Global Ski Resorts Unite for Climate Action with New Sustainability Alliance
The Global Sustainability Ski Alliance, formed by leading ski resorts worldwide, focuses on reducing emissions, modernizing infrastructure, and promoting low-carbon innovations in the ski tourism industry. The alliance also emphasizes social responsibility and economic impact on local communities.
Some of the world's most high-end ski resorts have formed the Global Sustainability Ski Alliance, a pioneering international initiative to accelerate climate action and sustainability across the ski tourism industry.
The alliance, launched on Wednesday at the Interalpin trade fair in Innsbruck, Austria, brings together operators who have more than 800 ski lifts and 25 million skier days annually under their control.
Its founding members are France's Compagnie des Alpes, Austria's KitzSki, Italy's Kronplatz and Switzerland's LAAX. Finland's Levi Ski Resort, New Zealand's NZSki, Germany's Oberstdorf Kleinwalsertal Bergbahnen and Sweden's SkiStar also joined.
Collective Action on Climate Change
As a seasonally dependent sector, we are committed to leading change," Dominique Thillaud, CEO of Compagnie des Alpes, added. "We're coordinating our actions to help meet the Paris Agreement ambitions and engage our supply chains in the process."
The agreement will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, invest in infrastructure, and spur low-carbon innovations via joint knowledge, harmonized data, and cross-border collaboration.
Combining Expertise to Speed Progress
"Through sharing insights, information, and innovations, we can accelerate the actions necessary to address the climate issues of ski tourism," said Stefan Sjöstrand, CEO of SkiStar.
Jouni Palosaari, CEO of Levi Ski Resort, emphasized international collaboration: "Through the Global Sustainability Ski Alliance, the industry is promoting increased collaboration, sharing best practices, and cooperating on the creation of sustainable solutions in order to secure the future of winter sports."
Emphasis on Infrastructure and Supply Chains
The alliance is pushing through revolutionary changes in business operations, from upgrading infrastructure to supply chain management. KitzSki board members Christian Wörister and Anton Bodner said the group is working together with suppliers to push for decarbonization and innovation.
"Sustainability is not only an environmental issue, but a business necessity," Kronplatz CEO Andreas Dorfmann said, adding that uniform environmental metrics would assist in tracking progress throughout the partnership.
Reto Gurtner, CEO of LAAX operator Weisse Arena Group, added: “We are advancing electrification, maximizing energy efficiency, and relying entirely on renewable energy – all with respect to nature.”
Supporting Local Communities
In addition to environmental objectives, the partnership emphasized social and regional responsibility. Oberstdorf Kleinwalsertal Bergbahnen CEO Henrik Volpert stated the group is working on indicators to gauge the effects on local economies and quality of life.
"Let's demonstrate how sustainable tourism works in practice – economically viable, ecologically effective, and socially sustainable," Volpert said.
NZSki CEO Paul Anderson highlighted the need for innovation in the vision of the alliance. "The strength of this alliance is its emphasis on working together and creative solutions," he said.
With its structured, data-driven approach and broad geographic reach, the Global Sustainability Ski Alliance will show that sustainable tourism is not only possible but scalable and economically feasible.
Source: Birgit Pichler,
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