Steamboat green rating – Ski Club of Great Britain

Steamboat: 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: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:No

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:No

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

Environmental Chairlift:
The Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation installed a $1.3 million Leitner-Poma of America fixed-grip triple chairlift replacing the Burgess Creek double chairlift in 2004/05. As a part of its long-standing commitment to the environment, the Steamboat will utilize alternative energy, in the form of wind-generated electricity, to power the new lift. Because it’s wind-powered, the lift provides environmental benefits equivalent to planting 14,915 trees in a year as well as will keep 832 pounds of sulfur dioxide, 432 pounds of nitrogen oxide and 220,960 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Renewable Energy:
The Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation purchases renewable energy certificates annually to offset 3% of its total electricity requirements from green energy sources. Steamboat joins a select few ski resorts in the United States to reach this level of renewable energy usage. Steamboat purchases the renewable energy certificates from 3 Phases Energy Services to ensure the delivery of clean, natural wind power to the "grid", thereby displacing an equivalent amount of energy that otherwise would have been created by non-renewable sources. With this decision, Steamboat has been recognized by the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership for its leadership in bringing new renewable energy to market. Green power is electricity that is generated from resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and low-impact hydro facilities. In addition, Steamboat’s program has been recognized by The Green-e Renewable Energy Certification Program, the leading voluntary certification and verification program that sets standards for renewable electricity-based products in three markets for renewable energy: restructured, regulated, and tradable renewable certificates. Nationally, Green-e currently certifies 60 products that are sold by 100 marketers, utilities and brokers.

Award-Winning Recycling Program:
Steamboat was the recipient of the 1993 Silver Eagle Award for its solid waste recycling program. Last year 101 tons of aluminum, glass, paper, cardboard, rubber and scrap metal was recycled. Waste is further reduced through the utilization of re-usable and recyclable products for service of food in the fine dining restaurants.

Water Conservation:
On-mountain restaurant and comfort facilities as well as the Steamboat Grand have saved significant quantities of water through the use of low flush toilets and auto shut-off faucets. A low flush toilet uses approximately 64% less water than a regular 4.5-gallon fixture. Reduced use has also reduced wastewater discharge volume. In addition, the Grand encourages guests who spend more than one night to consider using their towels and bed linens more than once through a laminated towel rack & bed card.

Energy Reduction:
Significant strides have been made by the resort to reduce energy usage and CO2 emissions. The snowmaking system is converting where feasible to tower mounted snowmaking equipment; snowmaking fleet is transitioning to 4-stroke models; recycling approximately 120 tons of waste annually and replacing kitchen equipment in on-mountain restaurants that are more energy efficient.

Resort Public Transit:
SSRC operates a fleet of people movers to provide shuttle service from a variety of near site parking facilities to the ski resort as well as employee housing The Ponds at Steamboat. The shuttle system, along with the city bus system, transports the majority of guests from remote parking, downtown and area condominiums. These efforts reduce the vehicle miles traveled by guests and employees by approximately 1.2 million miles last year as well as reduced emissions and traffic congestion. Both the resort and city’s transportation system is free.

US National Environmental Awards:
Steamboat received national recognition by winning the 2002, 1998 & 1993 Silver Eagle Award for Excellence in Environmental Education. This prestigious award recognizes environmental achievements of ski areas in North America. With more than 20 specific efforts, from tree planting to creek rehabilitation and from monetary contributions to nature trails on the mountain, Steamboat along with its environmental partners make education a daily commitment. Steamboat was also a finalist for the 2000 Silver Eagle award and the 1994 Golden Eagle award.

Steamboat Springs Capital Funds:
The resort makes an annual contribution of $75,000 for community capital projects including: parks, beautification and recreation. Projects have included: Lithia Spring Park, Ski Time Square improvements, Yampa River improvements, Depot Gallery renovation, Highway 40 median landscaping, Spring Creek trail construction, ice rink enhancements, Yampa River kayak course, botanical gardens, Howelsen Skate Park, Strings in the Mountains, BMX track, area communities such as Oak Creek, Yampa and Hayden and the Ute Indian memorial. Since 1985, nearly $2 million has gone towards these community projects.

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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Steamboat