Good green credentials

World Ski Championships was a role model for sustainable events

Thousands of fans cheered at the races.(Bild: EXPA/ PIXSELL)

The World Ski Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm set an example for sustainable major events. The NGO "Protect Our Winters" has now also given the event a good report card. 

According to the NGO Protect Our Winters, the Alpine World Ski Championships Saalbach 2025 has what it takes to become a benchmark for the sustainable organization of major events. "Everything has actually been implemented as planned," said POW Austria Managing Director Moritz Nachtschatt, referring in particular to the transport concept with free shuttles and an extended range of trains. The biggest lever was mobility, emphasized ÖSV President Roswitha Stadlober several times.

Public transport concept worked
Several dozen shuttle buses were on the way to the relevant World Cup venues in Hinterglemm, and individual mobility was kept to a minimum. Within the province of Salzburg, travel by public transport was free of charge. ÖBB as mobility partner, the province, the regional transport companies all played their part. When it came to travel options to the World Cup, the website did not even mention air travel or the nearby Salzburg and Innsbruck airports, said Nachtschatt. Although this is only a small thing, it is still remarkable.

"It shows that it is possible to organize a major event of this size as a sustainability event, although there is of course plenty of room for improvement," said Stadlober. "But we have shown that it really is feasible. But everyone has to get involved." An evaluation of the Green Event will take place soon and provide concrete figures. "They will also come from the certification, and that is also important for the next steps," explained Stadlober.

From strategies to concrete measures
Hardly any new buildings were erected in the run-up to the event. Nachtschatt said that the World Cup had also achieved a lot in terms of waste disposal and waste separation. In addition, the premise of bundling all races on one mountain, with only one finish area, is a resource-saving approach. However, this will not be possible at other potential World Championship venues due to different conditions. In principle, the FIS should therefore already apply sustainability criteria when awarding contracts and make them mandatory. "ISO certification should be an absolute must for winter sports events."

Protect Our Winters stirred up a lot of dust two years ago with its criticism of the FIS during the World Championships in Courchevel/Meribel. Julian Schütter, an ÖSV racer and POW member at the time, presented a letter signed by athletes to an FIS employee, calling for more attention to be paid to sustainability. Hundreds of signatures from athletes were added in the following weeks.

POW is now involved in the ÖSV's climate protection task force as a member of the steering group. There are definitely some concepts on the table for times outside of the Ski World Championships, Nachtschatt said. "But now it's all about implementation. The ÖSV, but also the FIS, all have their strategies by now. But now they have to take concrete measures."