Sustainable Skiing
Studies predict skiing in it's current form will only be here in this valley until 2050
Why we need to take action now to help ensure the future of ski holidays.
For multiple generations we have been lucky enough to enjoy the mountains and the skiing they offer. It is becoming more and more evident that this is being threatened for future generations and it is our responsibility to protect it. We are a small player in the industry but we believe that everyone has a part to play and we can make a difference.
Our ambition is to be the first luxury ski holiday provider to offer net zero chalet holidays with the aim of being able to provide carbon positive holidays in the future.
Our commitments
We are just at the start of our sustainability journey but here are the things we are already doing and our commitments for the future.
Measures
Our goal for this winter is to measure our carbon footprint. This is quite a complex process. Some of the elements we can measure are:
Electricity consumption per bed night
Water consumption
Fuel consumption
Weighing our food waste
Efficient chalets
Our chalets in Tignes are extremely energy efficient. The owners have invested heavily in geothermal heating which significantly reduces the amount of energy required to heat the chalets. The electricity used to supplement the heating and power the chalet is from 100% renewable sources.
Waste and Recycling
Our aim is to become waste neutral. Left overs and excess ingredients used for staff meals
We collect food waste and add to local compost bins.
We use refillable bottles for our bathroom products. Our supplier The White Company is a brand committed to sustainably sourced products and becoming carbon zero.
Our cleaning products, are also refillable.
We have a strict policy of no plastic water bottles. The water from our taps is straight from the mountain and we use Sodastreams to provide sparkling water. We try and limit buying anything in plastic packaging but for what we cannot avoid Tignes now recycles all plastic packaging.
Staff trained in recycling practices and we recycle electronics and batteries locally.
Our uniforms are going to be sourced from recycled materials and be recycled at the end of their life.
We donate used duvets, blankets and winter wear to the refugee charities in Calais.
We are aiming to go paperless with contracts being electrically signed and conducting online invoicing with most suppliers.
Food
Our chefs design the weekly menu with local ingredients and seasonality in mind with the aim to minimise waste at all times.
We shop locally only once a week with no deliveries and use local suppliers where possible.
Our chefs are advised to only use products from Europe, mainly France to avoid items shipped by air.
Ecology + Biodiversity
Our cleaning products are environmentally friendly.
No palm oil
We are now treating all our hot tubs with active oxygen rather than chlorine. A more ecological sanitiser and it's better for the skin.
Travel
Guest travel from their homes to resort has the most significant impact in terms of emissions in a ski holiday at just over 50% hence to encourage guests to travel sustainably, we offer free transfers from the local train station. We encourage guests to offset flights upon booking which is offered by most airlines.
We are aiming to offer 100% electric resort transport by next season.
We offer electric vehicle charging for free for those that want to travel by electric car.
Offsetting
For the moment there are still some elements of our business that we cannot make carbon neutral. While we work on reaching this goal we are looking for ways to measure offset the carbon we produce and encourage our guests to follow in our footsteps by offsetting their flights.
Tignes
Tignes resort are making big efforts to become a more sustainable destination.
They are Green Globe certified and working towards improving their rating
They have switched to HVO biofuel for buses, vehicles, snow groomers and the heating in STGM infrastructures and have purchased electric buses and shuttles.
All plastic packaging recycled which is a huge step forward for managing waste.
All street lighting is now LED and have stopped the mountain lighting.