STEEP x POW collaboration helps boost campaign excitement
To protect natural fields from the threat of climate change, Protect Our Winters (POW) Japan is considering what the snow community can do, and is working to raise awareness and build networks towards a decarbonized society. In December 2023, they launched the Sustainable Resort Alliance (SRA), which connects snow resorts aiming for sustainable operation with companies and individual skiers and snowboarders.
STEEP also supports this movement, and in collaboration with POW, has been running a series introducing the environmental efforts of SRA member ski resorts under the framework of "THINK SNOW," which considers the future of snow. We hope you enjoyed it.
"Keep Skiing Green" One-click Support Campaign
POW has been running a campaign with the hope of supporting ski resorts in their efforts to become decarbonized and sustainable, and to become greener ski resorts. The campaign ended at the end of March, and the results have now been announced. We are sure that many STEEP readers participated in the campaign. (Thank you very much for your cooperation!)
April 22nd is Earth Day, a day when people around the world think about the global environment.
To mark this occasion, we would like to share with STEEP users the results of POW's "Support Green Ski Resorts" campaign.
The following is from the official POW website:
■Campaign Period: December 7, 2023 - March 31, 2024
■Number of Campaign Participants: 2,615We
asked everyone to support this campaign throughout the season, and we received 2,615 messages of support for ski resorts!We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who participated in the campaign, as well as to our partners, shops, events, and others across the country who helped us implement the campaign.As
skiers and snowboarders, we have a responsibility to enjoy ourselves and play, and making our voices heard to ensure our playgrounds are greener has more power than we could have imagined.We are
currently sharing the campaign results with ski resorts that have received feedback and proposing that they join the Sustainable Resort Alliance (SRA).We hope that your voices will encourage more resorts across the country to join SRA and work together to become greener ski resorts.https:
//protectourwinters.jp/sra_campaignreport/
" Ski Resorts You Want to Support Ranking " based on the voting results
Here are some of the rankings of "ski resorts that people want to support for sustainability" across the country, based on the results of the campaign.
In addition, the results by prefecture are also published on the official website's results report page
Green (sustainable) initiatives we would like ski resorts to "
When asked about sustainable initiatives for ski resorts by users, the most common answer was "switching to renewable energy for electricity." Ski resorts are large-scale facilities, so the amount of electricity consumed by lifts, snow machines, ski centers, restaurants, etc. is on a mega-scale. If they were to switch to renewable energy for operation, it would certainly be one of the biggest actions ever. Another plus is that it would be easy for the general public to understand
There were also many voices calling for the reduction of food waste and disposable materials, which shows the high level of awareness among each user. Unlike switching to a different electricity source, reducing food waste and disposable materials is something that even individual users can contribute to. For example, don't leave any food at the ski resort, and try not to bring in disposable items as much as possible. We hope to gather many small actions together to create a big action
You will also learn that there are many sustainable initiatives that ski resorts can take. The next time you go to a ski resort, it would be a good idea to take an interest in how many of these initiatives are being put into practice
Additionally, the official website's results page also features comments from users who participated in the campaign. Be sure to check it out.
Spring Snow Riding Session & Garbage Heroine Event
April 24th (Wed) 10:00~13:00 @ Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort
Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort, a member of POW JAPAN's Sustainable Resort Alliance, will be hosting a riding session and mountain clean-up event on Wednesday, April 24th, organized by Nozawa locals and POW ambassadors Yukiko and Kenji Kono
This year's event will not only involve picking up trash, but also a riding session scheduled to begin at 10:00. Two POW ambassadors, Yukiko and Kenji Kono from Nozawa, and other ambassadors may also be joining the fun. Even in late April, there is still plenty of snow remaining in the Yamabiko area at the top of the slopes, making for some great spring skiing and snowboarding
Let's all have fun skiing together and show our gratitude for the season by picking up trash.
Anyone can join! Participation is free! (Lift tickets are at your own expense) You can join in mid-way! Let's gather in front of Nagasaka Gondola Yamabiko Summit Station at 10:00 on Wednesday, April 24th!
Wednesday, April 24, 2024, 10:00-13:00
Venue: Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort
Meet and leave: Nagasaka Gondola Yamabiko Summit Station
[Schedule]
10:00~11:00 Skiing session
11:15~12:45 Garbage collection
12:45~13:00 After sorting, group photo shoot Disband
◆Official website
of Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort: https://nozawaski.com/
Information POW JAPAN
◆Official website: https://protectourwinters.jp/
◆Official social media: Instagram ｜ Facebook ｜ YouTube