Nevis Range ski area near Fort William in Scotland has that it is now a Carbon Neutral business (accredited by Carbon Footprint). They regard this as the first step on the journey towards climate positivity and Zero Waste.
“Sustainability is at the top of our agenda. The Highlands and Islands is a phenomenal destination to work, live, and play. That is why we have taken steps to move to a conscious hosting model, ensuring that both Nevis Range and our employees are active in safeguarding the future of our environment,” said Chris O’Brien, the centre’s Managing Director of Nevis Range.
In terms of emissions, the business is moving towards climate positivity. Over 60% of power usage at Nevis Range has been supplied by hydro power for the last 5 years.
Moving forward there are plans to also remove all liquified petroleum gas (LPG) from use on the site.
Work on a new £4m base station development that includes a 22-bedroom hotel, 24 berth bunkhouse, bar and restaurant, bike shop, children’s activity centre, childcare facilities, and a covered courtyard with an event space has recently begun construction. Nevis Range say that the development will be entirely carbon neutral both during and after construction, with any carbon generated from the project being offset.
A skier entring the Back Corries, via Chancer, at Nevis Range.
The resort’s next target is to move to Zero Waste within the next two years by ensuring office are paperless by next march and ski hire and ski school infrastructure by winter 2022/23. There is also a plan to eliminate all single use plastics within the catering departments by December 2021 with any packaging used being biodegradable and recyclable. A new composter is being installed to accelerate the move towards a zero-waste practice and there’ll be a new electric car scheme for employees from early 2022.
Customers of Nevis Range will be encouraged to join the climate positive journey by donating £1 towards the business’s carbon offset projects when they purchase tickets online.
“Sustainable tourism isn’t a niche trend anymore – it must be a fundamental part of our country’s tourism offering,” commented Chris Taylor of local tourism body VisitScotland.
