A blueprint for the future of sustainable ski resorts?

Whilst some in the sports industry prefer to bury their heads in the sand when it comes to environmental sustainability, there has been a groundswell of feeling at the heart of the snow sports movement in recent years that climate change represents an existential threat.

There is good reason for such fears.

Although soaring temperatures and shifting landscapes have resulted in projections that many sporting pastimes loved around the world could change beyond recognition, or worse yet, cease to exist in the years to come, the prognosis for snow sports has been particularly grim.

Indeed, the impact of climate change is already clearly visible on vanishing ski slopes worldwide. Research undertaken by scientists at the University of Waterloo in Canada have found that the US ski industry alone has lost more than $5bn (£3.9bn/€4.6bn) over the past two decades due to human-related global warming.

Previous studies have also shown that in multiple locations around the world, precipitation is now coming in the form of rain instead of snow as a result of rising temperatures. This has caused the average ski season in the US to decrease by five to seven days over the past half century.

It is not just North America that is feeling the heat, though – and a study published by the University of Grenoble uncovered alarming results.

It examined 28 countries on the continent and found that, without artificial snowmaking, between 53% and 98% of 2,234 ski resorts are at high risk om terms of snow supply in the future due to climate change.

This has inspired some resorts to think differently about how they operate.

Traditionally, such facilities have used fossil fuels to generate electricity needed to run lifts and other essential aspects. On average, a resort will use around the same amount of energy on their ski lifts in one month as 3.8 households would use in a whole year.

Setting mountainous milestones

Flims Laax Falera is one resort that is breaking the mould and seeking to lead the way when it comes to sustainability.

The resort, located in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, is aiming to be the world’s first self-sustaining Alpine destination by 2030.

This means that it is seeking to have its entire energy consumption of 280 gigawatt hours obtained from local sources, and 100% renewable.

It already boasts hydro and solar-powered chairlifts, carbon-neutral snow cannons, a fleet of electric shuttles, and more. However, in order to achieve its lofty targets, a six-point roadmap has been laid out.

The plan begins with maximum energy efficiency. This has seen the renovation of the building stock and expansion of e-mobility as well as a stronger focus on walking and cycling.

Decarbonising the resort’s building stock by replacing oil heating systems and using climate-friendly building materials is part of the plan, in addition to solar architecture, which includes the installation of photovoltaic panels on roofs as well as the establishment of Plus Energy Buildings.

The use of battery and hydrogen vehicles and expansion of the charging infrastructure is hoped to achieve point four of the plan – electrification of mobility.

Sourcing the resort’s entire energy demand from photovoltaic and hydropower plants, as well as wind farms, is critical. Meanwhile, efficient energy storage that makes use of storage lakes is another key area of focus.

The sustainability efforts at Flims Laax Falera are managed by its Greenstyle Foundation, which is run in cooperation with the Weisse Arena Gruppe.

The foundation is a non-profit organisation that works to preserve and protect the environment and, just this year, it has implemented several initiatives that cover not only environmental sustainability, but social sustainability as well. The Last Day Pass tree planting campaign is underway, as well as a Mini Ranger project and many more initiatives.

Renewable energy goals

For Greenstyle President Reto Fry, there is one future project that is particularly exciting.

“We are planning an Alpine solar farm on the Vorab Glacier,” he told Global Sustainable Sport. “The potential of this solar farm is that it could cover the whole electricity demand of our company. We could say that all our lifts and technical snow, everything, is all produced with local solar energy.

“Another good thing is that these solar panels are actually vertical which means that they are never covered with snow and can therefore produce electricity during wintertime. Snow reflection is also really good and the panels on the glacier can be much more efficient than the ones down in the valley.”

A further opportunity that has been identified lies in the Crap Sogn Gion hotel building, which is located in the skiing area of Flims Laax Falera’s halfpipe – the biggest ramp of its kind in the world.

The building is high up the mountain, 2,228 metres above sea level, and was built in the 1960s. According to Fry, it is currently the largest energy consumer within the Weisse Arena Gruppe due to the use of heating oil and transporting drinking water up to it.

It is also inefficient due to its age, and the aim is to transform it so that it not only uses less energy but produces more than it needs. A target of saving 90% of its current energy usage has been earmarked.

Sharing for success

Greenstyle is keen not to gatekeep the positive steps that have been taken so far when it comes to sustainability; the organisation is also eager to assist other resorts around the world in reducing their emissions.

As a result, it has released the Greenstyle Book. The book was published to mark the 10th anniversary of the organisation and shares best practices on how to run a sustainable Alpine destination.

It has over 250 pages and summarises the projects, goals and visions of the past decade and is “intended to serve as a guide to how Alpine tourism can work in harmony with nature”.

It is available for CHF20 (£17.50/$22.50/€20.70) and all proceeds go towards the Greenstyle Foundation.

“We need to have this common goal to achieve our aims,” Fry said. “For this, we need to inform people, we need to give them knowledge, that is one part of the book.

“Out of this knowledge we have created ambitions, visions and ideas. Then the most important thing is the action. We can have as many goals and ambitions as we want, but actually doing them is the biggest challenge.”