Magazine: Targhee is ‘greenest’ ski resort
By Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
January 25, 2010
Skiing magazine has dubbed Grand Targhee Resort the greenest ski resort in a recent story about environmentally conscious ski areas.
Christina Thomure, Targhee’s director of sustainable operations, said she hadn’t received an explanation as to why Skiing named the resort “greenest.”
Thomure said other awards might have played a part in the magazine’s decision.
Targhee won Clif Bar’s 2009 Golden Eagle Award for Environmental Excellence, which is awarded by the National Ski Areas Association.
“We got that award for our work on our greenhouse gas inventory,” she said. “You have to report every source of emissions you have. Even when our employees go off site and travel, we report the mileage and estimate the amount of gasoline that’s used.”
In 2008, Targhee exceeded its levels of greenhouse gas emissions from 2007, but 2009 emissions are expected to come in below both 2007 and 2008.
The resort has a number of other eco-friendly initiatives, including buying renewable energy, getting rid of glass-bottled beverages and trying to cut its electricity use by 10 percent this year by changing the behavior of guests and employees.
The resort reduced its waste production by 8.23 tons from 2008 to 2009, approximately 9 percent, Thomure said.
The Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition also awarded the resort a “B” on its environmental report card late last year.
Officials with the Ski Area Citizens’ Coalition said the resort lost points only for a master development plan — currently on hold — that would add an additional lift up Peaked Mountain and that could result in up to 450 residential, lodging and employee housing units.
