Environmental sustainability and management
Baqueira Beret,
a sustainable destination
Baqueira Beret wants to help create a sustainable future, a world that is more responsible and respectful of the environment by promoting, implementing and carrying out various activities to encourage sustainability and self-sufficiency; actions that benefit the resort itself, the natural environment around it and the visitors to the ski and mountain resort.
Different actions have been planned and implemented at the Resort to promote sustainability and self-sufficiency inside and outside the limits of the ski area. Some details are readily apparent and others may go unnoticed, but they all contribute to the common good.
Energy consumption
Optimised artificial snow production methods
In recent years, Baqueira Beret has been committed to improving the Resort's capacity to innovate, prioritising snow production and lower energy consumption. The actions taken in this area led to a 33% reduction in energy consumption.
All these cannons are controlled from the Resort's machinery rooms, which in recent years have also had several elements upgraded, such as frequency converters and pipes, resulting in 20% less consumption compared to the original components.
Efficient lighting
One of the pillars in reducing energy consumption is lighting, which is why Baqueira Beret has also made improvements in this regard.
In recent years, lighting has been upgraded in the gondola lift parking, with the old fluorescent lights replaced with tubes that use LED technology, reducing their original consumption by 20%.
Hotel Montarto: efficient insulation and lighting
A set of actions that, as we can see, involve not just the ski elements of the resort, but that also carry over to its restaurants and hotels, such as the Montarto Hotel, where, during the first phase of the comprehensive remodelling, different improvements were made to the energy efficiency and insulation, reducing heat and energy consumption by 10%: low-wattage lighting, new windows, intelligent heating control, improved tiles and changes in the boiler room for heating consumption.
Improved insulation in the restaurants
The windows in the 5 Jotas Restaurant were replaced to reduce energy use, and resources were allocated in the Cafeteria 2.200 to reduce the electricity used for heating and improve the insulation; a set of measures that also applies to the electricity used in the ski lifts.
Waste management and recycling
A ski resort such as Baqueira Beret generates a considerable amount of waste, which must be managed effectively. This is yet another pillar that underpins the environmental sustainability and management policy of the resort in the Valle de Arán and Valls d'Áneu.
Recycling in restaurants and works
In recycling waste from works (taken to landfills in a controlled manner), recycling in restaurants and cafés (providing separate waste collection points for both customers and workers), the commitment to reusable passes (replacing the old single-use passes with reloadable cards), with the aim of reducing waste and the emissions created manufacturing them, and in wastewater management
Reloadable instead of single-use passes
Two seasons ago, Baqueira Beret switched to reloadable passes, replacing the old, single-use format with the reloadable BaqueiraPASS and BaqueiraTICKET cards in order to reduce waste and the emissions associated with their production
Preserving the mountain and environmental impact
We at Baqueira Beret resort are aware of how important it is to preserve the mountain and minimise the environmental impact of all our activities, which is why, before any project is undertaken, we conduct a detailed environmental study to ensure the best integration with the environment.
As part of the resort's operations, the terrain that has been altered from its natural state has been replanted, laying down topsoil and sowing grass to restore the affected landscape; pipes have been built to collect rainwater and snowmelt so they do not cause uncontrollable erosion within the resort; and helicopters are used to transport works and construction elements, or to upgrade the ski lifts, instead of using the slopes and paths, thus reducing the environmental impact.