Mountain Resort Vail Is Taking Its Sustainability Efforts to New Heights
3 min
One of the largest names in the ski world is taking steps to make the industry more sustainable.
“The outdoors is our business,” says Kate Wilson, vice president of environmental and social responsibility at Vail Resorts.
Vail Resorts, a mountain resort company with a network of 41 ski resorts across four countries, set out to make a major commitment to their sustainability efforts in 2017. The intent was to achieve a net-zero operating footprint by 2030. This “Commitment to Zero” includes the ambitious goal of zero net emissions, zero waste to landfill, and zero net operating impact on forests and habitat.
“On day one, we didn’t have the road maps and plans on how we were going to get there, but we’ve since built those,” Wilson says. “And we’ve brought others in the industry with us.”
Just six years later, Vail Resorts is ahead of schedule to reach its emissions goals and on track to achieve the zero net operating footprint by 2030. The company reached 100% renewable electricity for the second year and hit its 2030 energy-efficiency target early.
Offsets are another way Vail Resorts is supporting sustainability. They have reforested over 200 acres of land since 2017 and support wind farms across the country. Plum Creek is a large-scale wind farm enabled by Vail Resorts. In its 2023 fiscal year, it produced 350,177 megawatt hours of renewable electricity, equivalent to the electricity needed to power 48,286 homes for one year.
“Sustainability and the way it is integrated into our business and operationalised with every decision that we make is something I’m really proud of,” Wilson says. “We’re not just thinking about how we, as a resort, can make an impact on climate change but how we can use our voice across our resorts, our industry, and beyond.”
Commitment to Zero gives the Vail Resorts properties one central sustainability focus. With one common goal, the company can lean into and take advantage of their enterprise network.
“At every resort we’re sharing lessons learned: ‘We did this thing in Whistler, we should do it in Park City,’” Wilson says. “That’s the power of the network and coming together to say, ‘what can we do that’s bigger than each of our resorts?’”
To further that goal of sharing lessons and ideas, Vail Resorts spearheaded The Mountain Collaborative for Climate Action in 2019. Now with over 76 resorts in the collaborative, the group works together on innovative solutions to help spread sustainability across the ski industry. Vail Resorts also partners with the National Ski Areas Association on quarterly meetings to discuss items related to green initiatives and share its experiences with an even larger group.
“There are smaller resorts that don’t have sustainability resources. We can share lessons learned, come up with solutions where we tell them, for example, how we recycle our nitrile gloves and turn them into pellets that become playgrounds,” explains Wilson. “We don’t need to own these things we want to share with others so they can take action, too.”
Developing innovative solutions for recycling and reducing landfill waste is a key part of this sustainability strategy. Initiatives to collect and upcycle waste can be easily replicated at multiple resorts. A project to collect and recycle soft plastics into decking is being piloted at various properties across the Vail Resorts mountains.
Other innovative solutions Vail Resorts has implemented include the ski industry’s only gondola-based waste removal system, a custom-designed recycling center at Vail Mountain, and a resource-efficient snowmaking system.
Vail Resorts also leans on strategic partners to assist with their green efforts. The company worked with PepsiCo, their on-mountain beverage partner, to develop a program to upcycle candy and snack wrappers into furniture and terrain park features. There’s now a Mountain Dew wallride in the terrain park at Breckenridge crafted from recycled bottles and snack packaging materials.
The company also joined together with Helly Hansen to turn old ski resort work uniforms into tote bags and ski patrol backpacks. The products were sold on behalf of their EpicPromise Employee Foundation, which provides hardship and education grants to teammates.
The employee foundation is one way Vail Resorts is expanding its efforts beyond environmental initiatives. The company has a large youth access program and hosted more than 11,000 youths across 32 properties in the 2022-23 season, according to the resort.
“We really believe the future of the sport is inclusion. We care deeply about removing some of those barriers to have people try the sport for the first time,” Wilson says.
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A long-standing cultural cruise and a new expedition-style offering will soon operate side by side in French Polynesia.
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A long-standing cultural cruise and a new expedition-style offering will soon operate side by side in French Polynesia.
3 minFrom late 2026 and into 2027, PONANT Explorations Group will base two ships in French Polynesia, offering travellers a choice between a culturally immersive classic and a far more exploratory deep-Pacific experience.
The move builds on more than 25 years of operating in the region with the iconic m/s Paul Gauguin, while introducing the expedition-focused Le Jacques Cartier to venture into lesser-known waters.
Together, the two vessels will cover all five Polynesian archipelagos — the Society, Tuamotu, Austral, Gambier and Marquesas Islands — as well as the remote Pitcairn Islands.
THE PAUL GAUGUIN: CULTURAL IMMERSION, POLYNESIAN STYLE
Long regarded as the benchmark for cruising in French Polynesia, m/s Paul Gauguin will remain based year-round in the region.
Renovated in 2025, the ship continues to focus on relaxed, culturally rich journeys with extended port stays designed to allow guests to experience daily life across the islands.
A defining feature of the onboard experience is the presence of the Gauguins and Gauguines — Polynesian hosts who share local traditions through music, dance and hands-on workshops, including weaving and craft demonstrations.
The atmosphere is deliberately intimate and internationally minded, catering to travellers seeking depth rather than distance.
Across the 2026–27 seasons, the ship will operate 66 departures, primarily across the Society Islands, Tuamotu and Marquesas, with select voyages extending to Fiji, Tonga and the Cook Islands.
LE JACQUES CARTIER: EXPLORATION AT THE EDGE
Le Jacques Cartier introduces a more adventurous dimension to PONANT’s Polynesian offering, with itineraries focused on the least visited corners of the South Pacific.
The ship will debut three new “Discovery” itineraries, each 14 nights in length, which can also be combined into a single, extended 42-night voyage — the most comprehensive Polynesian itinerary currently available.
In total, the combined journey spans six archipelagos, 23 islands and the Pitcairn Islands, a British Overseas Territory rarely included on cruise itineraries.
Unlike the Paul Gauguin’s cultural focus, Le Jacques Cartier centres on exploration.
Each day includes one guided activity led by local experts, with excursions conducted via tenders, local boats and zodiacs. Scuba diving is available on board, supported by a resident instructor.
Across the 2026–27 period, the ship will operate nine departures, offering a deliberately limited and low-impact presence in some of the Pacific’s most isolated communities.
THREE NEW DISCOVERY ITINERARIES
The new itineraries aboard Le Jacques Cartier include:
– Secret Polynesia: Unexplored Tuamotu, the Gambier Islands and the Austral Islands
– From Confidential French Polynesia to Pitcairn Island
– Polynesian Bliss: Marquesas and Tuamotu
Each voyage departs from Papeete, with prices starting from $15,840 per person.
SCOUTING THE PACIFIC’S MOST REMOTE COMMUNITIES
In preparation for the new itineraries, PONANT Explorations Group undertook extensive scouting across the Austral and Tuamotu Islands to develop activities in collaboration with local communities.
José Sarica, the group’s R&D Expedition Experience Director, worked directly with residents to design experiences including welcome ceremonies, cultural workshops and visits to marae, the region’s sacred open-air temples.
Six new ports of call have been confirmed as part of this process, spanning both the Tuamotu and Austral archipelagos.
SIX NEW PORTS OF CALL CONFIRMED
New stopovers include:
– Mataiva, known for its rare mosaic lagoon
– Hikueru, home to one of the largest lagoons in the Tuamotus
– Makemo, noted for its red-footed boobies and frigatebirds
– Raivavae, famed for its crystal-clear lagoon pools
– Tubuai, rich in marae and spiritual heritage
– Rurutu, known for limestone caves and seasonal humpback whale sightings
A DUAL EXPERIENCE, ONE DESTINATION
By pairing its long-established cultural voyages with expedition-led exploration, PONANT Explorations Group is positioning French Polynesia not as a single experience, but as two distinct journeys — one grounded in tradition and comfort, the other pushing into the furthest reaches of the Pacific.
For travellers seeking either immersion or discovery, the South Pacific is about to feel both familiar and entirely new.
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