Mount Hotham green rating – Ski Club of Great Britain

Mount Hotham: green factor

ISO14001 approved:No

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:No

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: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

Recycling
Recycling is mandatory in the reosrt, with all accommodation and commercial facilites providing separate recycling bins. The rubbish is then collected and taken to a recycling depot off mountain. Separate cigarette 'butt bins' are provided at every lodge as well, and small butt bins (ie pocket sized) are available for all mountian users. Mt Hotham has implemented a ‘Butt 0ut’ program to encourage people to stop cigarette butt litter around the mountain, with "Don’t be a Tosser" as a catch cry. Cigarette butts create problems for our waterways and native animals and are visually unattractive.

Traffic Reduction
Each season the Resort Management Board attempts to reduce the traffic flow within the resprt by encouraging the use of public transport. Car parks are being removed from the village each year and provided outside the village. A free-to-ride bus service runs throughout the entire village from 7am - 3am every day of the season to reduce traffic congestion.

Sewerage
This year the Resort is undertaking a major waste water reuse project with the installation of a 27 ML reservoir that will reclaim and recyle nearly 100% of the sewerage within the resort.

Green Building
New buildings are obliged to install water reduction techniques in the construction of accommodation and commercial buildings, and must comply with the 5 Star Energy Rating with all aspects of the building.

Annual Clean Up Day
At the end of each season the major stakeholders at Mt Hotham implement an annual clean up day in which anyone is invited to attend. Volunteers are provided with gloves, sunscreen, garbage bags and are designated an area to clean up. A barbecue is provided at lunch time for all the workers and the working bee lasts all day. Many bags of garbage are collected this way each year.

Lodge Litter Clean up Program
All the lodges within the resort are given a timeframe in which to have an outside clean up around their own lodge. If they are unable to make it, they can pay a Resort Management officer to do the job for them.

Fire Reduction Weekend
Each year the reosrt undertakes a fire reduction weekend in which leaf litter and other flamable waste is removed from around the village, both to clean up the area and to reduce the risk of fire in the Alps.

Eco Toursim
The Reosrt is actively promoting eco-tourism in the summer months this year which will include mountain bike riding, hiking, fly fishing etc. All tourists are encouraged to be aware of the environment, stay on designated pathways and carry out their own litter. Cpmost toilets are provided in shelters and huts along walks and hiking trails. Interpretive signage is being developed to educate tourists about the Alpine Environment, flora, fauna and rare species within the resort and surrounding National Park.

Other measures
The snow-free season allows greater access to the Alpine National Park, so important rehabilitation and conservation work is done in the summer months. There are several environmental projects underway to ensure Mt Hotham and the Alpine area remains beautiful, in the summer and winter.

There is an ongoing revegetation program around new and existing buildings and disturbed sites. All plant material for revegetation is sourced at Hotham to maintain indigenous biodiversity. A comprehensive weed-mapping program is currently underway throughout Mt Hotham resort.

A comprehensive weed mapping program is currently underway throughout Mt Hotham resort. Around the lodges, roads and pull offs along the Great Alpine Road, many people throw out their apple cores or other fruit. Unfortunately these pips sprout and grow into thorny trees that produce no fruit, invade the native vegetation, take over space and foster only weeds beneath their branches. People are being encouraged to dispose of their pips properly, and the Mount Hotham Resort Management have been trying to get rid of all the apple trees.

A ‘love tunnel’ under the Great Alpine Road has been created to provide habitat for the Burramys Parvus (Pygmy Possum). The tunnel provides the possums with a means of getting from one side of the road to the other in safety. The pygmy Possum is an endangered animal and requires careful preservation and protection.

Mt Hotham is a great place for nature lovers and enthusiasts, walkers, photographers and those who appreciate a magnificent view. The mountain’s staff and residents work very hard at keeping the pristine Alpine environment intact as it is a uniquely beautiful and diverse pocket of Australia.

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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Mount Hotham