Our first levers
For many years, CDA sites have been conducting local experiments and launching innovative initiatives to reduce their emissions. The Group has identified these good practices, based on feedback, and is now working to deploy them on a large scale by structuring them around a common path. The CDA has identified 4 major levers to achieve its objective:
1- IMPROVING THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF OUR SITES
Our objective: to minimise the energy consumption of our facilities without impacting the quality of service
For buildings, this involves better management of energy consumption and improved insulation.
In our ski area activities, several projects are underway, such as the replacement of energy-guzzling snow guns. The Group also plans to avoid the systematic use of energy-consuming lift pumps for reservoirs, and to promote the recovery of heat from our activities (mechanical friction, etc.) to supply the heating needs of certain sites.
Energy efficiency is not just about technological innovation: it is also about rethinking our practices and, in this sense, in order to reduce the consumption of its machines and installations, the Group regularly optimises its grooming plans or adapts the speed of its ski lifts to the number of visitors.
Some examples
- 2018 : Parc Astérix is certified ISO 50 001, a voluntary international standard offering guidelines for deploying an efficient energy management system (more information).
- 2019 : Futuroscope is also ISO 50 001 certified.
- 2022 : The Group is a signatory of the EcoWatt charter, on energy sobriety for companies, particularly for ski areas.
- 2022 : The Group's Net Zero Carbon plan provides for more than 20 million euros of investments in efficiency over the next 10 years
- 2023: Aqualibi Belgium closed its doors for 22 weeks to carry out major insulation work, moving from 2-layer to 5-layer insulation and replacing the heating systems, which now include a heat pump for water pre-heating.
- 2023 : MMV has deployed intelligent building control systems to improve energy management at 7 sites in 2023, with a further 4 sites to be deployed in 2024.
2- TESTING AND DEPLOYING CARBON-FREE MOBILIT
Our objective: to decarbonise all forms of mobility as much as possible without losing efficiency
CDA is conducting several projects directly concerning its core business, whether it be its ski areas or leisure parks: deployment of battery-powered grooming machines, replacement of buses and thermal road and non-road vehicles with electric solutions, deployment of alternative forms of mobility in our leisure parks (bicycles, golf carts, scooters).
One of the Group's key projects is the gradual decarbonisation of grooming equipment. Today, 100% of the machines are powered by HVO 100 (alternative fuel made from 100% reprocessed residues or waste). In the future, the Group intends to gradually convert part of its fleet to electric motors, depending on the application.
Some examples
- 2019 : Electric snowmobiles are being tested in Les Arcs and Serre Chevalier
- 2020 : The Group finances a research and development program with CM DUPON (a player in the Isère region) to develop a low-carbon grooming machine: a battery-powered electric prototype is successfully tested at La Plagne in 2022 and at Tignes in 2023. The Group has decided to order 8 pre-series of electric snow groomers for use in operations, including 2 for the 2023/2024 season and 6 for the 2024/2025 winter season on all its ski areas, starting with Serre-Chevalier.(more information).
- 2021 : Tests of battery-powered electric buses have confirmed that this technology is well suited to the skibuses operating in Tignes and Val d'Isère. The first electric buses are due to replace thermal buses in the fleet in December 2022.(more information).
- 2021 : The Group relaunches the London - Moutiers - Bourg Saint Maurice rail service, marketed by Travelfactory (a wholly owned subsidiary of the CDA) under the name "Travelski Express" (more information).
- 2022 : Compagnie des Alpes abandons the use of fossil fuels for the grooming of slopes from the Winter 2022/23 season, thanks to the use of an HVO100 substitute manufactured in Europe solely from waste and residues (e.g. Used Food Oils).
- 2022 : The Group renews the Travelski Express from London and deploys the concept in France on the Paris - Moutiers - Bourg-Saint-Maurice route, marketed by Travelfactory (100% CDA subsidiary) under the name "Travelski Express" (more information).
- 2023 : With its subsidiary Travelfactory, the Group is launching a European call for tenders to offer its customers a sustainable low-carbon mobility offer by train from France, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium (from Paris, London, Amsterdam and Brussels) to the French Alps over the three-year period 2024-2027 (more information). At the same time, for the third season the Group is marketing a travelski express offer on the London - Moutiers - Bourg-Saint-Maurice rail line (a new travel format developed by Eurostar, including a train change in Lille).
3- DECARBONISING THE ENERGY USED BY OUR SITE
Our objective: in addition to reducing our energy consumption, to focus on less carbon-intensive energy
The Group's ambition is to develop renewable energy production projects to cover, as far as possible, up to 30% of its needs: car park shading in our leisure parks, photovoltaic panels on our buildings, hydroelectricity on our artificial snowmaking infrastructures, etc.
Projects are also underway to replace the most emissive heating systems on our sites (notably oil and gas boilers) with less impactful systems: heat pumps, biomass boilers, geothermal energy and preventive replacement of cooling equipment.
Finally, for electricity needs not covered by local production, the Group is committed to obtaining supplies through 100% Guaranteed Renewable Origin electricity contracts for all French sites.
Some examples
- 2011: Grévin Paris is connected to low-emission urban heating and cooling networks (53% from renewable sources).
- 2013 : Walibi Belgium Park installs its first photovoltaic panels.
- 2018 : The Serre-Chevalier resort launches its on-site renewable energy production program: wind, photovoltaic and hydraulic, the ambition of which is to eventually cover 30% of consumption (more information).
- 2018 : Chaplin's World replaces its oil-fired boiler by connecting to a biomass-fired heating network.
- 2022 : The heating and cooling needs of the new Futuroscope hotels, restaurant and auditorium are supplied by three heat pumps (more information).
- 2022 : Over the year 2021/2022, 1.4 GWh of renewable electricity are produced on our infrastructures (equivalent to the combined electricity needs of Grévin Paris, France Miniature and Chaplin's World).
- 2023 : In 2022/2023, the sites will generate 2,770 MWh of renewable electricity (equivalent to the electricity consumption of Familpark and Walibi Rhône-Alpes over the year) and 2,421 MWh of renewable heat over the year.
- 2023 : Parc Walibi Belgium installs an additional 3.5 MWp (megawatt-peak). A system of photovoltaic shades covers a portion of the completely redeveloped parking lot, covering some 16,000 m² (more information).
- 2023 : The Serre-Chevalier ski area operates its second hydroelectric power station on the artificial snow network (installed capacity - 950 kWp - kilowatt-peak).
- 2023: Commissioning of a geothermal heating system for the giraffe enclosures and The King's Table restaurant at Bellewaede Park in Belgium (more information)
4- CONTRIBUTING TO THE CREATION OF CARBON SINKS
Our objective: to complete our actions by acting locally on our residual emissions
In order to achieve true carbon neutrality in the region, the Group has committed to financing afforestation and reforestation projects for 100% of its residual emissions on scopes 1 and 2. CDA has signed a 10-year partnership with the Office National des Forêts (ONF) to finance carbon sink projects in order to sequester our remaining 20% of emissions as close to our sites as possible.
In addition to the carbon sequestration objectives, which will be verified by obtaining the Low Carbon Label, the projects must contribute to the adaptation of forests to climate change and generate co-benefits for biodiversity.
Some examples
- 2022 : CDA signs a 10-year partnership with the Office National des Forêts (ONF)
- 2022: Grand Massif Domaines Skiables voluntarily finances for 3 years (2022-2024), in conjunction with the owners' associations of the Magland and Nancy-sur-cluses forests, the reforestation of private forest plots impacted by the 2019 storm.
- 2022 : The first plantations are carried out in the state forests of Oise, Hautes-Alpes and Savoie over a total area of 126,7 hectares and 23 hectares in private forests.
Les projets labellisés dans la Vienne
Plantation labelisée dans les Hautes-Alpes
Plantation labellisée dans l'Oise
- 2023 : Planting for the second year of our partnership with ONF took place in the autumn. A total of 25.3 hectares were planted in Savoie and Haute-Savoie, as close as possible to our operations, on land owned by our delegating municipalities.
Plantation labellisée à Magland
Plantation labellisée à Champagny-en-Vanoise
Plantation labellisée à Samoëns
Plantation labellisée aux Belleville
Plantation labellisée aux Allues
