Michigan ski areas embrace "green"

The slopes of Michigan’s ski areas may be blanketed in white, but resort officials across the state are increasingly going “green.”

There’s good reason. The ski season is shrinking. Winter has become shorter and average temperatures have become higher throughout the season, prompting resorts in Michigan and across the country to rely more and more on snowmaking. 

“Everyone in the ski industry is concerned about climate change. It’s a global worry,” says Jim MacInnes, chief executive officer of Crystal Mountain near Traverse City. “The shorter winter means we have to rely more on snowmaking, but even that window is getting shorter. We’ve continued to invest in snowmaking equipment to make things more efficient and faster.”

Crystal Mountain is among the many Michigan ski areas striving to “green” their operations to reduce their carbon footprint and become more environmentally friendly. Efforts vary among ski areas, but reducing energy use and waste, installing more efficient snow-making equipment and heating and cooling systems, and improving land development are common.

With a few exceptions, Michigan’s ski areas are primarily located in the state’s rural areas. The state is home to about 50 ski areas, about the same number as New York State, stretching from Metro Detroit to the far reaches of the Upper Peninsula. They’re a big part of Michigan’s winter tourism industry, which generated $3.6 billion in traveler spending in 2020.

Crystal Mountain has long been an environmental advocate.

Situated just off the shores of Lake Michigan, Crystal Mountain was the first in the Midwest to have a LEED-certified spa. The 1,500-acre resort, set amid Benzie County’s rolling hills and woods, also was the first to invest in wind energy credits, MacInnes says. Today, Crystal Mountain buys about 60 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, through a contract with the local power cooperative, Cherryland Electric Cooperative.

The resort’s other efforts include the installment of public EV chargers -- the first in northern Michigan -- geothermal heating and cooling system in a recent addition to the Inn at the Mountain and replacing incandescent lights with LED lights across its facilities. LED lighting uses significantly less energy and lasts longer. 

“The payback on that switch was less than a year,” says MacInnes, a proponent of EVs who drives a Tesla Model S.  “We save enough electricity to charge a Chevy Volt for 200,000 miles. That’s a lot of electricity. Changing lights is capturing low-hanging fruit. Anybody can do that. It’s very inexpensive now. It’s one of the easiest and best things you can do to reduce energy consumption.”

A newly released report by the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information provides data about changing climate conditions in Michigan and the other 49 states. In Michigan, temperatures have risen almost 3 degrees since the start of the 20th century, according to the report. Unprecedented warming is projected for this century, as well as increases in winter and spring precipitation, which could adversely impact springtime planting and crop yields. Higher temperatures will mean higher evaporation rates, affecting the water levels of the Great Lakes, leading to “serious serious environmental and socioeconomic impacts,” according to the report.

“While there is a longer term trend of warming, so far we have been able to hold our own in terms of snowmaking and business has never been better,” MacInnes says. “In the winter, our night snowmaking temps have not changed much except that we get fewer very cold nights, as the data shows.”

The Michigan Snowsports Industries Association, which represents the state’s 50 ski areas, also is taking action. The non-profit organization advocates for sustainable practices, encourages members to take action and works to educate its members and their guests about the effect climate change is having on skiing and snowboarding. 

The organization offers a Sustainability Certification Program, awarding various levels of certification to ski areas that meet certain criteria in four categories: waste management, energy efficiency, environmental protection and education and advocacy. Under waste management, for example, measures include establishing recycling and composting programs, changing single-use products to bulk.
Climate change is an industry-wide concern.

The National Ski Areas Association, a trade organization for ski area owners and operators, reports more than 200 ski areas nationwide have endorsed its Sustainable Slopes Environmental Charter, a program relaunched in 2020. The association started a grant program in 2009 to provide cash and in-kind funding to support sustainability projects at member ski areas. So far, $671,220 in cash and in-kind funding has been awarded to ski areas seeking to reduce their footprint and increase their environmental stewardship.

Boyne Resorts, which operates two ski areas in northern Michigan, Boyne Mountain and The Highlands, also has been working to reduce its carbon footprint and become more energy efficient. The company was among the recipients of a snow-making efficiency grant from the national association last year. 

Its commitment to expand the use of renewable energy is evident to passersby on M-75, where Boyne Resorts has installed a 1.7-megawatt solar array -- rows of solar panels -- that will provide 15 to 17 percent of adjacent Boyne Mountain Resort’s year-round electricity needs. The array was constructed in partnership with CMS Enterprises, the Boyne Falls resort’s energy supplier. The system stands to power the equivalent of the resort’s 300 homes and condominiums and serves as pilot for installation at other Boyne Resorts’ properties. 

The solar array, however, is part of a much loftier goal. Boyne Resorts wants to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030. That goal, outlined in its “ForeverProject,”  has been accelerated by eliminating about 70 percent of the company’s carbon footprint driven by its electrical usage.

“Human driven climate change is an urgent issue for the world and most certainly for the snowsports industry,” Stephen Kircher, president and CEO of Boyne Resorts, said in announcing the plan last year. Kircher and MacInnes recently co-authored an opinion column calling on the federal government to hasten the switch to renewable energy and to impose a carbon tax on polluters. 

Other “green” efforts at Boyne Resorts include electric golf carts, recycling programs and the use of LED lighting in all buildings. Earlier this month, The Highlands promoted Ski Today For a Better Tomorrow, a community appreciation and environmental event.

Skiers and snowboarders had all-day access to the slopes for just $15. Discounts were offered on equipment rentals, dining, ziplining, Sno-Go bikes, and horseback trail rides. Proceeds benefited two regional environmental groups, the Little Traverse Conservancy and Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council. 

“Sustainability has always been important to The Highlands,” says Mari Kissinger, director of sustainability at The Highlands. “We have been passionate about energy efficiency in our snowmaking, our golf course operations, and throughout our lodges. We are proud to offset our electrical consumption 100% through the purchase of renewable energy credits, and are engaged with waste reduction, recycling and composting throughout the resort.”

Vail Resorts, a Colorado-based resort company with ski areas across the country, including Mt. Brighton in southeastern Michigan, also is committed to achieving a zero net operating footprint by 2030, through zero net emissions, zero waste to landfills and a zero net operating impact on forest and habitat.

“We’re well on our way to achieving our Commitment to Zero goal. We’ve reached 85 percent renewable electricity across our North American resorts, including Mt. Brighton,” says Pamela Hoye, a Vail Resorts spokeswoman.

Vail Resorts has also pledged $25 million to achieve 15 percent energy efficiency savings across all of its resorts. Investments have been made in key areas -- snowmaking, buildings and lifts. At Mt. Brighton, the company is replacing older, inefficient interior lighting with new LED lighting.

To further underscore the message and its effort, Vail Resorts joined with Boyne Resorts, Alterra Mountain Company and POWDR to create the Climate Collaborative Charter, the ski industry’s first unified effort to combat climate change. They’re using their collective voice to advocate for effective public policy on climate change.

“Climate change is a world problem,” Crystal Mountain’s MacInnes says. “We need to think big. One of the things I’ve been thinking about is that we need to access clean energy from a lot of places. We need a nationwide transmission system. If we are really serious about developing clean energy, we need to go well beyond Michigan and access clean energy from other states and regions.”