Pyhätunturi - First carbon neutral resort in Nordic countries

The objective of the environmentally sustainable development program in Pyhätunturi is to sustain the surrounding nature and ensure future profitable business opportunities. In 2008, Pyhätunturi, the company responsible for the slope operations and Ski-Inn accommodation services at Pyhä ski resort, developed an environmental program. Pyhätunturi started the development and implementation of the environmental program by training the employees. A club called “Green Flake”, which organizes special events for the members, was founded to motivate personnel to green actions. In order to gain membership in the club, an employee has to suggest or perform an action that improves sustainability. Before drafting targets for the environmental program, Pyhätunturi reviewed its energy consumption. 65 % of electricity was found to be consumed in slope operations. Therefore, targets were set to especially improve the energy efficiency of slope machines such as snow cannons and lightning. Reduction targets were also set for the fuel consumption of snowmobiles and piste grooming machines. Investments were made in new more energy efficient machines. Appropriate use of the machines plays a key role in fuel consumption, and therefore the company also launched a program linking incentives to saving fuel. Slope personnel were rewarded with half of the savings achieved through reduced fuel consumption. The combination of the incentive program and introduction of new practices has led to considerable fuel savings. When a new district heating utility was built in 2010, Pyhätunturi suggested a biofuel plant. In addition to using carbon neutral heat, Pyhätunturi uses electricity made from renewable energy sources. The company has also looked for possibilities to utilize bio fuels in the slope machines but so far, solutions suitable for the cold conditions have not been found. Since 2010, Pyhätunturi has compensated CO2 emissions from fuel use in the slope machines through Nordic Offset. The compensation has been directed to Gold Standard certified wind and hydropower projects. The company is following the development of electric snowmobiles and plans to test these when they become available. The company policy is to avoid unnecessary business travel, and emissions from necessary flights are compensated. Pyhätunturi has also set targets for recycling and water consumption. Pyhätunturi organizes annual seminars for local entrepreneurs and public decision makers in order to raise awareness about sustainable development. Success Factors Management commitment is seen as one of the main success factors. In the beginning, the management invested resources in the development by hiring a person solely dedicated to develop and implement the environmental program. In 2011, Pyhä was selected as the Finnish Ski center of the year. One of the main reasons for the selection was the long-term work for sustainable development. Novelty Pyhätunturi is the first carbon neutral ski resort in Nordic countries. Sustainability Impacts Pyhätunturi has indicators with set targets for energy and water consumption. Since 2008, the energy efficiency of slope operations has improved by 6% (reduction in electricity used) and the fuel consumption of slope machines has been reduced by 50%. Pyhätunturi follows how the company image as an environmentally sustainable ski center has developed through surveys for personnel and customers. According to the latest customer survey conducted in 2016, company image as an environmentally sustainable ski center has improved by 20% compared to the previous survey conducted in 2015. Pyhätunturi is carbon neutral with regards to its consumption of purchased electricity and heat as well as fuel consumption in slope operations. The carbon emissions from fuel use in slope machines is offset through Gold Standard certified emission reduction project in Turkey and China. Energy efficiency improvements have resulted in cost savings. In addition, new technology has resulted cost-savings due to increased automation for example related to snow cannons. The new snow cannons turn on and off automatically based on optimal snow making weather conditions. Challenges and potential for further development Before 2008, the ski center was not actively developed and new practices were not applied. Therefore, in the beginning of the environmental program development, the existing organizational culture and attitudes of the personnel were making implementation of new practices slow. Hence, involving employees in the environmental program development and implementation from the beginning is seen as crucial to the success. Pyhätunturi is updating the environmental program in 2016. The company is working to improve its energy efficiency and keeping an eye on technical development in order to identify new potential improvement areas. Contact person for more information: Jusu Toivonen, jusu.toivonen@pyha.fi