In an effort to better communicate the ski and snowboard resort industry’s environmental stewardship programs, engender mutually beneficial relationships with environmental advocates and inspire future environmentally sensitive practices at resorts, the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) held four meetings in October and January to create a document outlining a set of voluntary environmental principles for the industry. These principles would be the backbone of an Environmental Charter—a blueprint for smart practices—commissioned by the NSAA’s Board of Directors. The hope is that the charter will reflect the industry’s committment to sound environmental stewardship, forge new partnerships with private and public agencies and improve information-sharing among resorts.
Stakeholders, such as representatives of the industry, the U.S. Forest Service, the EPA, various other government agencies and environmental groups, attended the meetings to discuss the principles and share information on how they would improve resort performance in operations, planning and design of developments and public education. The four meetings, moderated by the independent public policy group, the Keystone Center, involved a detailed analysis that will incorporate as much input as possible to arrive at a document all stakeholders can work with.
We asked a handful of participants to comment on the process and to give us their thoughts on this complex effort. —Ed.
Facing a tough sell
Rob Megnin, President, Ski Areas New York (SANY)
After having participated in the all-day meeting at the NSAA conference at Mount Snow, I continue to be surprised at the detail and breadth of the environmental principles being outlined by the NSAA. In anticipating the process of going through the guideline of environmental practices being proposed for the industry, I never thought so many interests would be represented. They were. Kudos to NSAA for pulling it off at Mount Snow!
I believe the effort to draw up these principles (that can be viewed as an olive branch offered to the environmental community and competing users of the lands we share) shows the industry’s good faith as stewards of the lands on which we we operate. I wonder whether these competing use groups would be willing to go to such lengths for the constituencies they represent, and more importantly, those who would oppose them. I find the NSAA approach refreshing and believe it will bear fruit in the future. And our chances of producing a workable document are good if we can get by the site- and state-specific hang-ups. Is it perfect? No. But in my opinion, it’s a giant step forward.
That said, one thing that came to me as I sat and listened was that a lot of what the draft document prescribes is already being done by many ski areas. That so many groups would have the development and growth of mountain resorts stop dead in their tracks is evidence that, as a whole, we do a lousy job of educating our guests and local environmental groups about our existing conservation and stewardship projects. We need to do a better job of educating the public to have an effect on the way environmental groups perceive skiing.
We have to educate people inside and outside the industry and we have to dedicate ourselves to a long-term commitment, whether it’s local or national. As an industry, we should be in front of the public with our messages of “greenness” at all times: I have had the privilege of skiing at many resorts and seeing the many great environment-friendly ideas (above and beyond any statute or regulatory mandate) that are implemented on a micro level. Again, we need to get the word out. And once we have a completed document, we’ll have to dedicate ourselves to renewing those efforts.
But in order to produce the desired results, the environmental principles must be sold to all interested parties in a comprehensive manner and in the same way. That leads to difficulties. Whenever SANY goes to its membership with a broad-based program designed to engage many different interests, the inevitable response is: “How is this going to hurt me?” rather than, “How can this help me?” Call it the half-empty syndrome. In this case, I’m not quite sure how to sell this document—in its comprehensiveness—as a set of principles that will absolutely help New York ski areas. No doubt it will be a challenge for me and SANY, and an even a bigger task for the NSAA.
And once resorts see the logic behind the principles, they’ll have to be adopted as part of the corporate mantra across ski country and integrated into individual mission statements to be successful. Many folks who are employed at ski areas are responsible for environmental issues. The philosophy, which is what we are talking about here, has to come from the top down and be pervasive at every level of operations to guarantee any sort of results. Otherwise, in my opinion, this whole process is a wasted exercise.
My worry now is that we may be rushing to get a document on the table. In order for us to have an effective set of environmental principles, we must understand that this is not a one-year deal. I’m sorry if this offends anyone; however, half-hearted efforts designed to pacify environmental groups just won’t cut it. Our concerted effort must be given the time it needs. Coming up with great acronyms and adopting an “Environmental Creed” because it provides a warm and fuzzy feeling won’t be enough. We need to build upon what we already do, share those ideas in the forums of national and regional shows with our peers, elicit buy-in at all levels and, yes, at some point invite all to the table for a full-disclosure session. As hard as that might be to swallow, I can only see good coming from the process.
A positive impact on skiing.
Brian H. Fairbank, President, Jiminy Peak Resort, Mass.
I believe the process for developing environmental principles and standards for the ski industry is exactly what needs to be done. There may be some naysayers who believe more in-depth study is required, but the fact is, the input and issues discussed will bring us to practical, functional guidelines as to what we should do as an industry and will ultimately have a very positive impact on skiing. Each collaborative meeting provides new insight and better clarification of all the various details.
This represents the best opportunity for our industry to come together, understand the myriad environmental issues across North America and develop options for implementing procedures and processes that will address specific environmental concerns.
While the document may not address all of the items on the punch list required by a specific state’s environmental review process, it does cover the concept and scope of all of the various issues in a comprehensive manner. The end result is to provide ski area operators across the country with the best possible checklist for their individual resorts to follow. Ultimately, an appendix that shows best practices throughout the country for each of the various subjects covered will give us the opportunity to take all operations to higher levels of environmental responsibility.
Once the principles have been adopted, most, but not all, ski areas will start to address the issues in a more cohesive and identifiable manner. It will not happen overnight, but the culture will rise to new standards as we all try to adopt and implement procedures relative to these principles. Those resorts that are active participants in the NSAA will probably adopt the procedures more quickly than others, as I am confident the reinforcement of these principles will happen frequently through newsletters and via the mid-winter conferences and annual conventions. Those areas not as actively involved with NSAA will probably be slower in the adoption of the principles, but will become aware, and ultimately probably be required, to adopt these principles through local agencies as they become the industry standard. Since NSAA represents more than 65 percent of the resorts in North America, the impact will be profound.
While the future effect on local environmental groups may not make an impact in the short run, I believe over time it will have a major significance in these relationships. Not only will such groups start to have an understanding of the principles and the issues involved, but they will become aware of the fact that their local resorts are taking these principles seriously and are doing many things that have positive impacts on the environment. Most environmental groups are concerned about the natural issues taking place on the mountain and are not informed about energy conservation, recycling and rubbish conservation, public information and education or staff awareness of the issues. I am confident the full impact of this effort will have a string ripple effect on how, not only the environmental groups view skiing, but also the public at large.
This initiative is being pursued in order to make our entire industry be more responsible members of our society. Nothing but good can result from this effort as it outlines a roadmap and checklist for all of us to follow to become more responsible members of this planet.
Live up to Principles
by Jock Glidden, Utah Chapter Representative, Sierra Club
The NSAA effort is a brave beginning and they had anticipated many environmental issues related to ski resorts. It impressed me. What is drepressing is that even if a resort like Sinclair Oil’s four-season resort at Snowbasin, Utah, complies with 85 percent of the environmental tenets already outlined, there is no leverage resting with the NSAA on the secondary developments (trophy homes, condos, golf courses, mountain malls, etc.) that it can generate. After all, what else are ski areas ultimately in the business for? It’s not skiing (there’s no money there). It’s land development.
At the risk of sounding too cynical, our efforts at the NSAA’s Snowbird, Utah, meeting in January were surely better spent there than if we hadn’t attended. Maybe our style (our NSAA manifesto) will filter down once the environmental charter is in place. I would say that the day was well engineered and that we did work together rather than at odds with one another.
At the end of the meeting I asked where the teeth in the document were. The answer is that there are teeth, but they are hidden. There are many EPA, 404 permitting guidelines, USFS special permit requirements and state and county regulations that enforce much of what the document addresses, but the framers of this document seem fearful of pointing this out as it may sound coercive. This eventually needs to be done or it won’t be taken seriously. By the way, there are several sovereign nations in Latin America and one or two in Africa that have marvelous democratic constitutions; the trouble is, the citizens don’t understand them or care to live by them.
The Sierra Club would like to lend its hand and influence to the nascent efforts of the NSAA. Still, we strongly resist efforts by front organizations to use our name to sanction greenwashing of further wilderness subdivisions like the travesty that has occurred at Snowbasin, Utah, under the flag of the Olympics.
I wish the ski industry the best with its principles, hope they become refined and that winter resorts will sign on with strong intentions of living up to them. Finally, I hope the Sierra Club was helpful that day in constructing these principles.
Some keys for success
Ted Beeler, President, Sno.engineering, Inc.
During the last year, I have had the opportunity to participate in a number of environmental forums, including the Sustainable Summits Conference, Ski the Hill, the EPA Sustainable Industry meeting and a number of regional NSAA Environmental Charter Workshops. For the first time ever, the ski industry and various stakeholders have engaged in a dialogue about industry issues and perceptions. As I reflect on what was said at these meetings, certain words surfaced continually—trust, honesty, communication, collaboration and relationships. In combination with embracing the environmental principles, these are the keys to ultimately making the Environmental Charter a success.
The process of developing the Environmental Charter is fundamental to producing a successful document. Accordingly, NSAA has worked diligently to obtain input and feedback from numerous organizations and individuals, from within and outside of the ski industry. This collaborative effort is seen as a starting point for building long-term relationships and trust between the ski industry and stakeholder groups. Hopefully, the outcome of the process will result in a number of groups endorsing the environmental principles.
That said, from a pure industry perspective, I visualize the Charter as an enabling tool. Most importantly, it will help to establish greater awareness of what the ski industry is doing or not doing to support sound environmental stewardship. Secondly, it will enable individual operators to demonstrate on a voluntary basis how they are making environmental improvements beyond regulatory compliance through specific programs. Third, it will help to foster continued dialogue between ski area operators and stakeholders through the implementation process.
The document is a template for proactive environmental leadership. With more than 700 ski areas across North America, it is evident that there will be varying levels of commitment. While some ski areas are already recognized as models for pursuing environmental excellence, others may start the process by establishing a corporate environmental ethic, creating an environmental committee and prioritizing goals and objectives. At any level, adoption of the principles will facilitate greater employee awareness toward environmental considerations in the planning, design, construction and operation of ski facilities. The education and outreach component of the principles will also help ski areas share their successes with the public. In summary, the principles will help operators to be more introspective about their environmental role in the community.
Despite that, there is no doubt that discussions with certain environmental groups will continue to be polarized into the next century. In formulating the principles, we have seen a great exchange of ideas and discussion of issues among the ski industry and stakeholders at the national and regional meetings. As individual ski areas implement the principles at the local level, it is expected that there will be a similar sharing of valid information. While I don’t contemplate that we will ever be able to debunk all the myths about skiing’s impact on the environment, the collaborative actions that ski areas take in addressing local issues will go a long way toward strengthening overall relationships and trust with environmental groups. In the long-term, an increasing record of collaborative successes will help improve the image of ski areas in the eyes of environmental groups and the public.
Develop Industry-wide Acceptance
Lisa Isaacs, Environmental Specialist, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, California
Mammoth Mountain is very interested in the development of the NSAA Environmental Charter. As participants in the Utah meeting, we felt the initiative process was an excellent first step, however, the main benefit appeared to be in the process itself—bringing different groups of people together to open up and communicate while addressing a subject important to all: environmental principles for ski area operations. What comes of this process and the initiative will, hopefully, continue to evolve with time.
The benefit of opening up channels and working together to enhance cross-organizational communication is currently being felt at Mammoth Mountain where a broad variety of stakeholder groups have joined forces to provide input on the development of a new facility at our ski area. With guidance provided by these local organizations, including research facilities, environmental groups, Native Americans, government entities and mining interests, we plan for the facility to be representative of our local community as a whole, incorporating many considerations, and thereby helping to prevent prospective alienation or possible future opposition.
Looking toward the future, we would like NSAA’s environmental initiative to be presented to the ski industry as a realistic, achievable guideline, understanding it only has value if ski areas choose to embrace it. To help encourage this decision, we would like NSAA to continue working with environmental groups to develop programs that provide incentives for ski areas to implement the environmental initiatives, such as broad public recognition.
Above all, we would like to commend NSAA for a job well done to this point. However, we strongly encourage the continuance of the environmental initiative effort, for we feel it will have little value if it is not developed into a finished product with industry-wide acceptance.
