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fr Green Snowflake on Les Etincelles
# CSRWhether in its hotels, chalets, or residences dotted across the finest Alpine ski resorts, the Les Étincelles has introduced a solid sustainability policy. There has been no hype, but rather a host of impactful measures aimed to preserve this exceptional natural heritage. Arnaud Viotte, Associate Founder and partner, told us more.
« We wanted to put ecology at the very core of our projects. It was obligatory; nature and the environment are part of our group’s identity. Our sites are all located in exceptional places, at high altitude, on the mountainside, in the midst of trees and rocks, or surrounded by snow. Yet this amazing, unique setting is extremely fragile,» he says.
The group is also ensuring that its commitment applies all the sectors it works in, especially at its guests are increasingly in search of meaningful tourism options. The main strategies focus on architecture and construction, which have a considerable impact on the environment, the crucial question of energy management, as well as food and cleaning products.
Among other things, the buildings are as passive as possible, such as at the Bois de l’Ours in Tignes, where the group has introduced an on-site processing centre to directly recycle stone broken down in concrete. Additional measures include bio-sourced insulation, energy storage to compensate for spikes in consumption and maintain temperatures during the interseason period, energy production using wood-pellet furnaces and efficient heat pumps with energy salvage, greywater recycling, planted rooftops, and solar panels.
Most materials used are natural, of course, such as larch wood, lauze stone for the roofing, freeze-proof Grézy stone on the façades, and even rocks for the foundations and the production of concrete.
As for the cuisine, ingredients are sourced as locally as possible (and food waste is recycled), particularly as the surrounding terroir offers so much, including Savoyard breweries, local biodynamic wines, Savoie meats and fine cheeses. Then there are the cleaning products, which almost all have an eco-label. Some of them are even dilutable to save on packaging.
The group’s current project is the creation of a vast, eco-friendly resort called WOM. The first one is in Tignes, and the new hotels under construction in La Plagne and La Rosière are being designed with the same sustainable objectives in mind.
