Reducing Travel Emissions in Snow Sports: Insights from the Freeride World Tour (FWT)

Since 2019, the Freeride World Tour (FWT) has steadily advanced its sustainability efforts, focusing on three key pillars: the environment, gender equality, and safety.   

At the heart of FWT’s environmental pillar lies one critical challenge: mobility. For instance, around 70% of the FWT’s emissions are attributed to transportation, with 57% linked to fans traveling to events. Similar figures are seen across the ski industry, where travel can account for up to 66% of total emissions from a one-week ski trip.   

The FWT stood out for its proactive approach to addressing this challenge, creating a valuable opportunity for exchange and collaboration with the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). Through discussions with Sustainability Manager Alicia Cenci, FIS and the FWT explored various approaches to tackling travel-related emissions and shared perspectives on practical solutions currently being developed across the snow sports sector. The objective is to encourage collaboration, exchange experiences, and collectively advance sustainability efforts across the broader winter sports community. 

The Problem: Confronting Travel as the Main Source of Emissions in Snow Sports

Over the past four to five years, the FWT has measured its carbon footprint, revealing that travel is by far the largest source of emissions. Within this, fan travel to events stands out as the biggest contributor, driven largely by a reliance on private cars.   

Coming up with a Solution: Encouraging Change in Travel Behavior

To reduce travel-related emissions, Alicia Cenci and colleagues launched the “Take the Train” campaign during Xtreme Verbier, offering fans arriving by rail a 40% discount on Verbier ski passes (required for high-altitude viewing). In 2026, the initiative benefited 230 fans, saving a total of 20,000 km of travel and avoiding 6.5 tons of CO₂ emissions. These results demonstrate the potential to change behavior when sustainable choices are made more appealing. 

However, despite its success, expanding the “Take the Train” campaign across other FWT events has proven challenging because most events are free to attend and many ski areas lack rail access. As such, efforts remain focused on Verbier, where spectator numbers and, therefore, the potential impact are highest.

Building on these efforts, the FWT has also taken steps to reduce emissions from athlete travel. Public transportation costs are fully reimbursed for riders, encouraging lower-emission journeys between events. In 2025, 38 riders traveled a combined 45,511 kilometers using public transport, avoiding an estimated 14.7 metric tons of CO₂ emissions. In 2026, 32 athletes covered approximately 30,000 kilometers using lower-emission travel options, thereby preventing an additional 10.2 tons of CO₂ emissions.  

In addition, behind the scenes, staff transport is carefully optimized, with car sharing prioritized to reduce the number of trips wherever possible. While simple, such measures play an important role in reducing the environmental impact of FWT competitions.  

The tour has also made significant changes to reduce emissions from production operations. From the 2024–2025 season, helicopter filming has been phased out and replaced with drones, removing this high-emission element while maintaining high-quality coverage.   

The Challenge Ahead: Constraints and Opportunities

For Alicia Cenci, one of the biggest challenges in reducing emissions at the FWT is navigating the trade-offs that come with operating in an extreme mountain environment, where safety must always come first. For example, tight weather windows can leave little time to retrieve equipment from the mountainside, making the speed and accessibility of helicopter transport the only viable option for keeping the tour moving.   

Infrastructure presents another major barrier. While the tour actively promotes public transport, the reality is that much of it isn’t designed for snow sports travel. For families carrying skis and equipment, train journeys can be impractical, and many resorts still lack direct rail access. These limitations make it difficult for individuals to move away from car travel.   

Yet there is reason for optimism. Initiatives like those introduced by the FWT are helping to build demand for more sustainable transport options. As this demand grows, it highlights a clear opportunity, signaling a market of fans and athletes traveling for sport. Responding to this need could drive investment in transport infrastructure and services that better accommodate equipment and groups, making low-impact journeys more practical and comfortable.   

Moving Forward: Improving Emissions Measurement and Expanding Sustainability Efforts at the Freeride World Tour

At the FWT, there is a clear understanding that you can’t manage what you don’t measure. That’s why the team continues to track its emissions, with a shift toward using the FIS CO₂ Calculator to further strengthen this approach.   

In addition, while travel remains the biggest focus, the FWT continues to advance sustainability across other areas. This includes serving 50% vegetarian or locally sourced food, partnering with the Summit Foundation on mountain cleanups, waste awareness, and environmental research, and introducing reusable catering and mobile recycling stations across events. Together, these initiatives reflect a broader commitment to continuous progress.     

Insights from the FWT show what’s possible. By learning from this approach, the snow sports community can collaborate and take action to reduce travel-related emissions and continuously improve sustainability efforts, helping to safeguard the future of winter and snow sports.