Vail Resorts has made progress in its Commitment to Zero, an initiative announced in 2017 to reach a zero-net operating footprint by 2030, including zero-net emissions, zero waste in landfill and zero-net operating impact on forests and habitat.
This week Vail Resorts released its annual Environmental & Social Responsibility Report, which covers operations from Aug. 1, 2022, through July 31, 2023. It reported that the company achieved 100% renewable electricity for the second consecutive year within all of its 37 North American resorts.
That’s a 15% energy efficiency savings from its 2017 baseline, or, looking at it from another perspective, the equivalent of saving the greenhouse gas emissions of 34,240 average homes’ use of electricity annually.
All of Park City Mountain’s electricity came from 100% renewable sources, and 1.1 million pounds of waste locally were recycled or composted.
Overall, Vail Resorts earned its energy efficiency goal ahead of its 2030 target, due to $10 million of on-mountain energy-savings investments in the past five years. The 90-plus projects it invested in to reduce energy ranged from snowmaking improvements and ski lift terminal heating controls to LED lighting retrofits and facility system upgrades.
The company’s largest renewable project is Plum Creek, an 82-turbine wind farm, completed in 2020. Now, it’s installing an 80-megawatt solar farm 60 west of Salt Lake City, which is scheduled to come online this year. It partnered with the Park City, Summit County, Deer Valley, Rocky Mountain Power and Salt Lake City to initiate the project in 2021. Once online, the solar farm will continue to power Park City Mountain with 100% renewable energy.
Vail Resorts also reduced landfill waste by 6.1 million pounds, 36% more than the company’s baseline. Tactics included waste-sorting systems at resort restaurants, use of durable plates, cups and utensils and old uniform and used ski equipment upcycling. The company even partnered with PepsiCo and TerraCycle to transform snack wrappers into tables, Adirondack chairs and terrain park features.
“Proven successes in early pilot programs led us to replicate the most effective strategies across all of our locations,” the report stated.
Vail Resorts gives back to the communities it which it operates. Locally, it partners with 32 nonprofits to provide grants and in-kind mountain access to support affordable housing, food security, child care, environmental sustainability and other community initiatives. In North America, it partners with 53 nonprofits to offer adaptive programs.
It gave a $250,000 multi-year grant to the Park City Education Foundation to help fund full-day pre-school and partnered with the Park City Community Foundation to auction retired Red Pine Gondola cabins to raise an additional $403,000 in funds for the Early Childhood Alliance, which creates accessible support for Park City children.
Last October, it helped open the McGrath Mountain Center by being part of a collaborative land-lease deal that enabled construction of the center. The 9,400-square-foot, ADA-accessible facility is operated by the National Ability Center at the base of Park City Mountain. The center empowers more than 5,550 participants with disabilities through adaptive recreation.
And to ease a bit of ski resort area housing costs, Vail Resorts now provides more affordable housing for 441 Park City Mountain employees at the new housing complex at the base of Canyons Village. Vail Resorts leases units within the larger Slopeside Village, which houses hundreds more employees who work for other companies in Park City.
“Before there were minimal options. This just expands it,” said Emily McDonald, Park City Mountain communications manager.
Overall, Vail Resorts has donated over $29 million in community and employee grants to support affordable child care, housing, mental health care, disaster relief and more throughout North America. It also hosted nearly 11,300 underrepresented youth last year, which surpassed the company’s goal by 25%. Many live in major cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit.
“Commitment to Zero is core to who we are, thus we are living our value of ‘Do Good’ by leading the industry and incorporating sustainable practices into every aspect of our business,” the report stated. “Our sustainability commitment is a leading factor in all operational decisions and will continue to guide our company’s evolution.”