Mountain Collaborative for Climate Action
About
Mountain Collab
The Mountain Collaborative for Climate Action is the ski industry’s first unified effort to combat climate change with shared commitments around sustainability and advocacy. The four largest ski companies inNorth America, Alterra Mountain Company, Boyne Resorts, POWDR Corp, and Vail Resorts, first announced their intentions to collaborate on climate and sustainability initiatives at the MountainTowns 2030 Summit in 2019. In 2021, the group formalized the Climate Collaborative Charter, detailing their areas of focus and commitment to fighting climate change together. Since that time, the group has worked together to share ideas and plan new projects.
In September 2022, the group announced their new name–the Mountain Collaborative for ClimateAction–and updates on their continuing collaboration to advocate for climate-smart policy, innovate on regional waste reduction, and deepen sustainability within their respective operations.
What we do today, we believe, can have a lasting impact across our collective footprint of 76 mountain resorts throughout North America.
In accordance with our original charter,
We all believe:
1
Climate change is the most critical issue we face as business leaders and as citizens of this continent and inhabitants of Earth. The dramatic rise in greenhouse gases that is disrupting our planetary system and threatening our way of life is primarily human-caused and needs urgent attention by all affected. As mountain resort companies, we appreciate that we are extremely fortunate to live, work and play in beautiful pristine natural environments and that we have a deep responsibility to our employees, our communities, and the millions of guests that visit us each year to maintain that environment.
2
The scientific evidence and first-hand observations of change resulting from weather extremes and volatility is clear and true. The negative impacts to the forests, habitats, and ecosystems are dramatic, and just the beginning of the problem we all face on a planetary scale.
3
We must do everything in our power to leave a positive legacy for future generations, and to operate and manage our mountain resorts with a commitment to protecting and preserving our environment.
4
Protecting our climate means protecting the ecosystems that make outdoor adventure possible and provide us the opportunity to support outdoor industries at each of our resorts and in our communities.
As stewards of the environment, we PLEDGE to:
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Incorporate sustainability into all aspects of our mountain resorts;
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Aggressively pursue renewable energy sources to be carbon neutral;
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Lead by example and educate employees and guests about sustainability;
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Place collaboration over competition when it comes to sustainability and leverage our economies of scale to fight the negative impacts of climate change;
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Advocate for climate protection through actionable federal, state and local policies;
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Continue to support the National Ski Areas Association’s Sustainable Slopes platform;
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Continue developing strategies to further our sustainability objectives and identify opportunities for collaboration to maximize scale and shared impact in pursuit of being cost and resource efficient.
Tackling the Issues
We will promote three pillars of efficient resource consumption
Energy
We will prioritize the use, and champion accelerated development and availability of renewable energy resources across our resorts and communities.
Waste
We will work within our mountain communities to reduce waste through reduction, recapture, reuse and recycling, and whenever possible elimination. We will create more opportunities for our customers to recycle, including implementing Bottle Loop to increase the recycling of drinking bottles, as well as the expansion of plastic film recycling programs. We will also advocate for smart policies aimed at improving our recycling infrastructure as well as better data collection around recycling so we better understand both the challenges and solutions.
Ecosystems
We will work to protect and conserve the natural resources that we, our communities, and our natural environments depend on by encouraging efficient resource use and minimizing impacts to forests and habitat.
Mountain Collab
Innovation Challenge
True to our mission of harnessing the power of innovation and collaboration in the fight against climate change, we are launching the Mountain Collab Innovation Challenge. As the urgency of addressing environmental issues grows, we want to collaborate broadly to tackle complex climate challenges. Let’s partner on innovative climate solutions to drive meaningful impact together and contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future for our planet. Click the button below to enter.
Partnering with pep+
Advocacy
Our work is rooted in the communities in which we live. Throughout our industry, many mountain resorts have achieved remarkable progress by being leaders in reducing their carbon footprint and managing their businesses in environmentally responsible ways. Our goal is to broaden this coalition and engage with the widest audience we can – industry leaders, employees, guests and community members, and elected officials, inclusive of voices and perspectives from all backgrounds.
Policy
Our political leaders share the same responsibilities as do we as friendly competitors – to coalesce around finding solutions to our shared challenge, and to take immediate and strong action to consistently correct the course we are on today.
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We will advocate at the federal, state, and local levels for policies that curtail greenhouse gas emissions, accelerate a shift to renewable energy sources, and establish a clean energy economy.
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We will advocate for policies to update the current recycling infrastructure, and eventually eliminate single-use plastics.
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We will work together with elected officials and community leaders to protect our natural ecosystems.
Outcomes
Our work will be focused on lowering barriers, creating pathways to success, and finding ways to leverage our collective experience to continue improving stewardship of our environment.
Our work will also expand our impact by humbly and urgently advocating that all mountain resorts and those who enjoy our public lands and spectacular natural settings join us in doing whatever they can to facilitate positive change.
Contact Us
For more information about the Mountain Collaborative for Climate Action, please email info@mountaincollab.com.