Carbon emmissions

Working with the French Environment and energy Management agency, the country's National Associsation of Mayors in Mountain Resorts and the environmental pressure group Mountain Riders, the region of a dozen resorts in France and Switzerland found that the largest part of a ski holidays emissions was typically caused by transport to and from the resort (57%) followed by accommodation in resort (27%) with the day on the slopes accounting for 2%.
Of that 2% just over half (53%) was generated by piste grooming, 25% by snow making and 17% by ski lift operation.
The ski region also produced figures on the average percentages of the holiday producing CO2 by a typical ski holiday maker. As the research was centred on their domestic market they did not include arriving by air, but found that arrival by car meant nearly five times as much carbon emission as arriving by rail. Accommodation was the next highest percentage and use of public facilities like shops and restaurants the third most. An individual's share of the operational CO2 emissions of ski lift, snow making and trail grooming equipment was minimal.
The Porte du Soleil is working to reduce its CO2 emissions and several of the individual lift companies are working towards obtaining the international ISO 14001 environmental management standard, already attained by Avoriaz and Les Gets.
Initiatives include using bio-diesel in the grooming tractors and ensuring their engines are not left running idle