As an airport transfer operator in the Alps, everyone at Ski-Lifts is aware that we add to pollution levels in to the local area. We are all keen skiers and snowboarders, so certainly have no wish for the snow to dry up over the next few years.
Rather than simply donating our profits to a ‘carbon neutral’ company we at Ski-Lifts have taken the decision to invest what profits we do make into making our business run as efficiently as possible. This leads to us actually producing less emissions per passenger and also gives us the added benefit of being able to be very competitive on price without compromising our quality of service.
Some examples of how we have addressed the levels of pollution we create:
- Co-operation with other transfer operators. Why should 2 minibuses from different companies go to the airport when all groups are on the same flight and could fit in 1 minibus? We have been investing a lot of time and money into making the process by which this works a lot more streamlined.
- Pioneering a shared transfer model which means that we do less trips because people share the bus with others.
- Operating transfers along linear routes, so minimizing the amount of time a minibus is running without passengers.
- Creating a booking system and service that works for holiday companies. Previously most chalet companies did their own transfers because it wasn’t cost effective to outsource to a transfer company and they didn’t receive a particularly good level of service for this high price. The fact that we can now offer a much more cost effective solution to them with a good service level has meant that more and more holiday companies are using transfer companies rather than putting extra vehicles on the road.
- We use environmentally friendly screen wash in our vehicles.
- Our drivers are trained and encouraged to drive as efficiently as possible - this has been proven to substantially reduce the amount of fuel that is used and therefore, naturally reduces emissions at the same time.
So by addressing the root cause of our pollution, and looking into how we can minimise this wherever possible we feel we are doing more for the local area than simply paying some money towards getting some trees planted in some far-flung destination. We hope you agree this was the right decision!
We admit that we have a long way to go to get where we need to from an environmental point of view, but we are focused on making it happen. We will continue to innovate and look for more efficient ways of doing what we do over the next few years. Watch this space for developments...