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Vail up for first certified sustainable destination title in US
Top100 sustainable destinations global award in sight
Recently, Vail hosted a special guest, one whose endorsement could help the town set a new global standard for mountain resorts. But Magdelena Muir, of Green Destinations, wasn’t judging her stay based on the best ski runs or bike trails or restaurants. She was judging on something else entirely — environmental sustainability.
Muir is an auditor for the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and the Green Destinations organization, and her visit will determine if Vail is named the nation’s first certified sustainable destination.
Green Destinations, headquartered in the Netherlands, certifies locations all across the world based on a series of sustainability guidelines. Green Destinations is approved by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and recognized by the United Nations. The weeklong audit of Vail conducted by Muir consisted of visits to major tourist attractions such as the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, Walking Mountains Science Center and White River National Forest.
Vail Village and the surrounding wilderness were assessed with rigorous criteria, including wildlife protection, transportation and infrastructure impact, water quality, waste reduction, greenhouse gas emissions and more. If Vail receives the certification, then it would be the first certified sustainable destination in America and Canada. Vail is also hoping to make the list of the Top 100 Sustainable Destinations http://greendestinations.info/top100-2016/ of 2017.
In addition to the sustainable destination certification, Vail has been working closely with Green Destinations to develop an adaptation of the sustainable destination certification designed to address the sustainability concerns specifically present in mountain-resort communities.
The new standard would be called the Mountain IDEAL (innovation, diversity, education, authenticity, leadership) and it would add additional guidelines for the water and energy usage required for snowmaking and snow melting, affordable housing and local access to natural sites. If Vail adheres to these guidelines, then it would be the first mountain resort in the world to receive the certification.
Valere Tjolle
@ValereTjolle
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