners , volunteers

and logistics . As Lucho puts it simply : “ People

come to climb , but leave with the feeling that they

have contributed to something greater . ”

From passion

to commitment

“ For a long time , my main goal was to travel the

world in search of the best climbing spots , ” admits

Chilean Lucho Birkner , a professional climber and

Petzl athlete for the past 17 years .

As travels and encounters accumulated , his pers

pective evolved . “ Cliffs are surrounded by villages ,

families , children , sometimes people in need .

I began to ask myself : what do we leave behind

when we go home ? ” From this question came a

conviction : far more than just a sport , climbing can

make a positive contribution

to social issues and more

broadly benef it the commu

nities living around climbing

sites .

Together with his friend ,

f ilmmaker Mateo Barrenen

goa , he founded Climbing

For A Reason in 2016 , a

non - prof it organisation that

makes climbing a meeting

point between climbers

from around the world and local communities

We did not want to arrive with ready made solu

tions disconnected from reality so we started by

listening carefully in order to identify the real needs

By anchoring itself in a specif ic territory the orga

nisation enables climbers to get involved as vo

lunteers and to put their skills time and energy at

the service of needs identif ied with local residents

in order to build projects that will be genuinely use

ful to them

Climbing creates connections . Between climbing

partners , of course . But also between travellers and

local residents , between passion for a sport and the

dynamics of a territory . Around cliffs , communities come

together . There are those who climb , those who live

there , and those who welcome others . Climbing then

becomes more than a practice : it becomes a social ,

cultural and economic accelerator . Through his project

Climbing For A Reason , Lucho Birkner gives shape

to this vision . For him , climbing is not only a sporting

performance ; it is a way of creating connections ,

a lever for solidarity . Another way of rising .

Acting in the public interest

As a continuation of its civic commitment Petzl

created its corporate Foundation 20 years ago to

strengthen the link between the company and so

ciety at large Its mission is to support or initiate

projects in the public interest that contribute to

human balance within the natural environment

in connection with the mountains and the vertical

world

The Foundation works along three lines preven

ting accidents supporting the ecological transition

and opening up the vertical environment to others

Each year it supports numerous associations and

dedicates more than 500 000 to meaningful pro

jects thereby strengthening Petzl s societal impact

alongside local communities

Far more than just

a sport , climbing

can make a positive

contribution to

social issues .

Lucho Birkner

Athlete and co - founder of Climbing for a reason

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