“Taos Ski Valley has worked with Brendle Group on its sustainability efforts since 2014. Their expertise and guidance give us practical advice for advancing initiatives to meet our goals.” 

Dawn Boulware, Vice President of Social & Environmental Responsibility for Taos Ski Valley

Roadmap for Net Zero Carbon Emissions

Brendle Group has been actively working in the ski industry for over 25 years, with a national reputation as a leader in identifying emerging trends, big ideas, and pragmatic solutions within the ever-changing ski industry landscape. Building on this work, we supported Taos Ski Valley in the development of a Net-Zero Roadmap.

Taos Ski Valley has a strong history of sustainability leadership and successful implementation. In 2017, the resort became the first (and only) in the world to certify as a B-Corporation, displaying their commitment to social and environmental performance. We have worked with Taos Ski Valley to support their sustainability efforts since 2014. This includes developing a sustainability roadmap for the resort’s ownership team that explored opportunities to integrate sustainability into future development plans and mountain operations. We also performed energy and water audits, developed a sustainability curriculum, and provided training to staff.

In 2020 the resort announced a commitment to achieve net zero operational carbon emissions by 2030 and in 2022 we were engaged to design a roadmap that will set them on a path toward achieving that goal. Through this process, we facilitated workshops with resort staff and department leaders and conducted a survey to better understand the interest and recommendations related to carbon neutrality and broader sustainability priorities.

Impact Highlights

The objective of this effort was to develop a comprehensive and actionable roadmap that:

  • Assessed baseline emissions, broken down by source and operation.
  • Developed a forecast of emissions to 2030, accounting for utility renewable energy commitments and anticipated future growth.
  • Established six strategies and targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Analyzed the emissions reduction contribution of each strategy, along with scenarios to achieve carbon neutrality based on the level of ambition and pace of implementation.
  • Provided a timeline for implementation of the strategies outlined, including recommendations for roles and responsibilities.
  • Identified actions to build capacity across the organization and with partners.
  • Created a framework for connecting Net Zero Emissions strategies to the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) Sustainable Slopes program and for tracking progress toward Sustainable Slopes badges.

In developing a Net Zero Roadmap for a global leader in ski resort sustainability, we had an opportunity to further develop our team’s expertise around industry best practices, deepening the understanding of challenges and opportunities specific to the ski industry.