Thredbo Comes Together To Make A Difference This Environment Week

July 21st, 2022
Thredbo is committed to preserving our unique alpine environment. Photo:Thredbo

Mountainwatch | Press Release 

Thredbo, NSW, July 21: Thredbo Resort is hosting a series of events for guests and staff to celebrate its environmental initiatives and raise awareness on how the community can all work together towards a more sustainable future.  

This Environment Week, Thredbo Resort honours its commitment to preserving, protecting and prioritising its alpine environment by raising awareness about the environmental impacts we have on our beautiful mountain home within Kosciuszko National Park.

Thredbo is proud to be the first Australian snow resort to be powered by renewable energy as well as a range of recently implemented initiatives to ensure it continues to set the industry benchmark for sustainability.  Recent initiatives include but are not limited to; ensuring efficient electric motors are installed in the Merritts Gondola, implementing a single-use plastic reduction plan, doubling food organics recycling at our restaurants and accommodation with a Closed Loop recycling machine, and investing in new technology to make snow grooming and snow making more efficient.

While Thredbo’s environmental initiatives are a consistent year-round undertaking, Environment Week provides a valuable opportunity to remind all members of the community that caring for our mountains is a team effort.  This Environment Week, the resort is hosting a series of events for staff and guests to raise awareness for how everyone can make a difference, no matter how big or how small.

 

Thredbo Environment Week Hike to Mt Kosciuszko. Photo: Thredbo

Key Environment Week Events at Thredbo Resort:

* Environmental & Sustainability Night (Monday): Guests and staff are invited to the Kosciuszko Room to hear from a host of passionate environment speakers including Huw Kingston who will be talking about his Alpine Odyssey expedition where he plans to ski the entire 600km length of the Australian Alps, stopping in at every resort. There will also be prizes and give-aways on offer from The North Face.

* Tour to the Top (Tuesday): Thredbo is hosting a full-day backcountry tour to Mount Kosciuszko to raise awareness for Thredbo’s environmental initiatives.

* Buy A Tree (All week): Guests can buy a tree for $5 to offset their trip to the snow and during Environment Week, Thredbo is partnering with Greenfleet to match all donations.  Since 2014, Thredbo guests have offset almost 2,000 tonnes of carbon by planting over 7,200 trees at projects across Australia.

* Jacket Upcycling (All week): Pre-loved jackets in good condition can be brought to a drop-off location at Friday Flat and Thredbo will find a new life for it such as donating to Heat The Homeless.

* Free Coffee with Green Caffeen (Friday): Thredbo and Green Caffeen are hosting a morning of Free Coffee to raise awareness about Green Caffeen’s reusable swap-and-go coffee cup scheme.  The scheme reduces the amount of coffee cups disposed of to landfill.

Euan Diver, Thredbo Resort Environmental Services Manager, encourages all members of the community to educate themselves on how they can help to protect our beautiful environment.  “If we all commit to making environmentally-friendly choices every day, we have the ability to have a positive influence on Thredbo’s journey towards a more sustainable future.”

“From recycling, to being more energy conscious, and car-pooling to the snow with your mates, together our small actions can amass to create a big difference.” said Mr Diver.

 

As an industry leader in sustainability, Thredbo takes pride in being EarthCheck certified for six years running, and has now achieved its Gold Certification for the second year in a row, a first for an Australian snow resort. The recognition makes Thredbo a leader of sustainable tourism destinations worldwide which are certified to the internationally recognised EarthCheck Destination Standard.

Looking forward, Thredbo’s Environment team will continue to look for new ways to reduce our environmental impact through innovative waste, energy, water, and biodiversity management.  In 2023, the team has set ambitious targets including diverting at least 50% of waste from landfill, offsetting 100% of the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the generation of electricity used in resort operations and reducing town water use by 25% over 2011–12 levels.

To learn more about Thredbo’s environmental initiatives and to find out more about the upcoming Environment Week events, head to thredbo.com.au/environment.