Abstract
Climate change and the call for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the efficient use of (renewable) energy, and more resilient winter tourism regions, forces ski resorts across the European Alps to look for “smart” approaches to transition towards a sustainable, low-carbon economy. Drawing on the smart-city concept and considering the different historical developments of Alpine resorts, the Smart Altitude Decision-Making Toolkit was developed using a combination of an energy audit tool, a WebGIS, and collaborative and innovative living labs installed in Les Orres (France), Madonna di Campiglio (Italy), Krvavec (Slovenia), and Verbier (Switzerland). This step-by-step Decision-Making Toolkit enables ski resorts to get feedback on their energy demand, an overview of the locally available sources of renewable energy, and insights regarding their potential for improving their energy efficiency by low-carbon interventions. The Decision-Making Toolkit is suitable for knowledge transfer between stakeholders within living labs and moreover provides the flexibility for tailor-made low-carbon strategies adapting to the unique assets and situatedness of ski resorts.
Highlights
Across the European Alps, ski resort operators strive to meet increasing energy demands for running lifts, producing technical snow, grooming slopes, and heating buildings
In order to develop the Smart Altitude approach that aims to support winter tourism regions in their transition towards a low-carbon economy and to design its step-by-step Decision-Making Toolkit that enables ski resorts to get (1) feedback on their energy demand, (2) an overview of the locally available sources of renewable energy, and (3) insights regarding their potential for improving their energy efficiency by low-carbon interventions, we have used three building blocks; energy audits, a web-based Geographic Information System (GIS) application, and livings labs
Ski resorts across the European Alps are facing challenges related to climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, and the efficient use of energy for running ski lifts, producing technical snow, grooming slopes, and heating the ski resort
Summary
Across the European Alps, ski resort operators strive to meet increasing energy demands for running lifts, producing technical snow, grooming slopes, and heating buildings. Political, economic, and environmental drivers force ski areas to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and save energy costs. In this context, improving energy efficiency, integrating renewable energies, and valorizing endogenous resources, is seen as a potential and viable strategy. A cross-sectorial consortium, including ski resort operators, regional development agencies, and research institutions, aims to create transformation knowledge by inductively developing a “smart” low-carbon approach, which identifies renewable energy potential and options for energy saving and offers a step-by-step toolkit for enabling transitions toward smart skiing in practice
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
