Environmental Program
A Message From Our Environmental Coordinator
Outdoor recreation thrives on the beauty of pristine surroundings. Balancing recreation and environmental conservation is one of our most challenging tasks. It is also one of our most important. As a permit holder on the Deschutes National Forest we are devoted to preserving the quality of our environment.
Mt. Bachelor has been at the forefront of the environmental movement within the ski industry. Over the past decade we have developed a strong environmental presence that has brought us to a leading position within the industry. This year and for several years past, the Ski Area Citizen’s Coalition awarded Mt Bachelor as one of the top 10 environmentally conscientious resorts in the USA.
We must be vigilant and forward thinking about the issues of solid waste, transportation, resource conservation and environmental impressions. Our work is ongoing with enhanced efforts this year. The team is analyzing the mountain’s current environmental efforts including waste and recycle management, petroleum product use, renewable energy credit applications, retrofit of energy efficient lighting and reuse of materials among other studies. In addition, the Company hired a team of climatologists to conduct a study over Mt Bachelor that will help us determine a timeline and road map of what we need to do to reduce our carbon footprint and preserve winter.
New Awards This Year:
Green Power Leadership Award 
The annual awards recognize the country’s leading green power purchasers for their commitment and contribution to advancing the development of the nation’s voluntary green power market. EPA presented Powdr Corp with the award at an event held in conjunction with the 2008 National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference in Denver, Colorado in October 2008. read more...
TOP 10 Resort on Ski Area Environmental Scorecard
The Ski Area Environmental Scorecard is the only non-industry, independent mechanism that gives skiers and boarders a way to assess the environmental performance of their favorite resorts. By choosing environmentally friendly ski areas, you can encourage all resorts to improve thier policies.
The 2007/2008 Scorecard includes the latest information on resorts that are:
Impacting Roadless Areas
Logging Old Growth Forests
Purchasing clean, renewable wind energy
Using cleaner burning, biodegradable biodiesel
and much more
Renewable Energy Credits
MT. BACHELOR PURSHASES 100 PERCENT OF POWER FROM RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
The RECs come in the form of wind, biomass, solar, small hydro and geothermal power sources from Renewable Choice.
• Purchasing 7,178,874 kWh of Renewable Energy Credits from Renewable Choice
• Purchasing 660,371 kWh of REC’s through Mid-State Electrics Environmentally Preferred Program
• Total renewable energy commitment is 7,839,245 kWh annually
• Reduces Mt. Bachelor’s carbon footprint by 113.6 Percent
• Saving enough electricity to meet the annual energy demands of 570 average households
• Mt Bachelor alone will reduce more than 9,784,000 pounds of CO2 emissions 
• Equivalent to not consuming 10,322 barrels of oil
• Equivalent to not burning 4.5 million pounds of coal
• Equivalent to not driving 10.68 million miles in an average car
COMPANY-WIDE AMONG POWDR CORP RESORTS TRANSLATES TO:
• 50 million kWh of Renewable Energy Credits
• Reducing more than 85 million pounds of CO2 emissions
• Equivalent to not consuming 70,890 barrels of oil
• Equivalent to not burning 31,042,224 pounds of coal
• Equivalent to not driving 73,367,232 miles in an average car
POWDR Corp is the second largest REC purchaser among the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) partners in the travel and leisure category.
Bio-fuel
Beginning last season, Mt Bachelor recycles used cooking oil for the production of bio-fuel. The fuel is used regionally to help are area and neighboring counties reduce their carbon footprint. Check back for stats and progress as we track our usage and distribution this season.
Green Tags 
For guests who do not ride Mt Bachelor’s biodiesel-powered shuttle buses, the resort offers a way to offset the carbon emissions an average car will release in the drive to the mountain. Mt Bachelor’s guests can get involved on a personal level by purchasing small amounts of clean renewable electricity through purchasing SkiGreen Offsets. The purchase of a single mini-offset tag ($2) is equivalent to diverting 150 pounds of greenhouse gases or 3 round trip excursions between Mt Bachelor and its base village of Bend or Sunriver. A $20 SkiGreen Offset diverts 1500 pounds of greenhouse gases, equivalent to 34 round trips between Mt Bachelor and its base villages.
Sustainable Slopes
As members of the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) we support Sustainable Slopes, the Environmental Charter of ski areas. According to the NSAA Environmental Mission Statement, "Ski areas across North America provide a quality outdoor recreation experience in a manner that complements the natural and aesthetic qualities that draw all of us to the mountains. We cherish the outdoors and respect the alpine environment in which we live and work. We are committed to improving environmental performance in all aspects of our operations and managing our areas to allow for their continued enjoyment by future generations.
Our efforts go far beyond supporting the NSAA Environmental charter or backing S.139 the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act. At Mt Bachelor it begins with participation in the annual Sustainable Slopes self-assessment.
Keep Winter Cool
For a business based on winter sports, it is imperative that we do our part to Keep Winter Cool. A major cause of Global Warming is greenhouse gas, or increased carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, in the atmosphere. Through the quantitative data we submit for the Sustainable Slopes Annual Report we can measure our success in reducing greenhouse gases:
• Mt Bachelor Super Shuttle runs on biodiesel and reduces more than seven million pounds of greenhouse gases annually by providing reducing the number of cars going to and from the resort.
• Super Shuttles diverted 1.7 million employee and guest vehicle miles annually from the road last season
• On-mountain recycling by guests diverted 19 tons of garbage annually from area landfills last season
• On-mountain recycling by employees diverted 30 tons of garbage annually from area landfills last season
Other endeavors Mt Bachelor does to reduce the carbon footprint:
• Use of partially recycled paper products in all restrooms
• Recycling containers in F&B locations
• Use of non-petroleum based cleaners for housekeeping
• Use of wax-free recycled paper for insulated cups in F&B locations
• Reuse of existing signs and sign materials
• Use of “Green” cleaning agents for vehicles
• Retrofit of lighting to low power devices as lights are replaced
• Remodel of kitchen facilities to allow for china service
• F&B requires suppliers to supply company environmental policies as part of bid
• Use of bulk container food items for kids ski school lunches
• Bulk cardboard recycling at retail from supplier packaging
• Distribution of job applications via email instead of paper
• No idling program
No Idling Program
A professor at Dartmouth’s Thayer College of Engineering found that for every hour spent idling, a vehicle discharges 9.7 pounds of carbon emissions (diesel engines emit 19 pounds). Multiply that by 15 or 20 cars, buses and SUV’s in the drop-off area of most ski resorts and the carbon emissions add up! 
Mt Bachelor instilled a No Idling program in December 2007 to reduce pollution, decrease health risks, save engine wear, and conserve fuel and money. Further consideration for this program was inspired by children, as the drop-off area is frequented by kids who are at higher risk as they inhale more air per body weight.
