Skiers and snowboarders once chose a resort by looking at how many kilometres of piste it had or its après-ski attractions. Now, a growing number of eco-savvy holidaymakers check the resort’s green credentials before booking.

In the face of growing evidence of the effects of climate change on mountain environments — glacial melt and unreliable snow conditions among them — resorts and holiday firms are starting to do their bit. But will this have an impact or is it just a case of “greenwashing”?

Patrick Thorne, one of the industry’s leading green campaigners, was recently named as one of the 50 people to know in travel by The Times.

Thorne began collecting information on the green credentials of resorts and companies two years ago, which the Ski Club of Great Britain hosted on its website as part of the club’s Respect the Mountain campaign.

“I felt that the green advice being put out by some organisations was often rather limp or was a token gesture to appear eco-friendly,” he says.

Thorne has created a dedicated site, SaveOurSnow, for the database. “I wanted it to be independent of the ski industry so I couldn’t be accused of having a vested interest,” he says. The site depends on contributions for survival.

Aspen in Colorado — a winner in the 2006 First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards — is often hailed as one of the greenest resorts. It recently published its sixth report on sustainability, which looks at many thorny issues, including how the resort can justify expanding its ski area to why senior resort executives have been driving large four-wheel drives. (The cars were received under a sponsorship deal, they point out, and the resort hotels say they make more sense for moving larger numbers of guests and luggage.)

Vail Resorts, the company behind Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, and Keystone in Colorado and Heavenly in California, has announced that it is embracing wind power. Other ski resorts have used wind power in a limited way, but Vail Resorts’ commitment goes further: it plans to switch over its entire operation, from lifts and mountain restaurants to resort hotels. This doesn’t mean that you’ll see wind farms popping up over Ajax and Buttermilk mountains. Instead, the company will offset its power needs by getting wind-generated electricity pumped into the national grid elsewhere. Vail Resorts is now America’s second biggest buyer of wind power.

It’s not just Americans who are going green. A new ski school in Val d’Isère, Progression Ski (www.progressionski.com), claims to be the “first environmentally friendly snow sports school in the world”. The school has joined the 1 per cent for the Planet campaign. Members donate 1 per cent of turnover to the charity, which is then spent on environmental initiatives.

The school is not just passing this cost on to skiers and snowboarders — its prices are the same as other British-run schools in the resort.

Are skiers and snowboarders really keen on being green? The school’s founder, Ken Smith, says: “Probably not, but if you ask experienced skiers if they have seen a noticeable change in snowfall and seasonal timings, I am sure that everyone would say that they have.”

Thorne is more positive. He says: “I think, as in all aspects of life, that most people want to do their bit to help the environment and feel less guilty if they feel they are doing something. In reality, though, virtually all of us are increasingly contributing to climate change in our own little way more than our gestures at eco-friendliness are cutting our contributions.”

How to be a greener skier

• Take up cross-country skiing, which has little negative impact on the mountain.
  
  
• Travel to the Alps by train — see www.raileurope.com and www.eurostar.com.
  
  
• Pick a holiday from the Association of Independent Tour Operators ski directory (0207-844 9280) — all members have signed up to a responsible tourism policy.
  
  
• The new Green Resort Guide from the Ski Club of Great Britain outlines what environmental measures resorts are taking.
  
  
• In the US, check the resort has signed up to the Sustainable Slopes Campaign run by the National Ski Areas Association.
  
  
• Avoid lower-lying resorts that use fake snow — snowmaking can draw water from lakes and rivers.
  
  
• From The Times Holiday Handbook — The Essential Trip-Planning Guide, by Cath Urquhart (Navigator Guides, £12.95), available for £11.50, postage free, from The Times BooksFirst (0870 1608080, www.booksfirst.co.uk).
  
  Green or mean?
  
  Patrick Thorne’s SaveOurSnow database grades resorts from one to five stars for their “greenness”, based on criteria such as policies on climate change, waste reduction and recycling, the use of cleaner fuels and other measures.
  
  Only seven resorts from more than 200 gained top marks. Surprisingly, or perhaps not if you believe Thorne’s greenwashing claims, the resorts that trumpet their green credentials most are not those with five-star ratings — Aspen gets four stars and Vail just three.
  
  In fact, only two resorts get five stars and have environmental policies in all the areas for which Thorne collates information — Neustift in Austria and Saas Fee in Switzerland.
  
  And the worst? Seven resorts get only one star. All three of Bulgaria’s major resorts — Bansko, Borovets and Pamporovo — feature, along with Courmayeur in Italy, Kirchdorf (Austria), Kopaonik (Serbia) and Lecht (Scotland).

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