If reducing the carbon footprint of your ski holiday is important to you, the obvious first step is to choose an alternative to flying, but you can also make a difference by choosing a resort that has high sustainability standards. The Compagnie des Alpes (CdA) has taken a huge step to reducing the emissions generated...
The French resort of Serre Chevalier has been recognised by the European Union for its outstanding use of renewable energy. The Energy Efficiency Prize was awarded by the EU to the lift company Serre Chevalier Vallee Domaine Skiable for its ‘EnR’ project. Consistent implementation of PV solar panels, wind turbines and use of hydroelectricity throughout...
A combination of new government measures and private investment initiatives will lead to significantly more solar power capacity in Switzerland. Earlier this month (October 2022), the upper house of the Swiss parliament voted in favour of legislation ruling that from 01 January 2024 all new buildings with an area of over 300m2 must be equipped...
The recent joint research carried out between McKinsey & Company and Skift Research contained some valuable ideas for improving sustainability in travel. The report sets the scene by noting that global travel and tourism accounts for 8-11% of global emissions and that travel activity is expected to soar by 8% from 2016 to 2030. It...
Transfer company Cool Bus have confirmed that they are updating their fleet of electric vehicles After six successful years using Tesla Model X’s for transfers to ski resorts in the Tarentaise valley the vehicles have clocked up nearly 600,000km of zero emission transport. New Mercedes Electric Minibuses This winter the cars will be supplemented by...
Val Cenis remains in the vanguard of ski resorts focussing on sustainability. This winter the Savoyard ski area are adding their first 100% electric snow groomer (piste basher to the Brits) to their fleet. The Prinoth Husky eMotion will be used to prepare their cross country pistes, tobogganning areas and pedestrian paths. Three hour battery life...
Despite a challenging first season, Travelski Express have confirmed that they will be continuing their direct train service from London to France for the 2022/23 winter season. Due to engineering works, the outbound train will continue to depart on Friday evening, arriving Saturday morning, with the return train leaving on Sunday morning, arriving back into...
We are indebted to our friends at Midnight Trains for this analysis, first published on their website, but so compelling that it deserves to be shared. Let’s weigh up the stats First up, according to the French government, the transport sector generates more greenhouse gases than any other, representing 31% of all emissions. Drilling down...
When Greta Thunberg told us that ‘Our house is on fire‘ in 2019, it seemed like she was talking figuratively. Just three years later, it seems literal. We have already seen glaciers collapsing in Italy and closing early for summer in France. This trend is evident in the French Pyrénées at the Brèche de Roland....
In another indicator of the growing provision of rail options by travel companies to match the increased demand for this low-carbon form of travel. Last week we wrote about the ANMSM’s goal to lobby for improved rail services to the Alps. Their research showed a high potential level of demand, if there were more trains...
The National Association of Mayors of Mountain Resorts (ANMSM) has called for better train services to ski resorts in France to reduce the carbon footprint of ski holidays. A survey commissioned by the ANMSM and conducted by G2A Consulting showed that almost half of respondents would change the way they travel to resort if the...
In May 2022, Iain from Ski Flight Free travelled to Chamonix in France by train. He left London St Pancras at 08:01 BST and arrived in Chamonix at 19:02 CET (18:02 BST). This is his report of the journey. London-Paris I live in Brighton, so actually my journey started early with a direct train to...