{"id":21750,"date":"2017-11-13T00:11:26","date_gmt":"2017-11-13T05:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/let-it-snow\/"},"modified":"2017-11-13T00:11:26","modified_gmt":"2017-11-13T05:11:26","slug":"let-it-snow","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/let-it-snow\/","title":{"rendered":"Let It Snow?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let it Snow? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Carving up the slopes on Alta\u2019s pristine powder may prove to be a much more difficult pursuit toward the end of the 21st<\/sup> century with snowpack decreasing significantly over the past 50 years according to recent studies.[1]<\/a> Can they do enough turn the tide and help preserve Utah\u2019s claim to \u201cthe greatest snow on earth\u201d?<\/p>\n

Climate change and Alta Ski Resort<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

As noted by the EPA [2]<\/a>, the last decade in the western US is the warmest on record. General warming trends lead to 1) less precipitation falling to the earth as snow and 2) snow melting more quickly.1,[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

These two factors combine to decrease the overall snowpack1<\/sup>\u00a0which can shorten the winter tourism season and lead to a decrease in topline revenue for resorts like Alta.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Alta\u2019s relatively high elevation[4]<\/a> buys them more time than many of their competitors, but with current trends, it may only be a matter of time before they start to feel significant pain.<\/p>\n

What is Alta doing?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Alta acknowledges the impacts climate change can have on their business and has a five point strategy in place to address short and mid-term concerns.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

1) Educating patrons and the public<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Alta has established programs to educate guests and the public about the impact of climate change on winter sports and how they can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

2) Raise policy-maker awareness <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Alta realizes that state and federal climate change legislation is critical for reversing warming trends. Alta and other Utah resorts have partnered with Rhode Island Senator Whitehouse to raise the profile of this issue in congress.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

3) Advocate for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Alta is among 108 ski resorts to sign the BICEP Climate Declaration.\u00a0 This calls on policymakers to confront climate change issues and take a deeper look at the economic implications of warming temperatures.7<\/sup><\/p>\n

4) Support science-based solutions to climate change (including renewable energy technologies)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

While this is expressed as a key point to Alta\u2019s strategy, I did not note any specific efforts they are currently pursuing to push this mission forward in public sources.\u00a0 I will address this as a potential area they can improve later in this response.<\/p>\n

5) Invest in more efficient practices and technologies; measure and report emission reductions to stakeholders<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Alta committed to a 20% carbon reduction goal by the year 2020. \u00a0They annually report on their progress to stakeholders.5<\/sup><\/p>\n

What other steps can Alta take?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Youth education<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

While Alta is focusing educational efforts on patrons and the general public as a whole, I believe the most important area of focus for their educational efforts should be on youth. The creation of school educational programs has the potential impact the attitudes of the rising generation.<\/p>\n

Inorganic expansion further north<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Some investors are betting that the establishment of resort further north will leave them as \u201cthe only game in town\u201d8<\/sup> when temperatures warm enough to severely impact the resorts further south. Some of Alta\u2019s competitors have diversified the impact of weather variability by acquiring resorts further north. One example is Vail Resorts which announced a $1 billion deal in August 2016 to buy Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia as a hedge.[8]<\/a> Alta\u2019s owners could consider investing in a similar manner.<\/p>\n

Encourage entrepreneurship for science-based solutions<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Investing and supporting the development of science based solutions is an area of their current strategy they can improve upon.\u00a0 In 2015, the U.S. Forest Service began a threat assessment study to help identify specific vulnerabilities in the intermountain west.[9]<\/a> Once results have been released, Alta\u2019s PE\/VC owners could consider setting up a climate change innovation lab or investing seed capital to support development of technologies that could target threats noted in this study.<\/p>\n

Questions<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Given the rapid impact of climate change and the large buy in from society as a whole needed to reverse the tide of climate change, is it worth significant investment by Alta and its PE\/VC owners to try to preserve Alta\u2019s current footprint or should they treat this as a depleting asset with a finite life?<\/p>\n

Does Alta\u2019s PE\/VC owner have a social responsibility to continue to invest, even if they deem it to be not in their best economic interest?<\/p>\n

(797 words)<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> United States Environmental Protection Agency, \u201cWhat Climate Change Means for Utah\u201d, EPA 430-F-16-046, https:\/\/19january2017snapshot.epa.gov\/sites\/production\/files\/2016-09\/documents\/climate-change-ut.pdf<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> United States Environmental Protection Agency, \u201cClimate Change Indicators in the United States\u201d, https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/climate-indicators<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> United States Environmental Protection Agency, \u201cClimate Impacts on the Southwest\u201d, https:\/\/archive.epa.gov\/epa\/climate-impacts\/climate-impacts-southwest.html<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Alta Ski Area, https:\/\/www.alta.com\/the-mountain\/mountain-info<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Alta Ski Area, https:\/\/www.alta.com\/alta-environmental-center\/our-efforts<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Alta Environmental Center, https:\/\/www.alta.com\/alta-environmental-center<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Sheldon Whitehouse (U.S. Senator \u2013 Rhode Island), \u201cWHITEHOUSE HEARS FROM UTAH SKIERS, SKI INDUSTRY ON EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE\u201d, https:\/\/www.whitehouse.senate.gov\/news\/release\/whitehouse-hears-from-utah-skiers-ski-industry-on-effects-of-climate-change<\/a><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Bloomberg, https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2016-12-16\/saving-skiing-three-men-bet-big-on-climate-change-proof-resort<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Deseret News, https:\/\/www.deseretnews.com\/article\/865630269\/Whats-the-impact-of-climate-change-on-Utah-Study-will-try-to-find-out.html<\/a>, accessed November 2017<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carving up the slopes on Alta\u2019s pristine powder may prove to be a much more difficult pursuit toward the end of the 21st century with snowpack decreasing significantly over the past 50 years. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10302,"featured_media":21751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[1218,1808,372,1402],"class_list":["post-21750","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate-change","category-climate-protection","category-ski","category-ski-resorts","hck-taxonomy-organization-alta-ski-area","hck-taxonomy-industry-tourism","hck-taxonomy-country-united-states"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/rc-tom-challenge-2017\/","yoast_head":"\nLet It Snow? - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/let-it-snow\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Let It Snow? 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