Sustainable Development in La Clusaz
In response to climate change, La Clusaz is committed to playing its part by transforming its development model. The goal is to preserve this exceptional destination so that future generations can continue to live, thrive and enjoy everything it has to offer.
For more than a century, La Clusaz has been a mountain village where previous generations have found the delicate balance between economic development and environmental responsibility. Today, La Clusaz perfectly embodies the image of a traditional Alpine village, with its preserved natural landscapes, authentic architecture, thriving mountain farming, diversified economy and exceptional surroundings—thanks to the vision of these pioneers. Today, we are committed to continuing their legacy by promoting responsible tourism, ensuring that future generations inherit a village where people can live, work and flourish.
This ambitious and essential vision is taking shape today—together.
OUR ECO-RESPONSIBLE COMMITMENTS
La Clusaz’s Four Main Priorities :
- Reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
- Secure our drinking water resources.
- Diversify our leisure activities and experiences throughout the year.
- Promote an economy focused on doing better, not simply doing more.
These four pillars are at the heart of our vision. They guide both our decisions and the projects we choose not to pursue, when we believe it is wiser to slow down and change direction rather than continue along an unsustainable path. This is why we recently decided not to proceed with a New Tourism Development (UTN) project that would have had too great an impact on our environment through the arrival of a large external development group.
We firmly believe that remaining independent is a strength. It gives us the freedom to shape our own future while staying true to our heritage.
Priority Actions
In the fight against climate change, our priorities focus on transport and the energy performance of buildings. Why? Because these are the two largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in La Clusaz as they are across France. This is not just our challenge: while emissions are produced locally, their impact on the climate is global.
- When it comes to transport, our objective is to expand reliable, low-carbon alternatives that make it easier to reduce and gradually replace the use of private cars for travelling to La Clusaz. Visitors and residents alike have a key role to play in making this new approach to mobility a success. Skiing and mountain biking may be individual sports, but meeting this challenge requires a collective effort.
- As for our buildings and mountain chalets, we are implementing a strategy to phase out fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels for heating generates significant CO₂ emissions. The transition relies on low-carbon French electricity, renewable energy and improved energy efficiency across our buildings—the fastest and most effective solution. For example, our municipal swimming pool has recently been equipped with a heat pump, reducing its annual greenhouse gas emissions by a factor of four.
A Long-Term Vision
“Playing Our Part” means contributing to a global effort that will shape the lives of future generations for centuries to come. What will life in La Clusaz look like in 50 or 100 years? No one can say for certain.
What we do know is that the decisions we make today will have a significant impact on that future.
- First and foremost, securing access to drinking water is essential, especially as periods of drought are expected to become more frequent and more severe. A new mountain reservoir is therefore being planned. In the long term, it will be dedicated entirely to supplying drinking water. In the short term, it will also support winter sports activities, helping to finance the diversification of our tourism economy.
- We are deeply attached to skiing and everything it represents. It is an integral part of the history, culture and identity of La Clusaz. However, rising temperatures will continue to challenge this activity in the decades ahead. This is a reality we must acknowledge and turn into an opportunity. We have everything needed to develop a year-round tourism offering that positions the mountains as a leading destination in every season. The opportunities are wide-ranging, from nature and outdoor activities to mountain lifestyle, biodiversity, agriculture and gastronomy. In this vision, our ski lifts will increasingly become gateways to the many natural, cultural and recreational sites spread across the area, allowing visitors to discover the mountains in new ways throughout the year.
Travelling is, and will always remain, a fundamental human need. Beyond the search for leisure and recreation, travel and holidays also satisfy our curiosity, broaden our horizons, deepen our knowledge and create opportunities to connect with others. These are deeply rooted human needs—the desire to explore, to learn and to find meaning. At La Clusaz, we believe we have the history, traditions, expertise and people to meet these new expectations better than ever. They will only become more important in the years ahead.
Our commitments will be implemented step by step, because the transition to a more sustainable model can only happen progressively and with the necessary investment. In 2021, we carried out a carbon footprint assessment, a mobility study, a tourism diversification master plan and an environmental monitoring programme. Being transparent and understanding our starting point are essential to implementing effective, targeted actions in the short and medium term.
There is still a great deal of work ahead but we see this as the necessary counterpart to an ambitious, responsible and long-term vision for La Clusaz.
Join us on this journey!
