The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) on Thursday released its seventh Sustainable Slopes Annual Report detailing the U.S. ski resort industry’s progress in implementing the principles of its Environmental Charter over the past season.
THE NATIONAL SKI AREAS ASSOCIATION (NSAA) on Thursday released its seventh Sustainable Slopes Annual Report detailing the U.S. ski resort industry’s progress in implementing the principles of its Environmental Charter over the past season.
    In 2006-07, the Sustainable Slopes program continued to focus on the Keep Winter Cool campaign to fight global warming. A total of 98 ski and snowboard resorts contributed to the information presented in the report.
    On the operations side, NSAA encouraged member resorts to purchase green energy to offset the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with their operations. To date, 59 resorts are now purchasing green energy for their operations through renewable energy credits. Of these resorts, 28 are offsetting 100 percent of their GHG emissions. Collectively, these resorts are purchasing more than 322,321,000 kWh of green power annually.
    According to the annual report it was estimated that in 2006 reporting resorts reduced CO2 emissions by 136,855 tons through energy, waste and transportation reduction measures. In addition, the emission reduction for resorts reporting green power purchases was estimated to be 230,122 tons based on average state emission factors for electricity from the Energy Information Administration.
    To add perspective to the CO2 reductions quantified above, eliminating 25 pounds of CO2 emissions each year is equal to planting one tree. Collectively, ski resort green power purchases are equal to planting more than 18 million trees. Eliminating 1,750 pounds of CO2 emissions each year is equivalent to shutting down one 250-horsepower ski lift for one day. Collectively, the green power purchases are equal to shutting down almost 263,000 ski lifts for one day. Eliminating 2,530 pounds of CO2 emissions is equivalent to avoiding one round-trip airplane flight from New York to San Francisco. Collectively, the green power purchases are equal to avoiding over 181,000 round-trip flights between New York and San Francisco.
    Addtionally, 63 endorsing resorts in 21 states are supporting the efforts of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (US-CAP) in pressing lawmakers to enact national legislation that will require aggressive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
    The report also highlights the contributions of the ski industry’s 14 partnering organizations in Sustainable Slopes, including: the Bonneville Environmental Foundation; Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment; Conservation Law Foundation; U.S. Dept. of Energy; U.S. Environment Protection Agency; USDA Forest Service; Leave No Trace; The Mountain Institute; National Fish & Wildlife Foundation; National Park Service Concession Program; New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Teton County, Wyoming; the Trust for Public Land; and the Wildlife Habitat Council.
    To date, 184 resorts have endorsed the Environmental Charter, representing more than 75 percent of the ski resorts nationally based on skier/snowboarder visits. In 2006, NSAA released an updated Environmental Charter that identifies the latest technologies and details best management practices available to resorts as they enhance their efforts related to environmental stewardship.