It was a majestic, blue sky day in Thredbo with subzero temps and a fresh blanket of snow covering the Main Range. A group of locals, Thredbo staff and guests congregated in Thredbo Village to begin the trek to Australia’s highest mountain to generate awareness on a more sustainable future.During the climb to the top, Alex Parsons, Head Guide of Thredbo’s Backcountry Team, took time to educate the group on the area, it’s indigenous heritage and describe areas of significance. As they made their way through breathtaking scenery, The Thredbo Environment team was there every step of the way to discuss the importance of creating environmentally forward practices, Thredbo sustainability initiatives and how we can all do out part.
As the group reached the summit, they were blessed with sunshine and sweeping views of Australia’s unique alpine region. A quick happy snap on the top of Australia before and a moment to enjoy the 360-degree panorama before the group strapped in for a few turns while they headed back to the resort.
Speaking of the day, group member Paul Hayden said, “Fantastic! Couldn’t have asked for a better day. Seeing Mount Kosciuszko and the snow cornice coming off it was a highlight. I was surprised how much skinning [hiking on skis] is such a joy, you get into a rhythm and it’s just amazing. It’s a sensational day with informative guides. Thredbo should keep it up and continue to make people aware of the profile of our environment”
The full-day Hike to Mt Kosciuszko is a staple for Environment Week in Thredbo, held between 19 – 25 July 2021. The annual, week-long celebration of all things green aims to highlight sustainable practices, environmental awareness and community action in the Snowy Mountains.
Euan Diver, Environmental Services Manager at Thredbo spoke to the week stating, “This week is dedicated to highlighting the initiatives that Thredbo undertake to ensure that we continue to pursue our goal of being the most environmentally sustainable Alpine Resort in Australia. We use our best endeavours to minimise our impact and where possible, actually improve the condition of some aspects of the environment and protect it for the future generations of Thredbo visitors.”
A number of Thredbo’s 2021 sustainability partners joined in the conversation including Red Energy, Greenfleet, Keep It Cool and Protect Our Winters.
Tree For Tree
Thredbo has been matching donations, tree for tree, from 19 – 25 July 2021 for Environment Week. Since 2014, Thredbo has been committed to a forestry carbon offset program, enabling guests to purchase a tree for $4 when buying resort products.
Gold EarthCheck
2021 saw Thredbo awarded with Gold EarthCheck certification, a first for any Australian snow resort. EarthCheck is the world’s leading environmental certification and benchmarking program for the travel and tourism industry. The recognition makes Thredbo a leader of sustainable tourism destinations worldwide certified to the internationally recognised EarthCheck Destination Standard.
New Sustainability Initiatives at Thredbo
Thredbo’s focus on working towards a more sustainable future, is not a new one. Having invested and implemented several initiatives in the past including the resort’s move in 2019 to power all major resort operations by clean, renewable energy. 2021 saw a number of new initiatives hit the slopes from investment into new organics recycling, a plastic reduction plan and securing an entire SNOWsat fleet.
New Organics Recycling Machine
Thredbo doubled its capacity in food waste recycling by investing in a Closed Loop organics recycling machine. This year saw an increase in the number of restaurants, lodges and apartments in Thredbo taking part to reduce the volume of waste being sent to landfill instead, creating a usable compost product that puts nutrients back into the soil.
Thredbo Alpine Hotel Plastic Reduction Plan
A long-term sustainability plan, Thredbo is in phase two of the plan to remove all single use plastic products from the resort. Phase one saw the removal of front of house single use plastic items including replacing plastic straws with paper and the introduction of certified compostable and sustainable sugar cane pulp food packaging. Phase two will see plastic free alternatives for back of house products and the introduction of sustainable alternatives throughout Thredbo Resort.
SNOWsat snow depth technology
With a focus on snow grooming, Thredbo has invested in new SNOWsat technology to more accurately map snow depth across the resort creating more efficient, fuel and energy saving snow grooming and snow making.
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