Serre Chevalier Highlights Circular Economy and Sustainability
Serre Chevalier ski resort is committed to a circular economy and pursues its commitment to an increasingly sustainable model in mountain regions.
The teams at Serre Chevalier Vallée have developed and implemented a renewable energy generation program that is now one of the most advanced energy transition projects in European ski resorts. By successfully meeting 34% of its annual energy needs with three renewable energy technologies (hydropower, photovoltaics, and small wind turbines), Serre Chevalier Vallée, a subsidiary of Compagnie des Alpes, has paved the way for a new model. It has become a laboratory for many ski resorts, which are now drawing inspiration from its expertise in renewable energy and applying it to their own areas.
With this chapter of renewable energy closed, the Serre Chevalier Vallée teams took on a new challenge two years ago: structuring the circular economy in the ski area. This new ecological and societal challenge is based on three fundamental pillars: reducing resource consumption, reusing everything possible, and recycling materials at the end of their life cycle—all with innovative and repair-friendly solutions.
The Serre Chevalier ski resort began changing its purchasing policy, favoring a reuse approach: Damaged items are repaired wherever possible, or parts no longer in use are dismantled to build a stock of used goods and spare parts. Suppliers and purchases now prefer those whose parts, machinery, and tools are more durable and easily repairable.
Concrete examples from the last two years in the area of infrastructure and management of the ski area:
• During the dismantling of the Fréjus gondola, the old valley and mountain stations were dismantled and sold at low cost to a farmer and a craftsman from the valley, who converted them into two warehouses.
• The wood from the old Fréjus gondola stations was fully reclaimed: 700 m² of valuable, 60-year-old larch. This is being reused by SCV and made available to local residents for various joinery and interior and exterior finishing projects, thus replacing the purchase of new wood, often imported from Austria.
• Of the 450 sets of work and ski clothing worn by the SCV teams, over 100 were repaired last year, extending their lifespan by a year.
• The old film and geotextile from a storage basin were neatly dismantled and rolled up for 100% reuse: a total of 8,000 m². These materials were used for internal purposes and provided free of charge to SCV employees, who transformed them into trailer tarps or firewood stack covers. The remainder is offered to the valley's residents.
• SCV now systematically inventories all recovered materials and decides within three years on their use—either for its own use, for sale, or for redistribution. The principle: Nothing is thrown away without first considering its possible use.
Future projects:
• Creation of a resource center: The goal is to establish a resource center within a year to engage with the local ecosystem and promote improvement, repair, and reuse. This center will be open to employees and residents of the valley. An existing building has already been identified and is being converted for this purpose.
• Structuring the used parts warehouse and online platform: SCV has acquired inventory management software that allows online presentation and external accessibility. The primary goal is to provide a used parts warehouse for professionals. The project aims to maximize reuse and avoid waste. In the long term, SCV also plans to open the platform to other companies in the sector, allowing them to consolidate their inventory and make it accessible online.
Serre Chevalier is also one of the first ski resorts to apply the concept of retrofitting in the mountains: reusing and modernizing existing infrastructure instead of installing new ones. For example, the steel from the Eychauda quad chairlift was used to replace the neighboring Cibouït chairlift. This avoided the production of new materials and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Two snow groomers were also retrofitted and put back into service for two more seasons. This approach complements other initiatives, such as the use of plant-based alternative fuels (HVO) for all snow groomers (up to 80% less CO₂ emissions) and the testing of electric snow groomers.
Over the years, Serre Chevalier Vallée has become a laboratory for sustainable mountains and the circular economy in major ski resorts. Its practices point the way for other ski resorts in terms of reducing environmental impact, intelligent equipment management, and raising awareness among both visitors and professionals.
Key figures:
• 34% of the ski area's energy needs were met by renewable energy.
• 700 m² of reclaimed wood were reused locally.
• 100 pairs of repaired workwear = 25% of the inventory.
• 8,000 m² of tarpaulins and geotextiles were reused.
• A resource center was created.
• A digital platform for used parts was shared by several ski areas.
• Infrastructure and snow groomers were retrofitted, using HVO fuel, and electric snow groomers were tested.
