6 eco-responsible resort initiatives

1 – Encouraging “smart” travel to the slopes

The biggest source of pollution when you come to the mountains is transport. So why not change your habits and try to adopt good practice when travelling to the resorts?

To encourage skiers to use soft transport, La Rosière is offering a 15% discount on the minimum 2-day San Bernardo ski pass when arriving by train at Bourg-Saint-Maurice station.

At Arêches Beaufort, also in Savoie, the price of the ski pass is reduced according to the number of people in the car. It’s a great way to help the planet.

Avoriaz, a car-free ski resort since 1966, has teamed up with BlaBlaCar to raise holidaymakers’ awareness of environmentally-friendly modes of transport by offering benefits for those who opt for car-sharing.

2 – Collect waste in the resorts at the end of the season

To raise holidaymakers’ awareness of the litter left in the countryside in winter (as in summer), collections are organised in the resorts with the Mountain Riders association as soon as the season ends and the snow melts. No less than 24 tonnes of rubbish were collected by volunteers in 2017. Now’s your chance to get involved!

In the same spirit, the Dévoluy resort in the Hautes-Alpes is committed to a “0 plastic waste” approach, which involves loaning eco-cups for events, a waste collection day and awareness-raising initiatives in schools.

3 – Consume better

As far as energy is concerned, the ski resorts are committed to consuming less and better by adapting their energy consumption.

The Serre-Chevalier ski area, for example, is the first to produce its own electricity and aims to be able to produce 30-50% of the ski area’s consumption in the long term. Efforts are also being made in the ski areas in terms of grooming equipment. For example, hybrid groomers are emerging to limit fuel consumption, as at La Clusaz and Vars.

4 – Facilitating access to the resort by soft transport

As part of the drive to reduce the impact of transport in the resort, there are solutions! Leave the car in the valley and take the funicular or valley lift to your holiday destination. The best examples to date? The Bourg Saint Maurice funicular, which takes you directly to Les Arcs in just 7 minutes from the first stop.

For access to Peyragudes, there’s the Skyvall. Based in Loudenvielle at an altitude of 900m, this cable car takes you to the resort in less than 9 minutes.

At Valmorel, new shuttle buses will link the resort to the surrounding villages.

5 – Raising awareness of mountain flora and fauna

Mountain flora and fauna are fragile, so resorts set up programmes, fun zones and events to raise holidaymakers’ awareness of their leisure environment. In Valberg, for example, special areas are closed to skiers to protect the black grouse.

In Sainte Foy Tarentaise, there are fun trails for children (and adults too) to discover the mountain fauna and respect its habitat, as well as the Friendly Natural Park in Les Menuires.

At Pralognan, in the Vanoise National Park, events are held throughout the winter to raise public awareness.

6 – Committing to a label

Flocon Vert, Green Globe… various labels exist to certify destinations, particularly winter sports destinations. You can therefore rely on these labels, which take into account a number of the resort’s criteria: governance, local economy, social and cultural, natural resources & ecology. Under the Flocon Vert label, set up by the Mountain Riders association, no fewer than 20 criteria are scrutinised to ensure the quality of the destination.

Some thirty resorts currently benefit from this certification, including Valberg and Chamrousse (in Isère). For Green Globe, certification rewards tourism companies that make an effort on social, economic, cultural and environmental levels.

In Tignes, the ski lift company was the first to receive this certification. At present, the ski lift companies in Serre-Chevalier, Val d’Isère and Grand Massif also have the label, as do the Club Med mountain resorts.