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The words come off easy enough, and the basic nods and meaning them are almost as natural.

Being green. In an industry that depends on climate and actually affects the environment more than many, being green has evolved into something much more than purchasing a few energy credits and prodding guests to reuse towels. In a world of skyrocketing energy costs and worries about greenhouse warming, ski resorts have plenty of reasons to step up their environmental actions.

The good news, according to experts, is that there are products and solutions out there, and some resorts have already begun to embrace them.

And that puts these areas ahead of the curve. “Across the board [in all industries out there] most people are just throwing darts at being green,” says Alison Gannett, a former world free skiing champion who has made saving the environment her life’s work (you’ve got to love a woman who features a “green margarita” solution on her webpage). “But of all industries, the ski industry has been singled out, hence [resorts] are making efforts to be green.”

For resorts, she says, it’s all about preserving an environment we not only need to survive as businesses, but that the world needs to survive—and doing it in a way that keeps the sport great. “Working on climate change, it’s all about having your cake and eating it too,” she says.

There are ski-industry leaders that are at the forefront of environmental action, to be sure. Beyond obvious choices such as Aspen, Gannett cites examples like the Jackson Hole transportation plan, Crested Butte’s use of wind energy and the massive and effective wind turbine installed at Jiminy Peak last season.

How should other resorts proceed? Start by looking closely at every aspect of their operations, Gannett says, to reduce their “carbon footprint” and find innovative ways to be green. Her CROP program helps businesses and even individuals do just that: calculate their footprint, find ways to reduce or offset it, and finally, to produce their own power. (Go to www.alisongannett.com and click on CROP for more information.)

There’s plenty of other help available, too. Increasingly, entrepreneurs are developing products and ideas that are both energy-efficient and affordable. Some are complicated, some are just plain sensible, but all provide ways resorts can cut back on energy, help the environment and yes, save money, too.


SOLAR PANELS

Solar power has become a hot commodity in the environmental game, in part because it allows businesses to generate their own clean power, onsite—and aside from conservation, that has the lowest impact of any step. And solar is becoming a real option as prices have fallen and energy costs have climbed.

Paul Soucy, who created the SunMate Hot Air Solar Panel System decades ago, says inquiries to his company, Environmental Solar Systems, are skyrocketing. “We are having trouble keeping up with the demand,” he says. But he has not yet installed a system at a ski resort, something that to him—particularly for sunny resort spots like Colorado—just makes sense.

“Any building that requires heat could put this in to reduce heating costs in the daytime,” he says. His many clients, which have included homeowners and businesses, get a complete payback on the system within eight years, thanks to the various state and federal tax credits currently available. And if energy prices rise, that payback period will shrink.

And there are other benefits. “Heating with solar energy cuts the cost of oil, natural gas and electric heating systems, reduces CO2 emissions, and decreases foreign oil dependence,” says Soucy.

GroSolar, another solar power supplier, has completed some large and recognizable projects, such as the Fenway Park solar heating system. This reduced the gas used to heat water at the stadium by a third, and reduced the stadium’s CO2 output by 18 tons a year.

GroSolar is an innovative choice for resorts because its panels can be placed “off grid,” that is, out and away from a building, where it is more able to grab maximum sunrays. This makes it a good choice in non-optimal building locations—something that eastern resorts, in particular, might want to consider.


DESIGNING A BETTER FAN

There are a variety of products coming to market that can reduce energy use, and more are arriving by the day. One that is being used more and more at resorts is the Airius fan, a high-tech, jet engine-shaped fan that directs air with precision control. It’s easily installed and completely changes the flow of air in a room so as to best use heat. It’s a simple concept: warm air rises, and the Airius returns it to floor level.

The product was originally designed by and for a company that had a large manufacturing and office space. The company was having trouble keeping the temperature constant at both ceiling and floor (in engineering terms, it required thermal stabilization). The company needed a way to circulate air and heat affordably and—equally important—comfortably for those in the room.

When he came up with the solution, Ray Abbott knew he’d done much more than solve his own problem, and launched a company to market his product. The Airius can be used effectively in high-ceilinged and circulation-challenged spaces such as rental shops, maintenance garages and base lodges.

The problem with most standard fans, says Abbott, is that “the rotation sends the air to the outside of a room,” when the place most are living and working is in the middle of the room, and at floor level. The Airius forces air straight downward, then allows the air to swirl at body height in an even way. This efficient temperature stabilization method can cut energy costs by 35 to 60 percent, with payback within a year or two in many cases.

Several resorts have bought into this concept, thanks to the prodding of C. Scott Canby, who works for Airius and was born and raised a ski town guy. “It’s a logical product for resorts,” he says. “We asked them, ‘what are your problems?’ and we found a way for this to help.”

Not only has the Airius cut energy costs in places like the maintenance garage at Steamboat and the rental shop at Loveland, but it has offered other benefits as well. In maintenance buildings, employees who always had to suffer cold ground and difficult conditions are finding the warmth circulates better and they are more comfortable. And at Loveland, that rental boot smell we all know so well seems to be a thing of the past. That means payback, too: since the better circulating air dries the returned boots faster and keeps them fresher, the resort can turn around rental equipment quicker and thus, increase their income.

More resorts are looking to install the fans this year, perhaps because the capital investment is small. “Really, all it takes is some rewiring, and we can put it almost anywhere,” says Abbott. “They hang simply, like an appliance. You just plug them in and they are operating; no special equipment needed.”

How small is the price? “Many resorts come to us (with a problem) and say, ‘It’s going to cost us $250,000 to fix this.’ We can fix it for $12,000,” Abbott says.

As with many new products, the company is still discovering its full range of uses. “The customers are teaching us,” says Abbott. One example is a factory in Panama that has found the Airius keeps cool air circulating better, and has cut its energy costs for air conditioning.

Abbott expects to hear from more and more ski resorts. “They should be thinking about this now. It’s time to be ready,” he says.


THE LOW-HANGING FRUIT

There are many small ways to cut energy use. Gannett, who grew up at Crotched Mountain, N.H., says that all kinds of new products and practices are worth considering. “People are always focused on transportation, when buildings are truly such a big impact,” she says—they account or roughly 40 percent of all energy consumption. “There is a lot of low-hanging fruit out there that resorts can grab pretty easily.” The fruit ranges from improved insulation and energy-efficient windows to fluorescent light bulbs and automatic timers.

She points to other things like refitting and reworking existing snowmaking guns instead of throwing them away and purchasing new ones (see “Little Green Giants” on page 45), and looking to create energy-smart buildings from the start for any new construction. “The payback will come quickly,” she promises.

Finding the opportunities is not a task for management only—your employees will often join the effort willingly. Simple things like ski school and patrol carpooling, recycling and encouraging your staff to find ways to reduce your carbon imprint are good steps, she says. And here’s a bonus she’s seen: it makes employees happy.

“A huge positive here is that it really does help with employee retention. You ask them to work with you on this project, and they take ownership and value in it. They become a bigger part of your team,” she says.

And in the end, while energy conservation and reducing our footprint generally is “the right thing to do” for the good of the world, it’s really in resorts’ own self-interest as well.