NB : As the ski areas are operated under public service concessions, the delegating authorities are the final decision-makers in some cases: these commitments are therefore made subject to their agreement, with the CDA undertaking to submit proposals that are consistent with the commitments set out below.
* Implementing our environmental commitments means deploying the resources, within the confines of our expertise, for more specific research in areas where consensus has not yet been reached.
By way of example, in two CDA ski area catchment areas, artificial snow temporarily withdraws between 0.4% and 1.9% of the annual volume of water in these catchment areas [1]. No groundwater is withdrawn.
In addition, one “skier-day” in one of the CDA ski areas uses an average of around 352 litres of water/day [2], i.e. 2,112 litres per skier-week (six days’ skiing). Approximately 90% of this withdrawal (rainwater and meltwater) is returned in full to the natural environments of the same catchment areas within a maximum of 2 to 6 months (when it melts), thus helping to slow down the water cycle, while the remaining 10% is returned to the atmosphere by evaporation/sublimation. [3]
One “visitor day” in one of our leisure parks uses around 100 litres of water [4], whereas an “overnight stay” in our MMV accommodation uses around 139 litres of water [5] per day (with zero “emergence” compared with the average French person’s home consumption [6]).
For reference and by way of comparison (water footprint), the production of a single kilo of apples requires 700 litres of water, with almost 900 litres required for one kilo of bananas and 17,000 litres for one kilo of chocolate. [7]
[1] 1.9% Hydroski Project – preprint Table 1 (focus on the Frasses catchment area: 471 ha and 15.2% of the area covered by ski slopes: Withdrawal to fill reservoirs: 144,000 m3 vs. 7,467,000 m3 of available resources in the catchment area.
[2] CDA annual CSR reporting, excluding STGM and Sevabel, where artificial snow-making is managed by independent operators.
[3] See section 5.4.1 Water losses due to thermodynamic effects (evaporation and sublimation)/Observations and modelling of interactions between snow conditions and the activity of ski resorts in the French Alps/ UGA/P. Spandre.
[4] CDA annual CSR reporting, Universal Registration Document.
[5] Company data, MMV senior management.
[6] https://www.eaufrance.fr/chiffres-cles/volume-deau-potable-consomme-par-habitant-par-jour-en-2016 (average annual per capita consumption of drinking water was 147 litres/day in 2019).
[7] https://www.save4planet.com/ecologie/159/nombre-litre-eau-aliment/ (refers to the quantity of water consumed directly or indirectly in the manufacture of these products).
Voluntary action to restore damaged ecosystems. Phase-out the use of pesticides at CDA leisure parks by 2024. The ski areas no longer use this type of product.
It should be recalled that Compagnie des Alpes was the first company in France to stop using fossil fuels for its snow groomers. This pledge has been implemented since the beginning of the 2022/2023 winter season in all the mountain areas operated by Compagnie des Alpes (in cases involving the slope management service, the Group has offered to bear the additional costs).
The HVO 100 solution, which is made from 100% biowaste (used cooking oils, excluding palm oil) and reduces 90% of the GHG emissions [1] generated by grooming, is a transitional solution until the development of a solution to reduce the remaining 10% is at a sufficiently advanced stage.
[1] https://www.neste.be/fr/diesel-renouvelable-neste-my
Average value based on ADEME: 0.544 kg CO2 eq./litre (HVO 100/used cooking oil (UCO)/no land use change). HVO 100 is produced exclusively from recycled waste; as such, it is not a conventional biofuel. It can be considered to cause zero land use change, in line with the Renewable Energy Directive.
