FIS aids South American snowsports’ sustainability push

As winter temperatures continue to rise, many ski resorts are becoming dependent on snow storage techniques and the production of artificial snow.

These are at best short-term solutions that will, if anything, do more to contribute to the deceleration of snowfall.

A study by French and Austrian scientists focusing on 2,234 ski resorts in 28 European countries found that without snowmaking, 53% of these resorts are projected to be at very high risk for snow supply under global warming of 2°C.

To help national bodies in their own fight against climate change, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) has taken steps to spread knowledge and introduce new tools.

The governing body recently held the first edition of its environmental sustainability training course which aims to align the industry’s stakeholders.

The main objective of the course is to ensure that FIS staff and key member organisations are operating from the same vantage point when combating the climate crisis.

It has already proved to be beneficial, particularly in South America where some national federations have been prompted into taking their first major actions towards sustainability.

Participants of the course were encouraged to make a commitment to implement plans that would make their organisations more environmentally friendly.

“A lot of them have to start from scratch, so a very popular pledge was to start with a small but clear sustainability programme,” FIS Sustainability Director Susanna Sieff tells Global Sustainable Sport.

“It was excellent for me to see their interest and commitment especially in South America.

“Representatives from the national federations in Chile, Argentina and also Brazil all participated and for me it is a really positive step forward to include all of them and to start to speak individually with them to help them further.”

Sieff attributes the lack of sustainability focus in these countries down to the dearth of large-scale events. In Europe there are more World Cup and World Championship competitions, with Seiff arguing that this makes it easier to generate awareness around environmental sustainability.

However, hosting smaller events can come with its advantages as it allows federations to connect with a younger audience.

“I am very happy that Brazil, Chile and Argentina are starting to take this path,” Sieff says.

“They have small events with kids for example to help them take up snowsports so it’s really good if they can use these events to pass on positive messages.”

A total of 251 people were present at the training course including 143 representatives of National Sport Associations and Local Organising Committees from 30 different countries and 108 members of FIS staff.

It was created in partnership with sustainability consultant Ben Barrett, and provided scientific information around the climate crisis and the environmental impact of human activities.

It is one of many initiatives that the FIS has taken recently as it ramps up its sustainability operations.

Another notable action also came this month as the body partnered with the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) to raise awareness that winter sports face a bleak future in the face of climate change.

The collaboration marked a significant milestone, as it is the first time that the specialised agency has partnered with an international sports federation.

The agreement will come into effect prior to the 2024-25 winter season and is set for an initial period of five years with the possibility of automatic renewal.

It commits both organisations to working together to highlight the impacts of rising global temperatures on snow and ice cover in addition to establishing practical initiatives.

The two will meet annually to define the list of actions to be implemented, with the first already decided.

On November 7, a webinar will be hosted for all 137 national ski associations as well as venue managers and event organisers on climate change.

An overview on advancing forecasting tools in support of optimising snow management around ski resorts will also be discussed.

Sieff feels collaboration between the two is ideal as it will allow scientific progress to be properly communicated to stakeholders, an area that she feels is lacking.

“I can’t wait to work with the WMO to spread awareness together in a very scientific and also popular way because we have to speak with a lot of people and we need the scientific side but we also need it to be well known,” she says.

“This is the reason why I think that together we can really help people to understand better. We can really help our ski resorts and local organisers to grasp the concept. This is the reason why we want to join together to do communication campaigns, our webinars, and more.

“They have specific projects in using scientific tools to help ski resorts so we as the FIS want to be a soundboard for this.

“Sometimes, we have the tools but we don’t have the communication in place so people cannot really know that these are able to be used.”

One example of this is set to be released today (October 10), as the FIS is launching a new tailor-made CO2 calculator for all of its events.

It will be free to use after eight months of development and will allow organisers to keep track of emissions from every part of hosting from snow production to the production of bibs.

It can also be used in advance of an event to compare options and see the difference in environmental impact beforehand.

The last winter season saw 26 of the FIS’ 616 World Cup races among all disciplines cancelled as a result of weather-related reasons.

All of these measures will undoubtedly prove beneficial to the organisation as it looks to take the lead in minimising the effects of climate change on its sports.

Image: Markos Mant on Unsplash, Mattias Olsson on Unsplash, Simon Berger on Unsplash