Alpe d’Huez is awarded triple crown Eco certification.

The S.A.T.A (ski lift company) which runs the lifts and maintains the pistes at Alpe d’Huez has earned three separate levels of certification for its service management.

The company is now certified in terms of quality (ISO 9001), as well as in environmental management (ISO 14001) and security (OHSAS 18001).

“This triple certification will enable a fully integrated management system to better satisfy its clientele whilst continually bringing about improvements. It will also reinforce and up-date safety/security for clientele and personnel and recognize sources of pollution with the aim of effectively dealing with it.” said a resort spokesperson.

Alpe d’Huez is now planning a complete review of its operations to highlight issues in different projects. Different types of works are taken into consideration in order to forecast security measures and environmental issues. For example waste treatment must be managed, in particular for chemical products, so procedures need to be set up to deal with any potential pollution issues (engine failure with oil leaks, chemical products).

Impact studies concerning each potential new project will be done systematically for each project and there will be reductions in the number of new ski lift pylons, better integrating them in to the surrounding landscape.

In the resort’s town hall the community is launching a busy programme that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions via a territorial energy plan. Their commitments include measuring the resort’s current carbon footprint in 2010 so that future improvements can be measured against the current level.

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