The Results Are In - Two Years of Sustainable Progress

In 2024, we committed to a series of sustainability measures as part of the Swisstainable programme. For those unfamiliar with the programme, Swisstainable is the sustainability programme of Swiss tourism. It brings together businesses and organisations from across the tourism sector that are committed to continuous improvement through measurable sustainability initiatives and regular review.

European Snowsport joined the programme in 2024 and has now successfully completed its first control period.

Two years later, we are pleased to report that we have successfully completed our first Swisstainable control, demonstrating meaningful progress against the commitments we made. We are also delighted to confirm that our participation in Swisstainable will continue until 20 June 2029, with a new set of measures designed to build on what we have already achieved.

Our original programme focused on three areas:

• Creating greater gender balance within our instructor team.

• Introducing snowshoeing as an alternative, lower-impact mountain activity.

• Encouraging more plant-based food choices within our programmes.

These measures were chosen because they reflected areas where we felt we could make a genuine difference while continuing to offer exceptional experiences for our guests.

One of our most ambitious goals was to improve female representation within our instructor team.

Through changes to recruitment, greater visibility of female instructors in our blogs, newsletters and social media, and a more inclusive approach to team activities and professional development, we sought to create an environment where more women would choose to join the industry and remain within it.

The results have been extremely encouraging.

At non-patente level, our instructor team moved from 66% male and 34% female in Winter 2023-24 to 47% male and 53% female in Winter 2025-26, achieving the balanced representation we had set out as our goal.

This is not the end of the journey. Our next objective is to improve representation at Patente and Brevet level, where women remain underrepresented across the industry.

In 2024 we launched our snowshoeing programme.

The aim was simple: help guests discover quieter parts of our resorts, reduce reliance on lift infrastructure, and deepen their appreciation of the mountain environment. Snowshoeing allows people to experience winter landscapes at a slower pace, often away from busy pistes and lift systems.

While the programme remains small, it was successfully launched and continues to be available to guests. We also introduced supporting blogs, newsletters and instructor awareness initiatives to encourage greater participation.

Food choices are another area where small changes can create meaningful impact.

Our commitment was to introduce more meat-free options into our children's programmes and tours. Working with our restaurant partners, we adjusted menus and increased the availability of plant-based meals.

As a result, children attending our programmes now typically receive two to three plant-based meals during a five-day programme, with no negative feedback from families.

The success of this initiative has encouraged us to continue exploring healthier and more sustainable food choices in the future.

We are particularly proud that all three of our original sustainability measures were successfully implemented and reviewed as part of our first Swisstainable control process.

The process allowed us to measure progress, identify areas for improvement, and create a new roadmap for the years ahead.

With our participation in Swisstainable continuing until June 2029, we have identified three new priority areas.

Last winter we launched a season-long ski touring programme known as The Touring Collective.

Although initial participation was limited, we strongly believe in its potential.

Ski touring provides an opportunity to explore the mountains with minimal reliance on lift infrastructure while developing a deeper understanding of the natural environment and mountain safety. Our goal is to grow the programme into a successful and viable community that helps people enjoy the mountains responsibly and safely.

Over the coming seasons we will redesign the programme based on participant and coach feedback, promote it more actively, and explore more flexible formats to encourage participation.

For many years, European Snowsport has provided adaptive lessons, helping people with physical, neurological and other challenges access the mountains.

Recently we have invested in new adaptive equipment, including a new Tessier sit-ski, supported additional staff training, and been more active in raising awareness of the programme through media partnerships and outreach activities.

Our ambition is simple: to make skiing and snowboarding accessible to more people.

These lessons are provided at a special discounted price, because we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to experience the mountains. Looking ahead, we hope to expand both the range of adaptive lessons we offer and the number of people we can support.

The third pillar of our new sustainability plan focuses on people.

This winter we are reintroducing the role of Technical Director, with responsibility for mentoring instructors, supporting qualification pathways, and delivering more than 100 hours of free instructor training, in addition to our start of season training week.

We believe sustainability is about people as much as the environment.

Helping instructors develop their skills, build long-term careers, and reach higher qualification levels creates a stronger and more stable industry for everyone.

The mountains are at the centre of everything we do.

Whether through improving equality within our workforce, encouraging lower-impact mountain activities, supporting adaptive snowsports, or helping instructors build sustainable careers, our Swisstainable programme provides a framework for continuous improvement.

The successful completion of our first Swisstainable review is an important milestone, but sustainability is something we want to keep improving year after year.

We are excited to continue this work through to 2029, building on what has worked well, learning from what hasn't, and creating more opportunities for people to enjoy the mountains responsibly.