We can’t deny there’s been a huge impact on our winter sports industry regarding the current climate crisis. Many ski resorts have been taking the next steps, learning from the past and looking towards educating and building a more sustainable future, so you can carry on enjoying the mountains for years to come.

This article explores what our ski resorts are doing in the race for a more sustainable, skiable future…

The Flocon Vert… What is it?

You may or may not have heard of the Flocon Vert, however it is important you are aware of it as it is what many of our ski resorts have and what others want. Flocon Vert, which translates to the Green Snowflake, is an eco-friendly stamp of approval for ski resorts that show they are on a mission to improve their environmental engagements and approaches.

Out of our 10 ski resorts, we already have 6 that have achieved this award - Val d’Isère, Tignes, Megeve, Le Grand Bornand, Val Thorens and Les Meunires. However, it does not mean that our other resorts are not doing their bit! In fact, Courchevel and Serre Chevalier already hold the Station Vert badge, an official French green tourism status, and La Plagne has been at the forefront of ecological achievements for a long time.

There are up to 3 Flocon Vert’s a resort can achieve. 20 different criteria are taken into consideration, such as if the resort recycles, does it use renewable energy, greener transport solutions, how they are addressing future climate issues and if the resort has a green building code. There must be a clearly defined sustainability plan with an understanding of what they can improve and what the future holds for them. Let’s have a look at some key factors our resorts are doing...

Val d’Isère

Since 2012 Val d’Isère has been on a green-electricity contract to power their ski lifts and snow canons, including using photovoltaic panels installed on the Olympique cable car facade. They have reduced the number of chairlifts, helping decrease environmental impacts and bettering the visual appearance, and they have introduced a near-existent Bearded Vulture to La Daille. In total, 51 piste bashers are now using 100% renewable Biofuel (and with no palm oil). The resort also has a number of electric shuttle buses (made in France of course!) with the rest running on HVO biofuel. You can read more about Val d’Isère’s sustainable development by visiting their website.

Tignes

Tignes is another committed ski resort keen to educate. They have both the Flocon Vert and Green Globe statuses which both show they've met a number of sustainability criteria, certification policies & procedures and guidelines. Tignes was one of the first resorts to adopt eco-friendly measures, including ski pass recycling, waste recycling, free distribution of pocket ashtrays in the resort and using eco-responsible products wherever possible. Learn more about Tignes engaged commitments directly on their site.

The Belleville ski area

Both our ski resorts Les Meuniers & Val Thorens are part of the Belleville ski domain. They too have the Flocon Vert and encourage and support sustainable development and eco-awareness locally and with holidaymakers. They have implemented a conservation project for the black bee, local to this area too. They are committed to recycling, energy economy, limitation of noise in resort and water preservation. All their snow cannons are 100% natural too. They aim to continue to reduce their carbon footprint by using renewable energy sources. Read more about Val Thorens and Les Menuires environmental values while visiting their websites.

Le Grand Bornand

Keen on educating and conserving the natural biological diversity of their mountains, Le Grand Bornand has a green action plan firmly in place. Their message is clear and is communicated to locals and tourists visiting the area. This plan includes respecting the local environment and its habitat, an aim for zero waste in the mountains, shopping locally, using local transport, bike or foot and being conscious of daily water and energy consumptions. Read more about the Grand Bornand sustainable face here.

Megeve

Megeve encourages an all-year-round ethos pushing for local businesses, such as hotels and restaurants, to offer at least 10 months of services and activities per year. They host 22 flagship events promoting the resort and educate their visitors. Megeve is also part of a biodiversity programme protecting its local world heritage and has been using 100% local renewable energy since 2018. Read more about Megeve and its environmental actions on the Flocon Vert website.

La Plagne

As mentioned, La Plagne has been making movements as a green resort for years, however it has not necessarily been noticed like some of the other resorts. Just to mention a few things, La Plagne has a biomass heating plant located in Plagne Centre. They have a number of electric vehicles in resort and encourage all new apartment renovations to be fully insulated with eco-friendly materials. Since 2012 the SAP lift pass office (Société d’Aménagement de La Plagne), which is in charge of the ski resort lifts and maintenance, has been using 100% renewable energy to power its ski lifts. They use biodegradable oil in their machines and their snow cannons use naturally collected water from melted snow and rainfall in local reservoirs. They also have reduced the number of chairlifts over the years and are part of the Vanoise National Park, which preserves the natural habitat of its mountains and animals. Read more about La Plagne, its energy efficiency and responsible skiing on their website.

Serre Chevalier

Serre Chevalier has made a huge effort to minimise their impact on the environment and wishes to be one day the first 100% sustainable ski resort. They use wind energy, hydroelectric and solar power and have invested 3.6 million in green energy to date. Interestingly they’ve created a system where the water used for the snow cannons is also used to produce electricity by passing through turbines beforehand. In total, there are over 1400 solar panels in the resort and 2 wind turbines. Read more about Serre Chevalier’s ecological transition here!

The 3 Valleys - Courchevel & Meribel

Courchevel and Meribel have also chosen to follow in its Belleville (Les Trois Vallées) neighbours. As mentioned before, Courchevel is already part of the Station Verte family, having proved their sustainable initiatives, plus helping to educate and engage in tourism activities that are respectful to the environment. Both ski resorts have been using renewable energy for more than 10 years now. Meribel also uses renewable energy from hydroelectric dams to power its lifts and solar power energy for all radio communications. Meribel is a ski resort that promotes walking and has invested in safe walkways for pedestrians. There is also a free bus service to help reduce the number of private cars in the resort. One thing Méribel has been insistent on is its in-resort architectural design. All buildings must follow strict guidelines, being made of stone, wood and slate. They have also restricted high-rise apartment blocks to fit in with the natural aesthetics of the surrounding mountain environment.

So, as you can see, this is only a brief introduction to what our resorts are doing, however you can clearly see they are all united with their eco-friendly conversations. We hope you've found this article interesting, if you have any comments or questions, contact us at any time! Here’s to a greener future for our wonderful winter sports industry...

How our ski resorts are helping raise the sustainability game…

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