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POW RESORT SUSTAINABILITY HANDBOOK

BRING POW CANADA’S IMPACT AREAS TO LIFE IN YOUR RESORT

POW Canada’s Impact Areas guide our climate action and advocacy for effective and transformative change in Canada. Find initiatives, examples and inspiration in the following areas:

  • Regenerative Economy
    • Energy
    • Transportation 
    • Goods (including waste)
  • Protected Nature
    • Land
    • Water
    • Food
  • Inclusive Culture

Additional Resources Include:

  • Climate Action Plans
  • Funding & Grants

This is a living web-page, so please share any resources, questions, requests for additional content with us so we can continue to provide what is useful for you and your resort.

REGENERATIVE ECONOMY

ENERGY

While reducing energy use and finding energy efficient solutions is great, the biggest thing we need is to ensure our energy sources are clean and renewable. Ski resorts often offer opportunities to generate clean renewable energy on site, which can help increase long-term savings and community license to operate while reducing energy volatility risks and greenhouse gas emissions. Just as each ski area has it’s unique character, operating systems and management practices, finding an energy source that suits the context of the resort means looking at your physical environment; available wind, solar and water resources, the political context; electricity grid carbon intensity, grants, incentives and rebates, and business structure; growth rate, energy use, and current energy sources, are all important factors to consider when determining how to power your ski resort into the future. Check out some examples:

  • WIND

    • Jiminy Peak NY, USA is run 100% off renewable sources.
      • 1.5 Megawatt wind turbine nicknamed the Zephyr installed in 2007, which now covers 66% of Jiminy Peak’s electricity use.
      • Producing 4.6 million kWh per year, the Zephyr offsets 7,100,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, 33,000 pounds of sulphur oxide and 10,000 pounds of nitrogen oxide.
      • Jiminy Peak added a 2.3 Megawatt solar field and a 75 kWh cogeneration unit to cover all their energy use. Beyond reducing emissions, these investments are already paying off financially.
      • While installation costs were $4 million, the Zephyr had a 7 year return on investment and Jiminy Peak now has excess clean energy which is sold back to the grid.
      • The Zephyr has become one of Jiminy Peak’s defining attractions, and is now a marketing icons with an educational documentary and souvenirs featuring the massive turbine 

  • SOLAR

  • HYDRO

    • Whistler Blackcomb benefits from Fitzsimmons Creek Hydroelectric.
      • WB entered into a 40 year purchasing power agreement with BC Hydro for the electricity produced by Innergex Renewable Energy and Ledcore Power’s ECOLOGO® certified Fitzsimmons micro hydro system.
      • This system, the largest and most prominent example within the ski industry, produces 32 Gigawatt hours of power annually - enough to cover Whistler Blackcomb’s entire energy consumption, including 38 lifts, 17 restaurants, snowmaking and other buildings and services.
    • Remote Heli and cat ski operators throughout Canada have successfully utilized mini or micro run of the river hydro systems
      • Island Lake Lodge in Fernie for example produces all electricity needed in their lodges with an 85KW system on the Breanne Springs.
      • With abundance in water and large vertical drops, on small streams can still generate significant power to fully or partially offset energy costs or take certain operation aspects of a ski area off the grid. 

  • METHANE CAPTURE

    • Aspen CO, USA converts waste methane from local coal mine to energy
      • Methane recapture system converts waste methane from Elk Creek, a large coal mine, into 24 million kWh of power, eliminating 96,000 tonnes of carbon emissions while fuelling Aspen’s four ski areas, thirteen restaurants and three hotels.
      • The plant generates between $100,000 - $150,000 in revenue per month from electricity and carbon credit sales.
      • An additional $1 million worth of methane goes uncaptured each month, meaning there are huge opportunities from partnering with new energy sources. 
    • Killington VT, USA sources methane power from cows.
      • Fourteen local dairy farmers and their 13,500 cows create 73,000 tonnes of methane which Green Mountain Power converts to 300,000 kWh of energy. Canada’s large dairy and beef industries mean growing opportunities to partner with the emerging biofuel industry.

TRANSPORTATION 

With a strong reliance on personal vehicles, many of our mountain destinations are reaching their capacity in terms cars before maxing out on how many skiers or visitors. Congestion, parking and traffic are big challenges that can be solved in conjunction with taking climate action and reducing the emissions that come from having 20 million skier visitors plus the millions of other visitors that come to enjoy the resorts and mountains across Canada. Getting people out and about in a climate friendly way can have huge benefits not only for your resort's carbon footprint, but for creating destinations that are enjoyable for guests, staff, and residents alike. What new transportation solutions can you implement: 

  • CAR-FREE RESORTS

  • ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

  • PUBLIC TRANSIT

    • Winter Park CO, USA AMTRAK Ski Train Partnership
      • Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Amtrak service goes direct from Downtown Denver's Union Station to Winter Park ski resort.
      • Visitors can go direct from the airport to Union Station
    • Snowbird UT, USA RIDE - Utah Transit Authority Partnership
      • RIDE (Reducing Individual Driving for the Environment) APP Program provides simple incentives to reduce traffic congestion, overflow parking and emission related air pollution issues by promoting carpooling (see below) and public transit use.
      • Alongside the RIDE sharing app, season pass holders and employees can take the bus up the canyon for free, and earn incentive points that can be used to win prizes.
    • Watch a Climate Caucus webinar on On-Demand Transit in Powell River, Pantonium On-Demand Transit, and Public-Private Partnerships for on-demand transit
    • Palisades Tahoe CA, USA Mountaineer Free Shuttle 
      • Mountaineer free on-demand shuttle reduces vehicle congestion and required parking area within the Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows areas
      • 4WD vans are accessible for disabilities, ski gear, dogs-friendly, and provide free door-to-door service for all 

  • CARPOOLING & CAR SHARING

    • Snowbird UT, USA RIDE APP reduces canyon smog and increases visitation
      • RIDE (Reducing Individual Driving for the Environment) APP Program promotes carpooling and ride-sharing.
      • Priority parking spots are reserved for cars with 3+ people,
      • Participants, including Snowbird employees, can earn points for carpooling and ride-sharing which can be used for discounted lift tickets for friends, first lift on powder days and other prizes. 
      • Program implementation and participation incentive costs and effort are low (discounted lift passes, scanning RIDE cards) to zero (priority parking, first chair/line skipping passes), while the program increases Snowbird’s visitor capacity and therefore potential revenue while the incentives build skier satisfaction and loyalty all while creating a positive PR story about reducing traffic congestion and emissions 
    • Tahoe Area Snowpals ride-share program
    • Poparide is a popular Canadian ride-share app
      • Active in the sea to sky region

  • ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLES

  • RESORT VEHICLES & DRIVE SMART TRAINING

    • Blue Mountain ON, uses smart-driving research to reduce idling and driving emissions
      • Undertook driver behaviour monitoring across their fleet in 2009. Using CarChips ($130CAD) to monitor driving of their fleet throughout the 2009 season, the research found idling consumes 24% of the overall fuel usage which equates to 42,000 L of fuel and 97 tons of CO2 each winter season, equal to approximately $45,000 CAD/year in idling costs alone.
      • Driving behaviour and technique can result in differences in fuel consumption between the most and least fuel efficient driver can be as high as 35% and simple changes to driving habits can result in 10-18% saving on gas costs and emissions.
  • Watch a Climate Caucus webinar on Anti-Idling

GOODS 

Beyond skiing and other mountain activities, resorts provide everything from hotels to spas to restaurants to shopping. These things all add to the impact, yet provide an opportunity to rethink what our resorts offer in ways that can enhance the guest experience - providing high quality products and services, benefit the local community and economy - showcasing local artisans, products, culture, and reduce environmental impact - eliminating disposables, waste, transportation. It really can be a win-win-win, check out some of our ideas and examples:

  • CIRCULAR ECONOMY

  • PLACE-BOUND PRODUCTS

    • Visitors come to experience not just the activities but the culture, which includes local people, products and services. Promoting local also supportes community business and reduces transportation emissions.  Ideas to incorporate more local assets in your resort include:
      • Farmers markets and local artist or handicraft showcases are other opportunities for locally driven events.
      • Hiring local staff at resorts, especailly management positions
      • Showcasing local musicians in lodges, restaurants and bars
      • Displaying products by local artists
      • Incorporating local makers into design of buildings and hotels such furniture and furnishing
      • Selling only local handicrafts, art and clothing in gift shops
      • Stocking locally made soaps and beauty products in spas and hotel rooms
      • Have local artists design art for resort swag
    • Arapahoe Basin CO, USA introduced a local brewery festival, a mountain yoga retreat and local musician jam day among other new local focused events. 

PROTECTED NATURE

Resorts are the stewards of large areas of often fragile alpine ecosystems. From built infrastructure to wildlife and biodiversity to watersheds to food, there are so many ways to protect nature at the resort while enhancing the opportunities to recreate responsibly. 

As global temperatures rise, we're seeing a shift with earlier springs and later falls. This has implications across your resort. In response, we're seeing a massive increase in summer activities including hiking, mountain biking, camping and water sports. Changing snowmelt and run off can affect hiking and biking trails, kayaking, rafting and other water activities, influence flowers, trees and biodiversity patterns and more. As our climate changes affect our (often fragile) alpine ecosystems, we need to take care that we continue to recreate responsibly. Check out our suggestions:

LAND

  • BIODIVERSITY

    • Watch a Climate Caucus webinar on Biodiversity
    • Trails and summer recreation
      • Learn about how climate change is affecting your local ecosystem and wildlife and adjust trail closures and signage to suit. E.g. bears, wolverine and other species are emerging from hibernation earlier, caribou migration patterns are changing

  • NATURE BASED CLIMATE SOLUTIONS

  • BUILDINGS & NATURE

WATER

FOOD

  • POLLINATORS

  • FARMERS & FARMERS MARKETS

  • COMPOSTING

 

INCLUSIVE CULTURE

Canada's population is one of the most diverse in the world, yet the outdoor industry has been historically exclusive to many people. Over 75% of Canada's ski visitors are white, and over 50% have a university or post-graduate degree and an annual household income of over $100,000. Housing costs in ski destinations are as high as 166% above the Canadian averages. Ensuring outdoor recreation activities and destinations are accessible to all Canadians, including making intentional space for Indigenous people, new Canadians, the BIPOC community, is essential to a thriving, resilient and equitable future. Furthermore, resorts rely directly on their staff and destination communities, meaning ensuring resorts support affordable housing, living wages, and well-being of their employees and community members is also essential. Look for ways your resort can be a leader of inclusivity:

INDIGENOUS LAND, RIGHTS & KNOWLEDGE

Indigenous ways of knowing and being are essential to understand, observe, and address climate change and pursue a just and resilient future.

AFFORDABILITY & ACCESSIBILITY

  • Watch a Climate Caucus webinar on Affordable Housing Tools
  • Canadian Ski Council's Introductory Ski Programs 
    • Join CSC's Grade 4 & 5 Snowpass program providing free ski and snowboarding for youth across Canada and help kids get the opportunity to experience the joy of winter!
    • Join CSC's Never Ever Days program providing new skiers and snowboarders the opportunity to try skiing (including rental, lift ticket and lessons) for only $25

DIVERSITY EQUITY & INCLUSION 

Learn from the experts on how to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion both in your internal operations and workforce, as well as externally to support your guests.

DEI Consultants

Amil Reddy, DEI Consulting
(they/them) 

With over 12 years of experience, Amil works to identify where exclusion or underrepresentation exists in your communications and offerings, work to close these gaps by elevating these marginalized voices and advocating for change. They do this through thoughtfully aligning brand values with communications, building authentic allyship, and creating relevant content which deepens customer loyalty and influences positive social change.

CWSAA Diversity Equality & Inclusion Workshops

Custom workshops for your resort team are available with Facilitator Cathy Cowles & Associates, with 10% discounts on Inclusion Workshops for CWSAA member resorts. Contact [email protected]

Indra Hayre, DEI Consulting
(she/her)

Indra is a diversity, equity, and inclusion speaker, strategist, and consultant. She works with organizations to develop specific training and workshops based on organizational needs, and can adapt her content to various settings. Her services include redeveloping hiring processes, facilitating training around core DEI competencies, identifying organizational gaps, and much more. If you are looking to integrate a DEI lens into existing practices and work toward creating a more equitable, anti-oppressive workspace, Indra can help navigate that with you.

Sabre Lee, Archipel Research and Consulting

(she/her)

Archipel is an Indigenous-owned and women-led company bringing together a diverse team of Indigenous, non-indigenous and racialized associates with the goal of bridging worlds of knowledge, generating understanding and coexistence between communities. Services include: engagement and facilitation, research, curriculum development and training, language translation, marketing inclusion insights and general consulting.

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY ACTION PLANS

FUNDING & GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

Getting sustainability projects off the ground can be financially difficult but a variety of private, federal and provincial government grant, rebate or incentives are available to help reduce prohibitive upfront installation costs. Check out what incentives, rebates or grants are available in your area:

ONTARIO

  • The Independent Electricity System Operator conservation fund provides Ontario government support of up to $1 Million for energy conservation programs, practices and technology implementation.

QUEBEC

  • Hydro Quebec offers financial assistance of up to $2 million for projects aiming to cut electricity by 25000kWh/year. 

BC

  • BC Hydro offers incentives for businesses pursuing energy efficiency
  • BC Government offers grants for active transportation projects

ALBERTA

CANADA

  • Natural Resources Canada all have resources for businesses undertaking steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by switching to clean power sources.

 

Please share other funding resources with us so we can share across the POW Canada Resort Alliance!

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