Jackson Hole green rating – Ski Club of Great Britain

Jackson Hole: green factor

ISO14001 approved:Yes

Is the resort ISO14001 approved?

ISO 14001 is a worldwide standard of environmental management for any organisation, created in 1996. Ski resorts on at least four continents are known to be working towards obtaining ISO 14001 certification or to have already achieved it. ISO 14001 is an environmental management system applying to those environmental issues which a ski resort business, or any company, has some control over and can be expected to influence if they want to.

The ISO 14001 standard helps any organisation to implement, maintain and improve an environmental management system; assure itself of its conformance with its own stated environmental policy and to demonstrate that it is conforming with those standards and any other environmental laws and regulations.

Recycling:Yes

Does the resort recycle?

Resorts increasingly offer recycling facilities to guests, either within their accommodation and/or at special recycling points, which are hopefully convenient.

As always there's a range of how far individual resorts go. Some go as far as looking to use waste to run their communal heating systems and others make targets to recycle 100% of all waste.

Green power user:Yes

Is the resort a green power user?

'Green' power (eco-friendly) typically means wind generated or other naturally produced energy such as solar cells. On the other hand, some fuel sources like bio diesel are less polluting than conventional fuels so could be considered a step in the right direction, if not the perfect answer.

Of course there is a great variation in how much (or how little!) a resort can do, from running a few snowmobiles on bio-diesel to having the entire resort operating on wind power or other renewable energies.

Traffic reduction:Yes

Does the resort have a traffic reduction policy?

Traffic reduction can take many forms. Several Swiss resorts and a few in other countries have banned cars altogether for decades. Some have never had cars on their streets.

Other approaches include pedestrianised centres and out-of-centre car parking with resort centre access only on foot or by public transport - hopefully, electrically powered buses. These, along with expensive and/or severely restricted resort centre parking, and an efficient free and cheap bus service, all help to reduce traffic problems and thus cut emissions.

Sewage properly managed:Yes

Does the resort have a waste reduction policy?

The influx of winter guests to ski areas tends to bring an influx of, what's politely termed 'waste water', to the mountains as thousands of guests use the toilets on the mountain and bathroom in their accommodation.

The most environmentally forward thinking ski areas are using techniques such as composting to reduce waste from mountain restaurants. In some areas purified wastewater is also being used for snowmaking, on the one hand an eco friendly measure as it recycles, on the other it might be argued that if water is needed for snowmaking in an area of marginal precipitation, their shouldn't be a ski area there.

Climate policy:Yes

Does the resort have a climate policy?

If a ski resort has a climate policy it means that the 'great and the good' in the resort have got together to work out a strategy to minimise the resort's impact on climate change and global warming. This can include many different initiatives such as recycling, communal heating, ensuring new buildings cause minimal environmental impact and so on. Most important is the ethos of the community to take the potential environmental impact of all resort aspects of life into consideration now and in the future.

Green building policy:Yes

Does the resort have a green building policy?

Ski resorts are increasingly looking at minimising the environmental impact of their construction projects, as well as the impact of newly erected buildings and other infrastructure.

Having a green building policy means resorts put environmental concerns at the top of the list when working on new projects. This can include a myriad of things from using helicopters to reduce the damage to surrounding land when building in sensitive areas, to using natural, local materials for building and looking for maximum insulation and minimum power requirements, ideally supplied in as eco-friendly a way as possible.

Major Initiatives

100% Wind Powered

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) is purchasing renewable energy to offset 100% of their energy usage.

JHMR is one of the largest energy users in Jackson Hole offsets approximately nine million kwh per annum with this program. The renewable energy product purchased from Renewable Choice Energy, is made up of a combination of Wind, Biomass, Small Hydro and Geothermal energy.

This three year commitment to 2010 reduces CO2 emissions by 37,584,000 Pounds having the same impact as not driving 41,030,568 miles in an average car, or taking 3822 cars off the road or planting 5282 acres of fully mature trees.

"We are so pleased to have been able to make this considerable commitment. In line with our ISO 14001 status, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort takes our environmental stewardship very seriously and will continue to strive in all areas to reduce our impact on this planet." stated Jerry Blann, President, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is third party ISO certified as a "green" company, one of only three ski resorts in North America to have the certification (along with Aspen and Sun Peaks), and one of the smaller companies in the US, to achieve this recognition. ISO 14001 certification is the most widely known and respected environmental stamp of approval, which demonstrates responsible management of our environmental impacts.

Cutting Private Vehicle Usage
2004-5 season figures for parking, bus ridership and car-pooling can only show that a cultural shift is starting to evolve. The resort uses "persuasive methods " such as paid and limited parking and appreciate that bus ridership can be perceived as less convenient for guests, but Jackson Hole's management feels justified when they see the results. With a 19% decrease in cars on the village road and a 30% increase in START bus ridership, Jackson Hole is setting records for mass transit.

To encourage car-pooling, the ski areas offers free parking to skier with at least three people in a car.

Wind Powered Lifts
The ski area purchases enough wind power to operate several chairlifts.

Eco-Friendlier Fuel
Jackson Hole's snowmobile fleet switched to four-stroke engines that emit less air pollution than traditional two-stroke engines. Jackson Hole is also changing light bulbs to low energy.

ISO 14001 Registered
Following the implementation and adoption of an environmental management system (EMS) and a recent external audit by third-party KPMG Performance Registrar Inc., Jackson Hole Mountain Resort achieved ISO 14001 registration in 2006. As one of the smallest companies and only the second ski area in the U. S. to meet this standard, the EMS and ISO 14001 certification solidifies JHMR's position as an environmental leader in the ski industry.

“Only a small percentage of businesses around the world have reached this stage, which means that you have indeed joined an elite group” wrote Michael Alexander, President, KPMG Performance Registrar Inc. “You (JHMR) invested a great deal of time, effort and creativity into your system and, at this point, you are in the best position to understand and appreciate the value of your hard work” he added.

Created by the International Standards Organization (ISO) of Switzerland in the early 1990s, ISO 14001 establishes a framework for companies to manage their environmental impacts and continuously improve that management. Nearly 70,000 entities in the world have ISO 14001 registered environmental management systems, approximately 6% of which are in the U.S., ranging from large public and private companies such as Aveda, General Motors, and 3M, to select government military bases and waste water facilities.

The Jackson Hole Mountain Resort EMS has three majorcomponents: planning, implementing, and reviewing. Under the EMS, JHMR aims to:

(a) Reduce by 5% or more by 2011: (1) electricity, fuel and propane use; (2) water consumption; (3) vehicle use within, and to and from resort; (4) annual waste production, both solid and hazardous waste;(5) fuel/petrochemical spills; (6) total CO2 emissions.

(b) Increase by 10% or more by 2011: (1) recycling; (2) number of guests and staff educated on environmental issues.

(c) Prevent the net loss of ecologically significant land, such as wetlands, and unique wildlife habitat, by using judicious planning, landscape restoration, and wildfire mitigation

“Our company has come a long way from a few recycling bins. We now have a management system in place where every department is involved in best business practices in relation to our environment. Tactical and strategic approaches to all operations on and off mountain have been implemented and regular meetings, ongoing communication, idea creation, and tallying results are activities we have undertaken to ensure we stay compliant. Reseeding projects, bio-diesel usage, whitebark pine replanting, reducing carbon emissions, rewarding car pooling, and community partnerships with Jackson Hole Recycling and Lower Valley Energy are a few of the more recent initiatives.” Said, Jerry Blann, President JHMR.

“As chair of the NSAA Environmental Committee, which created the Sustainable Slopes environmental charter for the industry, it is clear to me that our actions are the correct direction for our company and the right thing for corporate responsibility.” Blann added.

JHMR geographically lies in one of the most protected areas of the continental United States. Neighbors include Bridger Teton, the largest national forest in the lower 48 states; Yellowstone, the oldest national park in the world; and Grand Teton National Park, home of the Tetons, reportedly the most photographed mountains in the world. This incredible setting, together with a committed ownership and staff, inspires us to be a leader in environmental stewardship.

Sewage
Jackson Hole has four groups of toilets located on the mountain, outside of the two major restaurants that are connected to Teton Village sewage. All have a composting system in place.

Since resorts are continuously increasing and improving their environmental practices, we update the Green Resort Guide throughout the year. If you have any information about new resort environmental policies/practices or anything that you think we may have missed, please email greenresortguide@skiclub.co.uk.

Beginners	Off piste	Families	Ski to door	Large ski area
Intermediates	Mountain restaurants	Non-skiers	Glacier	Modern lift system
Advanced	Luxury accommodation	Value for money	Cross country	No queues
Skiing for all standards	Eating out	Purpose-built convenience	Heliskiing
Moguls	Apres-ski	Snow-sure resorts	Picturesque
Snowboarding	Ski-and-shop	Romantic/charming	Traffic-free

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Jackson Hole