As the world is waking up to the threat of climate change, so are ski resorts. Although they are often conceived as being particularly environmentally unfriendly by scarring the face of the mountains with lifts, allowing unchecked development across the valleys and using huge amounts of water and energy, many resorts have brought in green initiatives and sustainable practices.
Resorts that execute good green practices should be supported and encouraged, and wintersports enthusiasts with an interest in the conservation of natural environments and climate can choose their holiday destinations accordingly.

To this end, we have produced the Green Resort Guide to help you plan your ski holiday with a clear conscience:

Educate and Communicate green practices to hotels, guests and businesses. Make hotels, guests and businesses in the resort aware of topical environmental issues, i.e.:

• The reliance of the snowsports experience on natural resources
• The vulnerability of these resources
• What individuals and businesses can do to minimise their impact on these valuable resources.

Advocate sustainable development techniques for new buildings.

• Seek advice from environmentally conscious contractors, designers and consultants when developing the resort facilities.
• Use locally sourced and long-lasting building materials.
• Prioritise energy, water and material efficiency in building design.
• Minimise sprawling developments in order to reduce the need for new roads, car use and to increase social cohesion.

Reduce car dependency within the resort and promote green travel to the resort.

• Publicise the use of trains and buses as an efficient means of travelling to the resort.
• Maximise public shuttle services within the resort.
• Pedestrianise central areas of the resort, where applicable.
• Assign designated hitch-spots for rides between the residential areas and the resort base, where applicable.
• Help coordinate car-pooling for staff, where shuttle buses are not possible.
• Publicise ride-shares to and from the resort through a section on the website and a notice board in-resort.

Minimise energy use by resort activities and switch to green energy sources.

• Minimise energy use through efficient practices and technologies, applied through education of employees.
• Investigate the potential for generation of green energy within the resort, such as wind, micro-hydro, geothermal, and solar power generation, fuel cells and natural gas turbines and generation from biomass residues and wastes.
• If not feasible, switch to energy suppliers who use renewable sources, and offset your remaining carbon emissions.

Reduce, Re-use and Recycle in order to protect resources, cut costs and cut waste production.

• Reduce excess consumption by:
  • Carefully matching supply to demand
  • Buying in bulk to minimise packaging
  • Buying recycled goods as much as possible
• Re-use products as much as possible. For example, provide washable or compostable tableware in cafeterias and lodges.
• Recycle whatever waste cannot be reduced or reused:
  • Provide multiple and accessible recycling facilities for all employees and guests, with clear guidelines as to what can be recycled. 
  • Set up an efficient composting scheme for use in landscaping.
  • Encourage local councils to set up more recycling schemes if necessary.
• Minimise use of potentially hazardous materials and safely dispose of those remaining, such as cleaning chemicals, motor oil, batteries and solvents.

Minimise water use and contamination.

• Prevent run-off from car parks and construction sites so reducing contamination of surface and ground water.
• Carefully monitor water quality to ensure that contamination does not occur.
• Cut excessive water use in all resort activities, including snowmaking and within the facilities, by installing efficient devices (e.g. snowcannons, toilets and bathroom taps).
• Reduce use of snowcannons, but when it is unavoidable implement those that use clean water with no additional oil or chemicals, such as Atlas Copco’s 170 YORK Neige cannons.

Manage sewage sustainably

• Use compostable toilets on mountain as far as possible, thus reaping the benefits of compost for summer landscaping activities.
• Explore the use of decentralized or on-site treatment technologies for waste water where appropriate.
• Re-use this treated wastewater or greywater for toilets etc.