Peak Pledge

• Incorporate sustainability into all aspects of our resorts
• Lead by example, and educate employees and guests about sustainability
• Place collaboration over competition when it comes to sustainability
• Advocate for climate protection

We will address the following priorities in our operations:

Climate Change: Action & Advocacy
Track, target and reduce carbon emissions; support climate policy that will result in broad-scale carbon emission reductions, promote energy innovation, and support the transition to a clean energy economy.

Energy
Implement energy efficiency measures, increase the use of renewable energy, and support decarbonization of the grid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change impacts.

Waste
Manage waste in a manner that reduces or eliminates greenhouse gas emissions and protects natural resources.

Transportation
Promote transportation initiatives that ease congestion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including support of electric and low emission vehicles.

Education & Outreach
Take a leadership role in sustainability education and outreach.

Supply Chain
Source energy, materials and services with low or no carbon footprint and encourage suppliers to decarbonize.

Water
Value water as a natural resource by using it as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Design & Construction
Design and construct facilities and trails to minimize impacts and complement the natural landscape.

Forest Health & Habitat
Be responsible stewards of fish and wildlife habitats and managing the forests and vegetation that support ecosystems, exceptional public recreation opportunities, and carbon sinks for greenhouse gasses.

We strive to support local organizations that bring a positive impact to our shared community and environment.

NSAA Sustainable Slopes

We are lucky to be part of a vast community of skiers and riders across the United States – more than 10 million. We share an appreciation for outdoor spaces, and an awareness of how it impacts our livelihoods and our communities. We can be leaders in climate action and advocacy by engaging our networks in conversations about expanding clean energy options, advancing climate legislation, and growing a more sustainable economy. You can join us by supporting groups that make sustainability a priority.

Learn about and support sustainability initiatives at ski areas across the country, through the National Ski Areas Association’s Sustainable Slopes Program: nsaa.org/sustainableslopes

NSAA Climate Challenge

We have been a member of NSAA’s Climate Challenge since 2021. Through the Climate Challenge we, along with dozens of resorts across the country, measure and report our direct greenhouse gas emissions each year. 

Purchasing Power

We prioritize purchasing from brands whose values align with ours, such as Mons Royale and Patagonia. We are particularly stoked about the attention that these companies pay to their supply chains as well as the limited packaging that Mons Royale uses to ship their goods to us!

Climate Transformation Alliance

Sugar Bowl | Royal Gorge participates in the Climate Transformation Alliance, which is a Truckee-Tahoe area charter started in 2022 to bring together local governments, special districts, community organizations, businesses, and individuals in achieving regional carbon neutrality by 2045. Together with the Climate Transformation Alliance, Sugar Bowl | Royal Gorge is committed to addressing the climate-related risks that face our region by developing community-wide sustainable solutions in transportation, utility management, waste, wildfire mitigation, and culture change.

Visit Truckee-Tahoe

In 2022, Sugar Bowl | Royal Gorge joined Visit Truckee-Tahoe’s Sustainable Tourism Advisory Committee. Developed in 2022, VTT’s Sustainable Tourism program sets out to protect the region’s vital tourism economy in a way that prepares our community for a more resilient and sustainable future. As leaders in the Truckee-Tahoe tourism industry, we seek to embrace and share our region’s recreation opportunities, while addressing the strains of tourism on the local community and environment.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory

We track our greenhouse gas emissions each year to understand what our most resource-intensive operations are and identify opportunities to improve efficiency. We publicly report our emissions annually to the NSAA so we may be held accountable in our GHG reduction goals.

LED Light Fixtures

To improve the energy efficiency of our operations, Sugar Bowl | Royal Gorge is transitioning to all-LED light fixtures. LED lighting puts out the same amount of light as CFL lighting at nearly half the energy usage. While it is a small step, we believe that every effort to reduce energy consumption is worthwhile as we seek to lower our carbon impact. In 2022, all fixtures in the Sugar Bowl Vehicle Maintenance Shop were upgraded to LED lighting. We seek to continuously upgrade our lighting fixtures until we achieve 100% LED lighting.

Upgraded Equipment

New Prinoth snowcats that achieve Tier 3 emissions standards.

Biomass

We are in the initial feasibility design phase of a biomass energy plant to convert underutilized woody forest material from our community’s forest health and fuels reduction projects into energy to power our buildings and lifts.

The threat of wildfire destruction is extant in our region, and it is our responsibility to ensure that our community is prepared.

Firewise USA

The Sugar Bowl Village is a Firewise community and a member of the broader Placer County Fire Safe Alliance, since 2019.
As a member community, we conduct annual defensible space audits around all community buildings, including Sugar Bowl | Royal Gorge buildings, and help our fellow community members to maintain fire safety compliance.

Forest Health

With the support of our partners, we have removed dead and dying trees, thinned excessively crowded tree growth and removed hazardous ground fuels. These projects have many positive ecological outcomes including:

• Promoting healthier living trees, particularly in times of drought
• Slowing the spread of forest maladies and pests such as bark beetle
• Protecting the donner summit community from the threat of destructive wildfire by reducing ground-level fuels and ladder fuels, keeping fire movement low and slow.

Completed Projects

• Summer of 2022 & 2023: 96 acres fuels reduction, with the support of Truckee Fire Protection District’s Measure T funding.
• Summer of 2024 & 2025: 183- acres fuels reduction, with the support of Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation funding.
• Summer of 2024 & 2025: 12-acres fuels reduction, with the support of Truckee Fire Protection District’s Measure T funding and Sugar Bowl Academy.

Before	After

We are committed to expanding our waste management efforts, through responsible disposal of recyclables, organic waste, hazardous waste, and eliminating single-use products. We encourage all employees and guests to bring reusable beverage containers whenever possible.

Resort Clean-Ups

Each year, we set time aside for all employees to grab a trash bag, gloves, and a picker and clean up the Donner Summit and Sugar Bowl mountains.