Global Forum for Sports and Environment
Ski Area Citizens Coalition Scorecard 2006
The Ski Area Environmental Scorecard strives to differentiate between ski areas that are engaging in environmentally sound practices on the ground versus those that merely claim to do so, and according to SACC, “based on the 2005/2006 Ski Area Environmental Scorecard, ski resorts around the country are not living up to their rhetoric when it comes to preventing climate change.” While there will always be environmental impacts from creating and operating a ski resort, the intent of the Scorecard is to rate resorts on the environmental performance of their current management, not on the impacts from the time of the creation of the resort. Criteria are clearly defined so that ski resorts can choose to improve their environmental performance, and thus their grade. The Scorecard attempts to hold the ski industry accountable for preserving the mountain environments that draw skiers in the first place. Ski areas concentrate recreational use, permitting tremendous numbers of people to enjoy and learn about delicate mountain environments in a safe manner. When undertaken in an environmentally sensitive manner, ski resorts can minimize their impacts on the land. For the 2005-2006 season the following ten ski resorts all received an “A” grade on their scorecards (resort are graded A-F) and were rated the most environmentally friendly; To learn more about this year’s scorecard and to view the ten least environmentally friendly ski resorts in North America, see the SACC website at; |
The Ski Area Citizens Coalition’s (SACC) Ski Area Environmental Scorecard is the only non-industry, independent mechanism that gives skiers and boarders a way to assess the environmental performance of their favorite resorts. Each year, the Scorecard grades 77 ski resorts throughout the western United States.