Environmental Initiatives
The Environment – an important part of your family vacation!
Environmental
Policy Statement
At Smugglers’ Notch Resort, we are deeply committed to preserving the natural beauty and health of Vermont, which is essential to our community and our business. As residents and stewards of this beautiful state, our team embraces a strong environmental ethic that influences all aspects of our operations.
We actively engage both guests and employees in environmental education, aiming to enhance their appreciation and understanding of the natural world through our recreational use of the land across all seasons. Our development and maintenance practices are rooted in sustainability, focusing on land and energy conservation, wildlife habitat preservation, and protecting the quality of Vermont’s water and its scenic beauty.
We are dedicated to innovative practices in recycling, reusing, and waste treatment to reduce our environmental footprint. Together, we are committed to building a sustainable future for our community and guests.
The Sustainable Slopes
The Environmental Charter for Ski Areas
Smugglers’ Notch participates in this program sponsored by the National Ski Areas Association. Their vision is:
“To be leaders among outdoor recreation providers through managing our businesses in a way that demonstrates our commitment to environmental protection and stewardship while meeting the expectations of the public.”
Smugglers’ believes in this vision and tries to exemplify it in all aspects of operation
Our Environmental Initiatives
Smugglers’ is an environmental leader in Vermont and in the resort industry.
Ongoing tracking of both the Bicknell’s thrush and the black bear, including their habitat, corridors and effects on ski trail work and transplantation of rare plant species from potentially disturbed areas
Our communities developed since 1996 are all built with all 5-star Energy Star ratings.
Smugglers’ Notch has always strived for be as energy efficient as possible. There are many examples of this throughout the Resort, both in our village areas and on the mountains.
New residential construction has always been built with the highest standards of energy efficiency, and has achieved Five Star status, Vermont’s highest energy rating and Smuggs has previously won “Best of the Best” awards for it’s multi-family homes. Working in partnership with Efficiency Vermont, Smuggs has done numerous energy efficiency projects over the years. These projects include upgrading to high efficiency lighting, high efficiency snowmaking guns replacements and upgraded nozzles, and load management analysis at our facilities, most recently at our Wastewater treatment plants and Fun Zone locations where we are currently evaluating minor changes to pumps and blowers that can be adjusted to only operate when needed.. Between the reduced energy use and savings Smuggs has also been rewarded with rebates that have helped to implement, maintain and sustain efficiency projects over the years
Curb-side recycling pickup for all guest homes throughout the resort; diversion rate of 15%
Smugglers’ is proud to partner with the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation to offer recreational opportunities within the Mount Mansfield State Forest. Most of the land we ski or snowboard on at Smugglers’ is part of the State Forest. Lease payments made by Smugglers’ to the Department help fund the operation of Vermont’s State Parks, popular with state residents and visitors alike. Fore more information on the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, please visit their site.
In 2022, Smuggs embarked on a capital initiative to reduce energy consumption within a large group of our resort condominiums. Working with a team from Honeywell Incomm, Smuggs purchased and began the installation of an “Energy Management System” (EMS) product. This EMS system works by assessing the use/occupancy of a particular condominium unit and when a unit becomes unoccupied, the system, through key carding and/or motion detection, operates the heat and the cooling to pre-set levels to reduce energy consumption. Conversely, when a guest arrives or returns to the room, the heat or cooling is turned back on to the pre-set levels and can then be further adjusted by the guest to personal comfort levels.
Thus far, the EMS system is paying off and we are excited to continue this process at the Resort. Energy consumption at our condominium units shows better than a 60% reduction in our overall heating and cooling needs. This not only saves money but also reduces our overall carbon footprint.
Solar Energy
Smugglers’ Notch continues to be a leader in sustainable energy management and generation.
In early 2023, Smugglers’ Notch Management entered into it’s second Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with solar company AllEarth Renewables of Williston, Vermont. This continued partnership, now over a decade old, has been a huge success for both parties.
The solar farm consists of 35 solar trackers located on Edwards Road in a Smuggs owned 10 acre field adjacent to our world renowned Fox Run Disc Golf course. The site was selected for its excellent solar aspect and it’s close proximity to existing transmission lines. As part of the second PPA, the solar panels on the 35 trackers were upgraded in the Spring of 2023 to collect an additional 62,321 kWh increasing the total solar capture to 263,429 kWh per year.
The power generated by the array is fed back into the existing transmission grid (net metered), which on an annual basis offsets the energy use equivalent of 40 residential homes. Translated specifically to the operations at Smugglers’, the power generated is allocated to the energy use of our Village Lodge and Day Care operations.
Additionally, Smugglers’ Notch has for over a decade partnered with solar developer Green Lantern Solar to obtain power generated from two separate fixed solar array systems located on Westman Road in Cambridge, VT. Between the two locations, Smuggs off takes the equivalent of 160 VT homes worth of the power generated. Smuggs in turn allocates these power purchases to the following Resort locations: Sewage Treatment Plant, Conference Room, Administrative Building and Mountainside pool.
Between the 3 solar projects, Smuggs’ saves money on our overall energy costs, reduces our carbon footprint by about 10,000 pounds of carbon per year by obtaining power from a highly sustainable source.
