Thredbo

Thredbo: green factor

• Introduction to green factor assessments
• Environmental overview of resorts
• Environmental initiatives

Major Initiatives

Thredbo is committed to energy and water conservation and waste minimization and is continuously implementing environmental initiatives into the resort operations to assist the long-term sustainability of the unique alpine environment.

Thredbo has substantially completed the development of an Environmental Management System (to the “Green Globe” Company Standard, an internationally recognised environmental benchmarking system for the tourism sector) for all of the resort operations.
The resort is consulting with Thredbo Chamber of Commerce regarding the System, and will provide assistance wherever possible to Thredbo businesses should they wish to implement similar initiatives to conserve energy and promote a more environmentally sustainable future.


Waste Management

A kerb side recycling system operates all year round, with over 150 tonnes of aluminium cans, steel cans, plastic bottles and glass and recycled annually. This accounts for approximately 25% of the waste generated in Thredbo.

Cooking oil is collected from each commercial premise and recycled by third parties into animal feed and bio-diesel.

There is cContinued monitoring and control of the storage of Green Waste – native and non-native. Native green waste is chipped and used as mulch throughout Thredbo’s gardens.

All hard waste is sorted at source and recycled where possible, including steel, aluminium, batteries and timber.


Snowmaking Ponds Used For Ground Source Heating of Sports Complex

Part of the heating system at the Thredbo Leisure Centre, which incorporates, among other sporting facilities, a 50m Olympic size swimming pool, is a series of electric heat pumps that recovers the "heat" from nearby ponds and uses it to assist heating the swimming pool. The heat pumps are essentially a heat exchange system that incorporate large collector loops placed in the ponds that actually feed the snowmaking system.


Energy

Country Energy supplies electricity to KT sites, with 10% of all electricity coming from accredited Green Power sources such as wind and solar. This level is acknowledged by the Federal Government’s Greenhouse Office as a benchmark for companies of this size (see www.greenhouseoffice.gov.au). It puts KT among other leaders of Australian industry in terms of the commitment to reducing carbon emissions from electricity consumption.

Antons & Sponars T-Bars were converted from diesel to electricity in 2005, resulting in significant energy efficiency gains. Like all ski lifts in Thredbo, these lifts are supplied with accredited 10% Green Power electricity.

Throughout various resort buildings timer switches for lights and motion sensors have been installed and the plan is to continue installing such energy saving devices where practical.

Thredbo Alpine Hotel continues to install double glazed windows into the hotel each time rooms are upgraded, saving on cooling in summer and heating in winter.

In the bistro the new evaporative coolers are controlling the external temperatures of air around the fridges, allowing them to stay at regular temperatures and reducing electricity use.

Wherever practical, Kosciuszko Thredbo utilises the smaller coaster buses instead of the larger ‘red’ buses, to ferry guests from Friday Flat to Valley Terminal and manages the shuttle bus usage throughout the village with the aim to run more smaller buses, that make fewer stops saving time for guests and fuel usage of larger buses having to continuously start / stop.

Three KT fleet vehicles are fuelled by LPG and the majority of the other vehicles in the fleet are diesel.

In 2005 the Basin T-Bar was fitted with a new high efficiency type variable speed drive and motor to replace the older far less efficient system. The same modification was made to Karels and Easy Rider in 2007. The overall energy saving each 4 month winter season by the conversion of all T-bar lifts to high efficiency drives equates to the average annual consumption of 4 homes.

The control systems on the main water pumps at the Thredbo Leisure Centre pool are being upgraded with variable speed drives, resulting in a 50% saving on electricity required to operate them.

The single largest consumer of electricity in Thredbo is the air compressors used for Snowmaking. Over the past three years various changes have been made to the compressors and associated control systems to reduce energy consumption. Each compressor can now be started and be producing air within seconds. Likewise, when the demand for high-pressure air in the system is low, a compressor is simply shutdown knowing that it can be easily and efficiently re-started when required. In this way energy is saved by not leaving compressors running idle for extended periods when not required for making snow.
The energy required to make snow is also dependant on the temperature of the water. Reducing the temperature by just two or three degrees from 5 °C results in a marked reduction in the energy required to convert every litre of water into snow. Thredbo uses a system of mixing the surface water of the lake when the ambient air temperature is cold enough to assist natural cooling of the water.

The snowmaking upgrade for the 2006 season saw a 30% increase in capacity, largely achieved through greater efficiencies in the infrastructure. A further investment in the latest automation technology in 2007 summer saw another 40% rise in production, however, the energy required to pump water on a per unit basis was actually reduced, meaning more snow with less energy. This resulted in an energy saving in the order of approximately 20%.

By winter 2007, automated snowmaking nozzles replaced 210 older manual hydrants across the mountain. Computer control of the new nozzles has drastically cut the energy required to produce each cubic metre of snow - by over 40%.

New higher efficiency lights are being trialled in the Thredbo Alpine Hotel, in particular as alternatives to the common low voltage down light.
Only high efficiency lamps are used in Thredbo’s streetlights – either compact fluorescent or mercury vapour types.


Education

An Environmental Awareness presentation has been formulated and is used in staff training to educate our employees about sustainability principles and practices in the workplace, complementing existing education programs.

Signage has been installed throughout the resort promoting Water Conservation, Energy Conservation and promotes such initiatives as the ‘Keep Winter Cool’ campaign through the Internet.

Kosciuszko Thredbo have substantially completed the development of an Environmental Management System and will assist Thredbo sub-lessee’s if they wish to implement similar activities or initiatives to conserve energy or promote a more environmentally friendly business.
Installation of signage to educate guests and staff members about energy usage, if rooms or areas are unoccupied persons are asked to turn the lights off.


Biodiversity

Over 1000 native trees are planted each year, within the resort, with some 20,000 trees being planted over the last decade.
In general only native species of flora are planted to promote regrowth of specific vegetation to the alpine area, which assists in the growth of the local habitat of native fauna species.

Thredbo actively supports feral animal control programs where possible, including fox and rabbit baiting.


Air Quality

On the mountain, modern Kassbohrer machines that meet stringent European emission standards are used for slope grooming.

Thredbo Leisure Centre is replacing the Ozone tertiary filtration system with an ultra-violet light system that will assist in neutralizing the chlorine in the pool hall atmosphere.

Thredbo Alpine Hotel has installed evaporative coolers into the Bistro area (instead of more energy intensive air conditioners). These cool the air in the area and assist reducing electricity usage for running fridges in the area due to the more stable temperatures.


Water Conversation

A WaterWise™ program has been established in conjunction with local stakeholders for public toilets and various accommodation premises.
Over a dozen urinals have been converted to the Desert™ waterless urinal system where no water is used for flushing and only a small amount (less than 10 litres per day per urinal) is used for cleaning, saving over 500,000 litres of water a year.

Thredbo Alpine Hotel has installed a water efficient Washing Machine into the housekeeping laundry that uses the water from the last rinse cycle for the next wash cycle, saving energy and 1000’s of litres of water a week.

Recent upgrades to the Thredbo Leisure Centre pools are saving approximately 8000 litres/day in water.

Using mulch on native Village gardens to minimise and in most cases eliminate watering requirements.

For the most part the majority of all the water that is used for snowmaking is returned to the Thredbo River in spring. The sewage treatment plant treats the water used by Thredbo’s properties and infrastructure to a high quality and returns it to the Thredbo River.


General

For more than 20 years Thredbo and the Department of Planning have ensured all properties that are constructed in Thredbo have been built to specific design guidelines that promote more energy efficient qualities. Including such design characteristics as double glazed windows & doors, dual flush toilets, building facing in a north direction to ensure maximum exposure to natural sunlight and installation.

Kosciuszko Thredbo recognises and is concerned about the potential effects of climate change on the sensitive alpine environment in which we operate. Good natural snowfalls are important to the winter business. KT closely monitors the state of knowledge on climate change and endeavours to take whatever reasonable measures are available to help mitigate the causes and combat any adverse local effects of climate change.


More information

For more information on Thredbo’s commitment to the environment, contact the Kosciuszko Thredbo Pty Ltd Environmental Services Department on 02 6459 4100.

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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