By Courtney LaBrie, Director of Sustainability, National Ski Areas Association

Over the past year, ski areas of all sizes have demonstrated that prioritizing sustainability is not only achievable and practical, but also essential to ensuring a resilient future for snowsports.

In my role at the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), I lead our organization’s sustainability work and have the great opportunity to learn about the innovative and impactful work ski areas across the country are undertaking every day. Sustainability remains a top priority, with ski areas embracing collaboration over competition, working towards innovative and impactful goals, and joining industry-wide efforts in record numbers.

There are now 230 ski areas that have joined NSAA’s Sustainable Slopes program, which is a ski area specific framework and commitment to responsible operations in key areas such as energy, water, waste, and forest health. The addition of more than 20 ski areas in the past two years highlights strong momentum and clear commitment from the ski industry to address sustainability collectively.

NSAA’s Climate Challenge program, which has been ongoing for 14 years, is another area where climate action continues to advance. This program helps ski areas reduce their carbon footprint and raise their voice for climate action. Climate Challengers get access to technical support and a public reporting platform to develop, target, and reduce GHG emissions at their ski area, as well as special advocacy opportunities to engage their regional and national policymakers on climate solutions. The most recent season (2024-25) saw the highest ski area participation to date with 37 ski areas reporting through the program. A significant number of emissions reduction projects (97) were reported and Challenger ski areas completed over 200 different climate advocacy actions – everything from meeting with elected officials to engaging guests on climate.

On the climate advocacy front, business leaders within the ski industry stepped up this past March to join the 2025 Ceres LEAD (Lawmaker Education and Advocacy Days) event in Washington, D.C. This year’s LEAD focused on championing the local importance of the various clean energy and transportation incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as budget reconciliation was underway. NSAA and ski areas turned out strong, having many meetings with elected officials on both sides of the aisle. The ski industry’s long-standing advocacy for the clean economy investments in the IRA, including participation in LEAD, likely helped mitigate cuts to these incentives and boost action by leaders who fought to support the clean energy tax credits during budget reconciliation. Most recently, NSAA’s government relations staff, Board of Directors and State Ski Association leaders converged in Washington, D.C. for Hill meetings with elected officials to promote the interests of the ski industry, including climate.

As a final highlight, NSAA also collects data from ski areas every year in the Kottke End of Season & Guest Experience Report. In the 2024-25 report, NSAA tracked several key sustainability practices at U.S. ski areas, including the use of clean and renewable energy, emissions and waste reduction goals, and broader environmental investments. The results highlighted a strong commitment to climate action across the industry including:

  • On average, ski areas sourced 46% of their electricity from clean energy during the 2024/25 season
  • Nearly four out of five ski areas (79%) reported having a stated objective to transition to 100% clean or renewable electricity
  • Over half (51%) of ski areas have made direct investments in waste reduction efforts
  • Many ski areas partner with their local communities on wildfire resilience (39%) and have a water management plan (41%)

With the health of our mountain landscapes inextricably linked to the ski experience, the ski industry has long committed to finding pathways to a sustainable and resilient future for our sport. We are passionate about protecting our natural resources through forward-thinking stewardship and will continue to work together as an industry to promote climate solutions and action.

Note: NSAA is the trade association for ski areas. It represents over 330 alpine resorts that account for more than 90% of the skier/snowboarder visits nationwide. Additionally, it has several hundred supplier members that provide equipment, goods and services to the mountain resort industry. NSAA provides resources, data, education, and opportunities for collaboration to the ski industry, while working to raise the collaborative voice of the ski industry on relevant issues, including climate.

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About the Author – Courtney LaBrie is the Director of Sustainability for the National Ski Areas Association, which is the trade association for the ski industry representing over 330 ski areas across the United States. Courtney brings over nine years of experience in the sustainability field, beginning with her work at the Sierra Club, where she supported organizational chapters nationwide. She earned her MBA with a focus in Corporate Sustainability from Colorado State University’s Impact MBA program, serving during that time as a Sustainability Fellow at Denver International Airport. Since then, she has worked as an ESG consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and served as a Sustainability Board Member and Vice Chair for the City of Edgewater. Today, Courtney is excited to support the impactful sustainability efforts of NSAA and its members.