Environmental Commitment

"All ski resorts, whether on public or private land, are charged with being stewards of the land.  It's a responsibility that should not be taken lightly and we at Deer Valley certainly do not" says Bob Wheaton, resort president and general manager.  "The truth is, we've kept sustainability in mind since the resort's inception and we will continue.  The resort is committed to the environmentally friendly practices we have in place and we will continue to focus on adopting new, innovative programs."

Deer Valley’s Environmental Vision Statement
Instilling a culture of environmental sustainability that will ensure Deer Valley stay green for future generations while maintaining its commitment to guest service. 

Sustainable Slopes Participant
Sustainable Slopes Participant Deer Valley is one of more than 170 resorts to endorse the National Ski Area Association's (NSAA) Sustainable Slopes Environmental Charter for Ski Areas. The Environmental Charter, commonly known as Sustainable Slopes, is a collection of environmentally minded practices for ski area owners and operators.
Each year an annual report is compiled from participating resorts highlighting the contributions of the partners and setting goals for the future. To view a copy of Sustainable Slopes or this year's annual report,  log onto www.nsaa.org.

Reduce ~
Source reduction conserves resources and reduces pollution, including greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change

  • Deer Valley provides its employees with three complimentary busses daily in the winter season. Service includes round trips between Salt Lake City, Provo, Heber City, employee housing and the resort's three day lodges
  • 100% of press kits are completely electronic and posted on our website. Media groups receive USB flash drives. This saves an estimated 84,000 sheets of paper each year. We have also reduced the number of vacation planners printed by 88%
  • 100% of off-road diesel vehicles including snowcats, snow removal equipment, lawn and garden equipment and on-mountain heavy equipment run on bio-diesel. We also run our ski lift diesel auxiliary power units on bio-diesel
  • 100% of resort lift heaters have been modified, saving 1,803,540 kWh/yrSnowmaking pumping and air gun retrofits save 640,000 kWh/yr80% of resort incandescent light bulbs have been changed to compact florescent technology
  • Renewable Energy Credits (REC) have been purchased to offset 10% of the resort's power usage.   In addition, Deer Valley has run, in cooperation with Rocky Mountain Power, a resort-wide energy audit.  The audit included all resort chairlifts, snowmaking facility and day lodges which allowed us to research where and how the resort can save energy
  • 75% of resort hot water systems have been retrofitted to high efficiency equipment.
  • 95% of Deer Valley's facilities have been retrofitted with low-flow faucets and toilets

Reuse ~

Reusing items decreases waste dramatically. Ultimately, fewer materials will be manufactured, recycled or sent to landfills.

  •  On-mountain snowmaking lakes hold 20 million gallons of water.  This water is used for snowmaking during the winter months, converting storage water from a liquid state to frozen snow.  During spring melt-off the water returns to the snowmaking lakes for future use
  • We use non-disposable glassware in all employee dining rooms which reduced the use of disposable cups by 23,000 each year
  • An estimated 70% of the total amount spent on paper products at the resort is spent on products containing recycled content.  This includes 100% of hand towels, tissues and toilet paper used in our day lodges, 100% of disposable restaurant napkins which are also printed with soy based inks and 90% of resort collateral
  • Deer Valley continues to reuse 28 year old decking from the Silver Lake Lodge to rebuild the stairs in our parking lots, small railing projects, construct picnic tables and replace or repair old racks
  • Old canopy frame and symphony tent fabric was utilized to build NDT booth for Non Destructive Testing of ski lift components

 
Recycle ~
Recycling decreases emissions of greenhouse gases, conserves natural resources and helps sustain the environment for future generations.

  • Deer Valley is firmly committed to recycling.  Materials are gathered from all lodge operations, on-mountain recycle bins and recycling efforts at all of our summer and winter events.  This includes over 35 summer concerts and FIS ski competitions.  Resort staff at each lodge sort recyclable materials and then are taken to Recycle Utah.  Recycle Utah estimates that because of the sorted delivery of materials, over 95% of materials brought to the center are recycled.  This is a higher percentage than materials delivered from general collection bins
  • Deer Valley recycles or reuses aluminum, antifreeze, batteries, brass, cardboard, copper, e-waste including toner, glass, light bulbs, metal, oil filters, paint, paper, plastic, rubber, stainless steel, steel and wooden pallets.  During the 2009 - 2010 season, 30% of waste from the resort's three lodges and 67% of waste for the resort's maintenance facility was diverted from landfills
  • The dock at Silver Lake Lodge underwent a $25,000 expansion in large part to better accommodate the lodge's recycling efforts

Rethink ~
Changing the way we approach operations to more positively affect our environment.

  • The development of the environmental internship position allows an intern student to share their knowledge of sustainability and help develop programs at the resort
  • Deer Valley uses Aspen Press in SLC, an official 'green' printer
  • Programs in the Deer Valley Children's Center educate students about the environment and sustainability.  Children are encouraged to recycle and reuse materials and the programs aid in teaching children the importance of taking care of the environment
  • During the 2009-2010 year all back-of-house food waste, excluding raw proteins, from our base lodge was saved to feed hogs. This diverted 73,563 pounds in food waste from landfills
  • Washable linens are used at events unless another material is requested.  All linens including chef uniforms are washed in an environmentally friendly detergent by our contracted laundry facility which is a member of the laundry Environmental Stewardship Program
  • Deer Valley tests its runoff water in two different locations at the resort. The resort tests for "total suspended solids" as well as phosphates, nitrogen and three other chemicals and minerals. "The water that runs off the resort is actually cleaner now than before the resort opened," says Bob Wheaton, resort president and general manager

Dining~
Our chefs at Deer Valley continue to source local and sustainable food items. Not only does this support the local economy, but we are reducing the miles required to deliver our food. Guests and staff reap the benefits of fresh products. 

  • Coffee served is 100% certified fair trade
  • Deer Valley proudly uses Amano Artisan Chocolate, founded by Art Pollard. The chocolate is made in small batches, with traditional machinery, with careful attention to flavor development right here in Utah. Since Amano is concerned only with the highest quality cocoa beans, Amano always pays farmers and co-ops significantly more for their product than is set by fair trade organizations
  • Copper Moose Farm, a local Park City producer, supplies the kitchens with certified organic fresh herbs, lettuce and flowers.  The farm has also approached us to take our freshly shucked oyster shells to grind up for the birds
  • Our chefs check the Monterey Bay Aquarium website daily to ensure that Deer Valley is purchasing sustainable fish products; 98% of our seafood products are sustainable. At this time we are working with vendors to source a sustainable Shrimp product
  • Each Tuesday night at the Seafood Buffet, 1% of food proceeds will be donated to the Monterey Bay Aquarium making the resort an Ocean Advocate Member
  • The Royal Street Café is featuring a new version of spaghetti and meatballs using Rockhill Gouda Cheese. For the past few years, the Deer Valley kitchens have been on numerous field trips to the Rockhill Creamery. Located in Richmond, Utah, the Rockhill Creamery is owned and operated by Pete Schropp and Jennifer Hines. Jennifer and Pete choose not to use any artificial growth hormones on their cows and feed only the finest alfalfa, some rolled corn and barley and all the grass the cows want ... when it's not covered with snow! The Schropp's are firm believers in using natural, sustainable practices that will leave their farm better than they found it. They firmly acknowledge that animals deserve not only humane treatment, but also our respect. The chefs are lucky enough to learn from Pete and Jennifer on how to make great cheeses as well as tour the facility and meet their six cows
  • Approximately 90% of all red meat served at Deer Valley is from Niman Ranch.   For over 30 years, Niman Ranch has been at the forefront of supporting sustainable agriculture, animal welfare and U.S. family farmers and ranchers. Today, the Niman Ranch network has grown to include over 650 independent American farmers and ranchers that all share Niman Ranch's dedication to strict protocols and the belief that all natural, humane and sustainable methods produce great flavor.  The Royal Street Café and all Resort day lodges are now featuring a Niman Ranch all natural burger.  Deer Valley's Charcuterie features Niman Ranch Pork.  This includes house-made bratwurst served in our Grocery ~ Café and our 3 day lodge restaurants.  Our chefs had the opportunity to visit a Niman sheep farm in Bear Lake.  All of our fire roasted legs of lamb at Fireside Dining come from this farm
  • All resort restaurants as well as our banquet operations offer selections of Beehive Cheese, made from only first class grade whole milk from Jersey cows at Ogden's Wadeland South Dairy; 350 acres near the salty marshes, ponds and mudflats of the mineral-loaded Great Salt Lake
  • Juice, iced tea, coffee and water are served in pitchers and most condiments are served in bulk.  Over 90% of our food service items are reusable including flatware and china.  Evening restaurants also use non-disposable linens that are laundered with eco-friendly detergent.  Our contracted laundry facility is a member of the laundry Environmental Stewardship Program       
  • Kitchen staff is trained to understand and implement, where possible, environmental care.  We have taken initiatives in our kitchens to reduce running water (i.e. to thaw food, rinse food, etc) and our kitchens have a policy in place to reduce and reuse where possible and appropriate

Commitment to Preserving Open Space

  • Support of the Summit Land Conservancy through donations as well as offering our guests the opportunity to donate 1% of their purchase price of Skier Services Products. The Summit Land Conservancy is a local, non-profit land trust dedicated to protecting as much of the remaining open land in Summit County as possible
  • A partnership between United Park City Mines (now Talisker), Deer Valley Resort, the City of Park City and COOL (Conserving Our Open Lands) secured almost 1000 acres of land with conservation easements during the summer of 2002. The open-space land is located on Deer Valley's Flagstaff Mountain and in Empire Canyon adjacent to the Empire Pass development of United Park. Both Recreational Open Space and Protected Open Space will be preserved

Forest Management

"We practice a forest management plan that the Utah State Forester put together for us in 1986," says Chuck English, resort director of mountain operations. "It's an ongoing project to enhance the health of our tree stands. By thinning trees, we create openings in the forest so that healthier trees can flourish."  Deer Valley Resort uses a specially designed seed mix developed in concert with the State of Utah and the U.S. Forest Service. The mix is a combination of native grasses that have large rootballs, which helps address erosion problems. It is drought tolerant, so it grows well with natural moisture and does not need to be watered; and it's also a mix that wildlife likes to eat.  Elimination of noxious weeds is a high priority encouraging natural and indigenous species.  Deer Valley continues to plant trees and native grass seed on resort grounds with six tons of seed planted over the course of the last few summers. "We've seen a real increase in elk and deer herds as well as moose on the mountain," says Bob Wheaton, president and general manager. "I believe it's a combination of the Forest Management Plan, the reseeding we do and the fact that we prohibit hunting within our resort boundaries."

For more information, please visit the Environmental Protection Agency.

No snowboards, please.