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La Plagne
La Plagne: green factor
- Introduction to green factor assessments
- Environmental overview of resorts
- Environmental initiatives
ISO14001 approved:Working towards
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:No
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:No
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
Resort Philosophy
Paradiski, the interconnected ski area of which La Plagne is part, qualified for Quality, Safety and Environment (QSE) certification (based on the ISO 9001 (Quality), OHSAS 18001 (Safety) and ISO 1400 (Environment) standards), in July 2008.
With QSE certification La Plagne and the Paradiski area take its place among key players upholding environmental awareness and management of natural resources in keeping with sustainable development priorities. Ask anyone at Paradiski and they will tell you: "Quality is our commitment, safety is our priority and the environment is our culture."
Traffic Reduction
A free shuttle bus runs from the edge of the resort to the centre. The six altitude resorts as well as Montchavin, Les Coches and Montalbert are pedestrian centres, with no cars on the street.
Building
The resort follows strict French laws on building in mountain areas in France. This includes financial support for those who use renewable energy and restrictions on what building materials may be used in construction.
To achieve optimal integration of buildings with their surroundings on the ski area, timber and stone are now the main construction materials used for new or renovated chalets housing slope staff and sheds for grooming machinery.
Recycling
Since 2003 La Plagne has extended recycling to cover four main categories - paper, glass, plastic and cooking oil. In 2005 they created a new central recycling point at the altitude resorts.
There are also strategically located special bins for collecting out-of-date ski passes. Last year more than 30% of all passes were recycled.
Local Natural Environment Protection and Restoration
Grass has been re-sewn after reshaping of pistes at a cost of 90,000€ per year invested by la SAP lift company.
The resort has also worked on protecting a site, unique in Europe, where Cembros pines (or Arolles) proliferate from 1950 to 2200m on gypsum, a crumbly type of rock.This is located on a site of nearly 12 hectares spread around Plagne Centre, Plagne Villages/Soleil. The company has paid attention to all aspects, limiting piste and ski lift development in these areas.
All through the year work is carried out returfing slopes, burying electrical power lines and planting trees on the Paradiski area. Since 2001 more than 150 pylons and nine lifts have been dismantled.
The resort also works to protect the rare orchid also known as "Sabot de Vénus" that grows here; the bearded vulture that lives in the area, thirty odd capercailie in an area specially set aside and maintained each year and built a new lake for some rare pink bellied frogs.
In all Paradiski resorts pocket ashtrays are distributed to skiers, limiting the need to pick up 50Kg of cigarette ends from under the chairlifts in the spring.
Responsible management of natural resources
Paradiski has one of the most modern artificial snow networks in the world. Fully automated with remote monitoring, it is controlled by technicians who constantly analyze the exact requirements, working outwards from a basic perimeter to optimize energy consumption.
Eco Friendly Funicamp
La Plagne's Funicamp lift opened in 2000. Construction was designed to
minimize environmental impact. Measures taken include keeping sound
levels to a minimum, installing pylons for minimal visual impact and local gypsum rock as well as vegetation was protected by using helicopters where possible in the construction process. In addition the bottom lift station has been part buried with the visible sector clad in local wood and stone.
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.
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