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CLIF BAR Rewards Resorts for Eco-friendliness |
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news -
Eco
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Written by Eugene Buchanan / MtnPressWorld.com
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Tuesday, 03 June 2008 14:39 |
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CLIF BAR is raising the bar for resort eco-friendliness. The organic energy bar company recently awarded eight Eagle Awards to ski resorts throughout the United States to reward environmental excellence in the industry.  “We’re pleased to be part of the ski industry’s efforts to help save our snow, which is threatened by global climate change,” says CLIF BAR’s Ricardo Balazs, whose company administers the program and employs wind energy, biodiesel, waste reduction and other initiatives to reduce its own footprint. “We hope the work of these forward-thinking resorts will inspire others to protect the places where we play.”Â
  Winning the top Golden Eagle Award is Massachusetts resort Jiminy Peak, which this year installed a wind turbine—a first for a mountain resort in North America—that provides nearly half of the ski area’s total electricity needs. Wining the seven secondary Silver Eagle awards were ski resorts in California, Colorado, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.  This year’s award winners: Golden Eagle, Overall Environmental Excellence: Jiminy Peak (Massachusetts)Jiminy Peak became North America’s first mountain resort to install a wind turbine, generating 45-50 percent of its total electricity needs. Unused excess power Jiminy creates goes back into the power grid.The resort’s tenacity and commitment to sustainability helped overcome many hurdles faced in the process of purchasing and installing the $4 million, 1.5 megawatt turbine. The project demonstrates that ski areas of all sizes are capable of 'moving mountains' in the realm of sustainability. Jiminy has set a high bar for the ski industry and paved the way for others to follow suit. Finalists for this award: Arapahoe Basin (Colorado), Grand Targhee Resort (Wyoming) Silver Eagle, Water Conservation: Vail Resorts (Colorado)Using water wisely is a critical strategy for reducing environmental impacts in and around Vail Resorts. Vail has implemented many water conservation measures, including installing efficient water-saving devices, reducing leaks and designing trail layouts to make the most out of snowmaking. The Easy Street Run Enhancement project at Heavenly reduced snowmaking by 65 percent, saving over 1.3 million gallons of water.Finalists: Arapahoe Basin (Colorado), Homewood Mountain Resort (California) Silver Eagle, Energy Conservation/Clean Energy: Park City Mountain Resort (Utah)After completing the first-ever comprehensive scientific study of global warming’s effect on a resort and the greater Utah snow sports industry, Park City Mountain Resort has begun an on-going effort to reduce its electricity use -- which accounts for 86 percent of its carbon footprint. Through initiatives that include the purchase of more energy-efficient snowmaking equipment and biodiesel use in its snowcat fleet, the resort has been able to reduce energy consumption by 23 percent. Finalists: Okemo Mountain Resort (Vermont), Whistler Blackcomb (BC, Canada) Silver Eagle, Fish & Wildlife Habitat Protection: Snowshoe Mountain Resort (West Virginia) Snowshoe Mountain Resort completed West Virginia’s first Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). In partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, the HCP established a 230-acre plot of land as a permanent, protected habitat for the endangered West Virginia flying squirrel. Finalists: Stratton Mountain Resort (Vermont), Vail Resorts (Colorado) Silver Eagle, Environmental Education: Aspen Skiing Company (Colorado)Aspen Skiing Company has taken the approach of gutsy activism to educate and build awareness among its guests and the broader general public on what is arguably THE issue of our time, climate change. Aspen’s approach has taken many forms, including the Save Snow ad campaign, congressional testimony, a Kimberly-Clark boycott and development of solar energy at a utility scale. Finalists: Grand Targhee Resort (Wyoming), Telluride Ski Resort (Colorado) Silver Eagle, Visual Impact: Arapahoe Basin (Colorado)Arapahoe Basin’s new 400-acre Montezuma Bowl was developed with an emphasis on minimizing environmental impacts through alternative construction methods. The only structures installed include the chairlift, snowfences, avalauncher tower, trail signs, and boundary posts and signs. Furthermore, less than 3 acres of trees were removed connecting open areas and providing feeder trails into the lift. Finalists: Stevens Pass (Washington), Winter Park (Colorado)  Silver Eagle, Stakeholder Relations: Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (California)Mammoth Mountain Ski Area’s commitment to preserving the scenic resources of the Mono Basin by protecting 112 acres from development demonstrates tangible community leadership. Working with the Mono Lake Committee and Inyo National Forest, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area purchased 112 acres overlooking Mono Lake’s ecologically unique waters, permanently protecting the property from development for future generations.Finalists: Copper Mountain (Colorado), Whistler Blackcomb (BC, Canada) Silver Eagle, Waste Reduction & Recycling: Grand Targhee Resort (Wyoming)Grand Targhee Resort (GTR) took great steps in establishing itself as a leader in waste reduction in the Greater Yellowstone Region. The resort has worked to reduce the trash each guest generates by eliminating disposable products in its restaurants and switching to bio-based compostable plastics. GTR also started e-waste, food waste and household hazardous waste recycling programs. All told, GTR reduced its waste stream by 4 percent from 2006 to 2007, and has a goal to reduce it 50 percent by 2010. Finalists: Gore Mountain (New York), Whistler Blackcomb (BC, Canada) Judges for this year’s awards include: Michael Berry, NSAA president; Jon Steelman, National Resources Defense Council; Jim Bedwell, U.S. Forest Service; Hank Cauley, The Pew Charitable Trusts; Kirk Mills, Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment; David Jaber, Natural Logic and Elysa Hammond, ecologist, Clif Bar & Company.  Info: www.clifbar.com.  |
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