Sustainable slopes
Mt Hutt
TSC member Mt Hutt in Canterbury, managed by NZSki, has been voted New Zealand's Best Ski Resort four years running. We took a peek into their sustainability initiatives for 2019.
Mt Hutt Sustainability Initiatives 2019
Mt Hutt staff identified four main areas to concentrate their sustainable efforts on for 2019:
- Ecological restoration
- Waste management
- Measuring, managing and minimising carbon footprint
- Carbon reduction
Ecological restoration
Mt Hutt is aiming to become a carbon neutral ski area. To achieve this, they need to plant approximately 3000 trees every year and have started their journey to achieving this target.
Working closely with the Department of Conservation, Mt Hutt purchased 1250 native (manuka) seedlings. A water collection tank has been established in their designated planting site and they will begin planting there during spring.
NZSki has also partnered with the Kea Conservation Trust. Mt Hutt is dedicated to bringing this endangered parrot back to their native alpine environment. They have deployed a broad range of possum and stoat traps over a large area to help make Mt Hutt a safer environment for Kea to return to. They are also working with local schools and the community to raise awareness on this issue.
Waste management
Mt Hutt is taking a stand against single use items to reduce waste. They no longer offer the option of disposable coffee cups and cutlery in their food and beverage outlets. If customers want a takeaway coffee, they are advised to bring a reusable cup or can purchase one from one of Mt Hutt’s outlets. Otherwise Mt Hutt provides plenty of reusable crockery for everyone. In support of this initiative Mt Hutt installed a high-volume conveyor dishwasher and hired extra staff to help bus tables.
This year Mt Hutt leased an ORCA for food scraps. The ORCA is an organic waste disposal system which creates a perfect environment for microorganisms to digest and convert food waste into a liquid. This liquid then enters Mt Hutt's grey water system, significantly reducing the amount of waste needing to be transported off the mountain.
Staff also pre-order lunch so the Food & Beverage team can cater more accurately, reducing food waste.
Mt Hutt installed a water bottle filling station, providing fresh mountain water to guests and encouraging them to use reusable water bottles instead of buying single use plastic bottles.
Carbon reduction
Two of Mt Hutt’s snow groomers are installed with SnowSat and LiDAR technology. This provides an accurate map of the mountain and uses GPS to tell the groomers and snowmakers how deep the snow is. The snowmakers can target thin spots and groomers can more efficiently move snow from areas of high snow depth to those thinner areas, which has seen a 15% decrease in diesel and power consumption.
Mt Hutt’s biggest culprit of carbon emissions is the groomers. Mt Hutt decided to invest in the newest and cleanest groomer on the market. Their new Level Red Pisten Bully 600 emits 23 times less nitrogen oxide and 36 times fewer particulates than their older groomers.
Mt Hutt is also phasing out its smaller shuttle buses for bigger, newer and more efficient buses, taking double the staff up the mountain in one go.
Mt Hutt takes its responsibility to conserve and enrich the natural environment very seriously. “After all, our landscape is the backbone to our operations and the reason we love what we do.”
Sustainability Goals and Commitments
Mt Hutt is meeting Sustainability Business Commitments 11: Ecological restoration (Businesses contribute to ecological restoration initiatives), 12: Carbon Reduction (Businesses have carbon reduction programmes towards carbon neutrality) and 13: Waste Management (Businesses have waste reduction and management programmes).Find out more about NZSki’s sustainability initiatives.
NZSki works with local schools and the community to raise awareness on Kea conservation issues.
