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Environment & Sustainability

Thredbo Powered by Renewable Energy

Thredbo Resort is committed to preserving, protecting, and prioritising our unique alpine environment. We take pride in our long list of environmental initiatives and embrace the opportunity to lead our industry and our community through our shared passion of the mountains towards a more sustainable future, today.

Thredbo is proud to announce that we have been recently awarded Gold EarthCheck certification in a first for an 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.

Thredbo Resort Awarded Gold EarthCheck Certification!
  • The Environment
    Thredbo operates within Kosciuszko National Park, one of Australia’s most beautiful and sensitive natural settings. Our innovative environmental initiatives cover all aspects of resort operations so we can preserve our unique alpine backyard for future generations.
  • Community
    Thredbo understands caring for the environment is a team effort. We work in collaboration with NPWS, Thredbo Chamber, Red Energy, Snowy Hydro, Keep It Cool, Protect Our Winters (POW) and the community to protect the mountains we value so much.
  • Leadership
    Thredbo is Australia’s first snow resort to have its major resort operations powered by renewable energy and to achieve Gold EarthCheck Certification, setting a new benchmark for environmental sustainability within the snow industry and protecting our environment into the future.
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“Becoming powered by renewable energy has been our goal for some time now and by achieving this we’ve set the environmental benchmark for Australian resorts. We are extremely proud to be at the forefront of reducing our carbon footprint into the future.”

Stuart Diver, General Manager of Thredbo

New Initiatives

Merritts Gondola
Thredbo’s new favourite ride is not only fast and comfortable, it also uses innovative green technology! Merritts Gondola is driven by an industry leading Direct Drive electric motor system, making the Gondola super quiet and more efficient than a conventional Gondola.

New Organics Recycling Machine
Thredbo’s new Closed Loop organics recycling machine has doubled our capacity in food waste recycling, allowing us to increase the number of restaurants, lodges and apartments in Thredbo taking part. Food waste recycling helps reduce the volume of waste being sent to landfill and creates a usable compost product that puts nutrients back into the soil.

Thredbo Alpine Hotel Plastic Reduction Plan
Thredbo is focused on removing all single use plastic products. Phase one has seen 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
Thredbo has invested in new SNOWsat technology to more accurately map snow depth across the resort. This means that snow grooming and snow making is more efficient, saving fuel and energy as well as enhancing your riding experience.

 

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Renewable Now

At Thredbo, we have harnessed the opportunity to lead our industry and our community toward a more sustainable future, today. Together with Red Energy and Snowy Hydro, we’re proud to be powering all our major resort operations with clean and renewable sources of energy, effective 1 July 2019.

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EarthCheck | Gold Certification

Thredbo is proud to be awarded Gold EarthCheck Certification in 2021! This internationally recognised environmental milestone is a first for an Australian ski resort and is awarded by EarthCheck, the world’s leading environmental certification and benchmarking program for the travel and tourism industry.

To achieve gold certification, Thredbo have met EarthCheck’s rigorous environmental standards across 10 key performance areas spanning greenhouse gas eEmissions, energy efficiency, conservation and management, land use planning and management and waste management.

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Keep It Cool

Keep It Cool is a local not-for-profit company based in the Snowy Mountains and run by passionate mountain goers who love our alpine playground.

You’ll find them (and us) supporting all environmental initiatives that cross their path, educating to inspire change, building a community of like-minded people to help create momentum, and planting trees locally to drawdown carbon from the atmosphere and create new habitats for wildlife.

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Greenfleet

Since 2009 Thredbo has partnered with Greenfleet to offset resort vehicle emissions including all fuel used to run our Snow Groomers and the resort shuttle buses. In total we have offset over 12,619 tonnes of carbon emissions by planting approximately 46,500 native trees.

On top of this, in a global first in 2014, Thredbo started a forestry carbon offset program for guests enabling them to purchase a tree for $4.00 when buying lift products. During the 2020 Winter season over 2,641 trees were purchased by guests to offset their drive to the snow.

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Sustainable Snowies

Caring for the environment is a team effort! Sustainable Snowies (SS) is made up of local businesses, government and community representatives that are passionate about the environment and aims to improve sustainability within the Snowy Mountains region by working collaboratively, sharing ideas and implementing on-ground projects.

Thredbo is excited to collaborate with Sustainable Snowies on various projects including reducing single use cups with the Green Caffeen system at the Bakery in the Village Square, litter prevention and more.

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2023 Sustainability Goals

Thredbo’s dedicated Environmental team is always looking for more ways we can reduce our impact on the environment through innovative waste, energy, water, and biodiversity management. By 2023 Thredbo plans to:

  • Divert at least 50% of waste from landfill
  • Offset 100% of the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the generation of electricity used in resort operations
  • Reduce town water use by 25% over 2011–12 levels
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Protect Our Winters (POW)

Thredbo is proud to be an Australian partner of Protect Our Winters (POW).

POW is a passionate crew of snow enthusiasts, professional athletes and industry partners mobilising the outdoor sports community to lead the charge towards positive climate action. The goals in collaborating with POW include raising awareness of the impact of climate change on our mountain environment and to continuously improve Thredbo’s environmental performance.

Find Out More

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Thredbo Environment Week

During the winter season Thredbo runs an Environment Week dedicated to driving awareness about our environmental initiatives and what we can be doing as a community to protect winter and Thredbo!

During Thredbo Environment Week 2021 we completed a Hike to Kosci to raise awareness about our unique alpine, discussed environmental initiatives, matched tree donations to offset carbon and more. Watch this space for updates on awesome green events coming in winter 2022…

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Biodiversity Management

Thredbo acts in partnership with the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service to protect the native flora and fauna and manage introduced species within the resort. This includes:

  • Integrated fauna crossings into any new ski slope and mountain biking trails developed by Thredbo so native species are not impacted by recreational activities
  • The planting of 4,100 native trees, shrubs, and grasses within Thredbo resort in the 2019/2020 summer season by the Environmental Services and Mountain Department, with over 50,000 planted in Thredbo in the last decade.
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Energy Management

We employ a number of strategies to keep a cap on energy usage. Some of our current initiatives are:

  • The new Merritts Gondola uses an industry leading Direct Drive electric motor system resulting in a 5% energy saving over a traditional lift drive system
  • The Easy Does It chairlift electric drive motor has been replaced with the latest “synchronous reluctance” technology drive system, significantly improving its efficiency when not working under full load
  • A new automation technology operating mode for the Snowmaking air compressors is being trialed which will save energy by automatically shutting down and restarting the compressors according to snow production requirements
  • Our snowmaking system has been progressively upgraded and automated resulting in a 40% reduction in energy use per cubic metre of snow produced
  • In 2020 the Thredbo Leisure Centre’s solar panels generated 20.6% of the total energy used by the centre (solar panels installed on the roof of the building in 2018)
  • Electric heat pumps are used to heat and cool water in the Thredbo Leisure Centre pool
  • Thredbo has a Tesla Electric Vehicle charging station in Resort for guests and staff to use – if you would like to charge your vehicle please contact the Thredbo Alpine Hotel on 02 6459 4200
  • Cogeneration and solar systems are currently being investigated to further reduce energy use
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Waste Management

We work with the community to achieve a combined recycling rate of 36% and climbing. Some initiatives to help reach this goal are:

  • Paper, cardboard, glass bottle and jar, plastic bottle, steel and aluminium can, and battery recycling – download our recycling guide
  • Organics recycling – download our guide on what food wastes you can and can’t recycle
  • Used cooking oil collected onsite is recycled into biodiesel
  • Collection of used fluorescent bulbs and obsolete or broken mobile phones for recycling
  • Biosolids from our wastewater treatment plant are used by local farmers for soil conditioning
  • Bin Your Butts! We have given out over 152,000 personal ash trays to stop cigarette butts ending up in the Thredbo river
  • Ski school uniforms were returned to the manufacturer PURE for them to reuse and recycle the materials
  • Old Thredbo uniforms are repurposed into cleaning rags used by the Engineering department
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Water Management

A significant reduction of our water usage has been achieved through the installation of low flow showers, waterless urinals, dual flush toilets and water efficient washing machines. The installation of waterless urinals alone saves 500,000 litres of water per year.

The biological and physical condition of the Thredbo River is closely monitored by the University of Canberra Institute for Applied Ecology which allows us to best manage the impacts the resort has on Thredbo River.

Thredbo uses water each year for snowmaking purposes, however the majority of this water returns to the Thredbo River each spring when the snow melts.

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Native Animals

Kosciuszko National Park is home to many native animals, some of which are rare or threatened including the Mountain Pygmy Possum and the Corroboree Frog. Help us help our native friends by reducing your impact on their home.

Injured Animals
If you injure an animal on the road within Thredbo Village, please report it to the Environmental Services Department on (02) 6459 4100. If you injure an animal on the Alpine Way or any of the region’s roads, please contact L.A.O.K.O. (Looking After Our Kosciuszko Orphans) on (02) 6456 1313.

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Policies

Click the links to check out our policies that guide the care and protection of Thredbo’s environment and heritage:

Download Thredbo 2021 Environmental and Social Sustainability Policy

Download Thredbo Environmental Destination Sustainability Action Plan

Download the Annual NSW Alpine Resorts Environmental Performance Report

Download our Environmental Initiatives 2021

Download our Sustainability Report 2021

Download Thredbo Human Rights Report 2021

If you would like to provide feedback on any of our policies contact us at info@thredbo.com.au

What Can You Do

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Get Educated

The first step to taking action against climate change and protecting the environment is to educate yourself. Jump online today.

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Get Educated

The first step to taking action against climate change and protecting the environment is to educate yourself. Jump online today.

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Travel Smart

Reduce the amount of harmful emissions entering the air by driving smart and carpooling to Thredbo.

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Travel Smart

Reduce the amount of harmful emissions entering the air by driving smart and carpooling to Thredbo.

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Greenfleet

Buy a tree for $4.00 when purchasing your lift pass courtesy of Greenfleet and Thredbo to offset the emissions of your snow journey.

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Greenfleet

Buy a tree for $4.00 when purchasing your lift pass courtesy of Greenfleet and Thredbo to offset the emissions of your snow journey.

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Reduce Plastic Usage

Invest in a water bottle and say no to plastic! Thredbo has water filling stations located across the resort for guests to use.

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Reduce Plastic Usage

Invest in a water bottle and say no to plastic! Thredbo has water filling stations located across the resort for guests to use.

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Recycle

Thredbo is responsible for recycling and so are you. Please follow all recycling guidelines in the resort to keep Thredbo clean.

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Recycle

Thredbo is responsible for recycling and so are you. Please follow all recycling guidelines in the resort to keep Thredbo clean.

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Put Rubbish In The Bin

Pick up rubbish around the resort and put it in the bin, recycling where possible. This small action makes a big difference!

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Put Rubbish In The Bin

Pick up rubbish around the resort and put it in the bin, recycling where possible. This small action makes a big difference!

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Turn Off Your Lights

Turn off your lights when you’re not using them. Electricity production is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions…every light counts!

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Turn Off Your Lights

Turn off your lights when you’re not using them. Electricity production is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions…every light counts!

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Rental

Rent instead of buying new if only using equipment for a short time. Check out our range of gravity focused enduro and downhill bikes.

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Rental

Rent instead of buying new if only using equipment for a short time. Check out our range of gravity focused enduro and downhill bikes.

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