As Earth Day comes ’round once more, we’re recognizing an eco-friendly employee superstar who is making big changes at Blue Mountain. Read on to find out all about Blue Mountain’s Sustainability Analyst!
Name: Tori R.
Department: Sustainability
Favourite Winter Trail: Waterfall
Favourite Summer Attraction: Timber High Ropes
1. Describe your role at Blue Mountain.
As the Sustainability Analyst here at Blue Mountain, my responsibilities span a wide array of sustainability initiatives which encompass utility management, fuel consumption monitoring, and spearheading community and employee-focused environmental events. My role also entails involvement in future development projects, ensuring that our plans adhere to our standards of environmental consciousness. Given the nature of our resort, the impact of my role is broad, reaching into various operational and planning domains. This involves collaborating with multiple departments to integrate sustainable practices throughout all facets of the resort’s operations and long-term strategic initiatives.
2. What does a typical day look like for you?
While every day is different here at the mountain, a typical day for me starts with arriving at the office and checking emails like most people! I closely monitor our usage of resources like fuel and electricity to ensure we are on track with our goals to use less of both. I often update reports on these topics, and ensure our teams understand their usage. I’ll regularly meet with department directors to stay updated on any large projects they’re working on that might affect our carbon footprint, and I offer assistance in making those projects greener. In the afternoon, I like to get outside and walk around the resort to check on different buildings and look at things like our lighting and heating systems, or to plan for the future of our vehicle fleet, making sure we are moving towards using electric vehicles. My role involves working on many different goals at once, often in coordination with sustainability representatives from other Alterra Mountain Company resorts, where we share ideas and updates on company-wide initiatives.
3. What passion projects are you most excited to work on at Blue?
I love using technology for new and innovative applications. Technology is growing and I believe in embracing it to help work towards our goals. We are currently building an energy tracker system – it’s called a SCADA system but basically it allows us to build the exact platform we want by connecting in various meters, lighting controls, etc. through one central location. We are still in the early phase of this development, but I can live track our instant energy consumption of our operations, as well as control our night ski lights remotely. This is just the start of this development and I can’t wait to see where it goes and grows! This is something I am passionate about as it merges technology and sustainability together.
4. What sustainability project are you most proud of so far?
One that I am really excited about is when we replaced our old receipt paper with 100% recyclable receipt paper. ‘Normal’ receipt paper isn’t recyclable and can release harmful chemicals into the eco-system if it isn’t disposed of correctly. Not only are we now able to recycle our receipt paper and protect the ecosystem, but we also plant two mangroves’ trees for every case we purchase! Mangrove trees have a super high carbon sequestration rate, so with our purchase we are helping plant trees that are working on counter acting climate change.
5. What does success in sustainability look like in your role at the mountain?
Success at Blue to me looks like a multi-sector approach. Since my role is so widespread I believe we need to be activating initiatives in all areas to be successful. This means guests, employees, and operations all need to make changes towards our goals. It’s a long road but it’s definitely one worth travelling down!
6. How can guests help to be more sustainable when visiting Blue Mountain?
When coming to the resort this summer please remember you are hiking and playing on a natural biosphere that is part of the Niagara Escarpment. We need our environment to be kept exactly the way you found it when you got here so that we can ensure continued fun for future generations. This means not littering when hiking through our trails, ensuring you remain on the trails and not blazing your own new path, and leaving any rocks, leaves, or natural elements on the trails, as they are homes to all native species that call Blue Mountain home. They don’t want you taking their stuff just as much as you don’t like your things being taken! Following these guidelines go a long way to helping us with our environmental mission.
7. Where can guests find out more about sustainability at Blue Mountain?
While my focus remains on Blue Mountain Resort specifically, our parent company Alterra Mountain Co. has released the Forward Stance Annual Impact Report, which shares all the great things Alterra resorts have accomplished thus far across the company, as well as some sustainability goals that we are still working towards. You can also find more information about Blue Mountain’s efforts on our website here.
Are you interested in applying to Blue Mountain this season? Check out our careers page here, and learn more about our open positions.
