Les Gets ski resort in France began an eco-drive in 2003, recognising that they had a responsibility to preserve the environment that was the town’s raison d’etre. The 10-year plan features no grand gestures and instead revolves around what the deputy mayor calls ‘little actions’.
These actions have taken many forms. A good percentage of the village centre is now pedestrianised; street lights are less bright to conserve electricity; and the resort’s piste bashers now run on biofuels. Also, the majority of public buildings are fuelled by woodchip boilers, which are powered by renewable, locally sourced wood.
While ski holidays are by their nature damaging to the environment, it is also here in the mountains where climate change is perhaps most noticeable, with glaciers receding and the volume of snow reducing each year.