Responsible Tourism - Tremblant
Ski Safari asked Tremblant resort management whether the resort is a member of an environmental accreditation body or whether the resort has any official environmental accreditation?
Yes. In 1999 Tremblant, along with all Intrawest resorts, endorsed the N.S.A.A (National Ski Areas Association) Environmental Charter for Ski Areas, aka, Sustainable Slopes. This useful tool will ensure that the development of our skiable terrain and village will be undertaken with the utmost respect for the environment. The charter outlines principles covering many topics such as waste water management, energy management, waste reduction, recycling, hazardous waste management, air quality, etc.
Ski Safari asked Tremblant resort management whether they or an independent consultant conduct environmental audits of the resort, including carbon audits?
Yes for energy and greenhouse gas emissions:
- Since 1993, a few environmental audits of the whole resort were conducted by environmental consultants in order to evaluate our compliance with actual environmental regulation.
- In 2004-2005, an energy audit was also conducted over all the resort. Twenty-six energy conservation projects were carried out during the fall 2004, leading to a 7-20% economy in our electricity costs from Nov 2004 to April 2005. Among projects, there were : lighting and thermostat retrofit, insulation, movement detector in urinals and intelligent heat control, etc.
- In 2005, we entered a program with the collaboration of Hydro-Quebec in order to analyse ways of reducing our energy consumption for snowmaking. This program led to the replacement of all old snow guns by more energy-efficient ones.
Ski Safari asked Tremblant about their environmental policy.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors enjoy their favourite outdoor activities in Tremblant's beautiful and diverse natural environment. In order to continue to offer such a high quality experience, Tremblant reviews their activities and practices on an ongoing basis to constantly improve their sustainable development performance. Our goal is to ensure that future generations also experience nature at its very best.
- Respect environmental laws and regulations;
- Use the necessary measures to prevent pollution, conserve and make rational use of the natural resources that are essential to our operations, and put in place any required emergency plans;
- Evaluate and systematically document environmental performance in order to ensure that it complies with our continuous improvement principles;
- Put into action the Sustainable Slopes environmental charter for the use of our natural resources;
- Communicate our commitment to improving and upholding environmental performance to all of Tremblant's employees, contractors, suppliers, communities and guests.
ENVIRONMENTAL CODE OF THE SLOPES® WHAT SKIERS, SNOWBOARDERS, OWNERS AND AREA GUESTS CAN DO TO HELP:
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Leave no trace: When visiting all natural areas leave no trace of your presence preserving the natural state for yourself and others.
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Plan ahead and prepare: Know the regulations and special
concerns for the area you'll visit, prepare for all different kinds of weather.
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Dispose of waste properly: Recycle your glass, plastics,
aluminium and paper at resorts. Reuse trail maps on your
next visit or recycle them rather than throwing them away.
Never throw trash, cigarette butts or other items from the lifts.
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Be considerate of other guests: Respect other guests, protect
the quality of their experience, and let nature's sounds prevail.
- Carpool with friends and family or use public transport to avoid traffic
when travelling to and within the ski area. Avoid idling your vehicle.
- Turn off the lights when leaving your residence and reuse bath
towels and linens to help conserve energy and water.
- Support the use of washable tableware and silverware in cafeterias and lodges instead of paper or plastics to help reduce waste.
- Take advantage of environmental or alpine education programmes offered at ski areas to learn more about the surrounding environment and how to help protect it.
- If you have kids, get them involved in environmental and alpine education programmes at a young age.
- Support "clean up days" or other environmental programmes at your local ski area.
- Provide feedback and let ski areas know how they can improve their environmental performance.
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Respect wildlife: Observe trail closures, seasonal closures, and ski area boundaries. These closures are in place not only for your safety, but the wellbeing of plants and animals located in sensitive areas. In summer, stick to designated trails when hiking and biking to avoid disturbances to vegetation and wildlife.
Ski Safari asked Tremblant resort management how they limit the resort's environmental impact e.g. usage of renewable energy sources, waste management and recycling programmes etc....
Water
- All electricity consumed on the resort is from hydro-power, thus produces low carbon emissions.
- Green program for towels: towels placed in bath are changed.
- The chalet at the foot of the North Side underwent major renovations in 2005 and it’s now better insulated and uses less water since the installation of efficient sanitary equipment.
- Water conservation measures continued with the installation of no-water urinals at the Club House of the Le Diable golf course.
Reduction, reuse, recycling
- Tremblant's recycling plan is now implanted on the whole resort : restaurants, hotel rooms, cafeterias, pedestrian village, residential sectors. They recycle paper, cardboard, glass, plastic. In high traffic areas of the resort, recycling bins have been added beside regular trash bins, and in all of the hotels in the village.
- From July 2007 to May 2008, 425 tons of recyclable material were diverted from landfill.
- All hotel rooms in the village have a blue box for recycling material. End of roll toilet paper is used in staff washrooms in practice for 10 years.
- Washable utensils in cafeterias, condiments offered in pumps instead of sachets, use of recto-verso photocopiers and electronic forms on an intranet (to save paper), etc. When washable ustensils cannot be used, we now use compostable ustensils.
- Donated furniture and items to local charities.
- Forty boxes of uniforms were sent to Nepal in order to support workers of Himalaya.
Reduction of pollution
- Room cleaning products are ecofriendly and phosphates free.
- In 2006, we underwent a complete inspection of our fuel storage tanks by a certified auditor. Proper corrective measures have been taken to bring certain installations up to current standards.
Fish, wildlife and habitats
- A study of wooded areas between slopes was also conducted in the summer 2004, which pinpointed short and longer term measures to maintain a sustainable forest.
- Follow-up surveys of water quality, fish habitat and deer populations are conducted on the resort on a regular basis.
Green construction
The lift that will link the existing village to the new Versant Soleil village is planned in order to have a green roof – a living roof – which would be a regional first.
Development
- Each project represents a new challenge because the protection measures of the environment must evolve and constantly change as the site develops. Slopes, proximity to water, time of year, and many other factors are in flux so constant daily monitoring is essential. Christine spends hours on the jobsite, taking water samples and thousands of digital pictures that chronicle every step of the development process.
- A key part of the authorization process to develop the Versant Soleil and Versant Nord was to create or restore significant wildlife habitat in the region. Wetlands and creek enhancement projects were selected for their important ecological potential. “As theTremblant region develops it is important to recognize the potential losses of habitat and to initiate projects that will help compensate and maintain the health of our environment” concludes Christine Tremblay, Tremblant’s Environmental Project Manager.
HOTELS
Reception:
- Recycling at reception and in administrative areas.
- Newspapers offered at reception only.
- All stationary purchased using Lyrecos green initiative. Re-used or water based materials.
- China cups at coffee stations where washing facilities exist.
Guest rooms:
- Recycling bins in all rooms
- Room cleaning products are ecofriendly phosphates free
- End of roll toilet paper is used in staff washrooms in practise for 10 years.
- Draperies remain closed during quiet periods to reduce energy loss.
- Donated furniture and items to local charities.
- Temperature in rooms is set at 65 during cold season. Gas fireplaces are controlled by a timer.
- All lights are turned out verified after checkout and after room is cleaned.
- Lights are being changed to fluorescent type where possible
- No lights in closets in hotels.
- Green program for towels. Towels placed in bath are changed.
- Sheets changed every third day.
- No plastic sacs used in bin in bathrooms.
Ski Safari asked Tremblant whether they promote sustainable tourism e.g. sourcing local food products and supporting local suppliers etc....
Yes. The Resort has integrated into its supply policy objectives based on respect for the environment and for society overall. In so doing, the Resort will be able to achieve improved performance and durability from the products and services we obtain from virtually all economic sectors. By integrating “green” purchasing objectives, the Resort’s purchasing department is establishing a certain number of tools that will help the organization make better choices in its buying practices.
With this initiative, the Resort is joining other corporations committed to making a favourable impact on the market by encouraging its suppliers to offer durable products and to adopt ecologically sound business practices. We have already made many changes in products that we purchase in bulk and use on a regular basis.
Ski Safari asked whether the resort is involved in any local or national social projects e.g. community projects, housing schemes for employees etc....
Yes. Involvement in the region:
- Tremblant is a proud partner of “AGIR pour la Diable”, which is the alliance for the integrated and responsible management of the Diable River and its watershed. The mission of this not-for-profit organization is to sensitize local parties and water users to sustainable, joint and participatory management of this resource with regard to the Diable River watershed. Among the many actions undertaken by the organization, there are the cleanup
- Campaigns along the banks of the Diable River, presentation of workshops on planting bushes around lakes, creation of partnerships with school groups (the “I adopt a stream or river” program) and many others.
- A few kilometres from the resort, in the village sector of Mont-Tremblant, Tremblant supported a fish habitat enhancement project in the Mercier creek, which flows from the Mercier Lake to the Diable River.
- A local environment firm built 40 weirs using cedar logs along 850 m of the creek. These structures will help to improve the quality if fish spawning and rearing habitat. 1000 pine trees were also planted on its banks in order to keep water fresh and control erosion.
Ski Safari asked Tremblant resort management whether they offset their carbon emissions?
Every year, we do projects which reduce or compensate carbon gas emission (tree planting, conversion to electric vehicles, etc.). We have not yet quantified the effect of these projects on our carbon “balance-sheet”, but plan to do so.
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