Apr 22, 2025 - This Earth Day, FIS joined forces with the snow sports community for the FIS Mountain Cleanup Challenge. Running from April 2 to 21, the three-week campaign invited mountain enthusiasts to film short videos of their cleanup efforts, sharing their love and respect for the beauty of mountainous landscapes.
Participants captured their efforts using the Chall app. Each video was then entered into a prize draw for a chance to win an exclusive signed bib from a top World Cup athlete. The more videos submitted, the greater an individual’s chance of winning, encouraging continued participation.
The Mountain Cleanup Challenge was created to inspire real-world action and encourage others to get involved this Earth Day. By participating, individuals united to educate, advocate, and take meaningful steps toward a more sustainable future for snow sports.
Mountain Cleanup Challenge: Video Highlights
The Mountain Cleanup Challenge has brought the snow sports community together to highlight their inspiring efforts to protect and clean up alpine environments.
Take Carlotta Angelini, for example. She went above and beyond, collecting an entire bag of rubbish during a single outing on the slopes. Among the items she found were chocolate bar wrappers, cigarette packets, tissues, aluminum cans, and even a cloth rag. Her actions showcased her dedication and underscored the diverse range of waste accumulating in these natural environments.
In another creative example, Kasper made a memorable impact by picking up a plastic sheet - over a meter long - all while skiing down a run. He skillfully carried the plastic waste to a bin to dispose of it correctly. This video serves as a powerful reminder that everyone can play a part in keeping the slopes clean, while engaging in the sport they cherish.
Mountain Cleanup Challenge winners
Carlotta Angelini and oliver0hellum are the winners of the Mountain Cleanup Challenge and the lucky recipients of a signed bib from Laura Pirovani (ITA), and Filip Zubcic (CRO), respectively.
From Earth Day to every Day: FIS year-round sustainability achievements
Earth Day is a powerful reminder of a shared responsibility to protect the planet and preserve its natural beauty. But caring for the Earth shouldn’t be a once-a-year effort. With that in mind, at FIS, sustainability is a commitment the team carries every single day.
In light of this Earth Day, FIS took a moment to reflect on the sustainability efforts that have shaped the 2024–2025 season. The team has worked hard to make a real difference and is proud to share some of FIS’s most notable achievements.
Nordic Combined teams up for sustainability with #CombinedForChange
This year, FIS is highlighting the sustainability efforts of eight Nordic Combined LOCs for the 2024–2025 World Cup season. Each initiative focuses on a different aspect of sustainability under the hashtag #CombinedForChange.
For example, Ramsau showcases the use of reusable cups that have replaced single-use plastics at all spectator stands, paired with a smart recycling system that helps keep waste in check. In another example, Seefeld manages leftover food, which is donated to local charities, while also repurposing food waste - such as stale bread - as animal feed. Both examples serve to reduce litter on the slopes while working to give waste a second life.
As the season unfolds, fans will be invited to weigh in. The most impactful initiative will be honored with the FIS Combined for Change Award, presented by Viessmann. Winners will be chosen through a mix of public voting on social media, input from a panel of FIS and Viessmann experts, and a vote by the event organizers themselves.
FIS launches carbon calculator to drive emissions reduction in snow sports
The Paris Agreement sets a bold vision for a Net Zero world by 2050. To meet this challenge, every industry sector must take immediate steps toward decarbonization. In the world of sports, the UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action Framework is leading the charge. The UNFCCC has set the goal to achieve Net Zero no later than 2040, with a 50% reduction by 2030.
FIS is proud to align with this mission, recognizing the powerful role sport can play in shaping climate action. As part of its commitment, FIS has developed a tailored carbon calculator to help the snow sports community measure, manage, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, this custom-built online tool is designed specifically for skiing and snowboarding. It supports FIS World Cup and Championship LOCs, as well as NSAs, in understanding and addressing the emissions linked to their events.
FIS Climate Action Plan
In the 2024–2025 season, the FIS Climate Action Plan made major strides forward. Partnering with sustainability experts Planet Mark and Deloitte, FIS has developed a more precise and robust methodology to measure its carbon footprint. This methodology is designed to capture scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. One key focus has been understanding the total emissions caused by spectator travel to FIS events, which is one of the sport’s largest emissions sources.
Through collaboration and gaining more accurate carbon footprint measures, FIS has laid the groundwork for the FIS Carbon Action Plan into 2025. This plan identifies high-impact areas and provides tailored, practical, and actionable solutions to reduce emissions, with a focus on emissions from travel, office energy use, and procurement. For instance, FIS is working to maximize renewable energy to power its activities. At the heart of this plan are ambitious climate goals: reaching Net Zero by 2050 and reducing emissions by 50% by 2030.
Beyond internal action, FIS is also focused on education and engagement. Through webinars, training sessions, and awareness campaigns, FIS aims to empower athletes, fans, LOCs, and NSAs to join forces and become part of the solution.
FIS rolls out sustainability guides, tools, and training for the industry
FIS is stepping up to support a more sustainable future for snow sports by developing a suite of practical guides aimed at empowering FIS staff, LOCs, and NSAs. These resources are designed to help the FIS family implement more responsible and effective sustainability practices across events and operations.
Highlights from FIS’s 2024–2025 sustainability guide series include:
Sustainable Sourcing Guide (coming soon in 2025): This guide promotes a lifecycle approach to reduce waste and emissions, while also encouraging local, transparent, and environmentally responsible suppliers. It outlines best practices from sourcing to disposal across key categories.
Sustainability Communications Guide: Featuring 10 actionable steps, this guide helps the snow sports community communicate clearly and credibly, avoid greenwashing, and engage audiences in a more authentic, and impactful way.
Sustainability Guide for Ski Resorts: A comprehensive resource with 14 hands-on initiatives covering everything from carbon reduction and snow management to habitat protection, green technology, waste management, and sustainable travel.
Waste Management Guide (coming soon in 2025): Currently in its final development stage, this guide will equip event organizers with practical strategies to reduce, reuse, recycle, and repurpose waste.
These guides are part of a broader educational outreach effort led by FIS. Other key initiatives include:
The Toolbox: Developed in partnership with Ski Austria for the 2025 FIS Alpine Ski World Championships, this award-winning platform offers over 60 free, multilingual sustainability resources to help users design and implement impactful strategies.
Training Courses: FIS recently launched its first environmental sustainability training course, with 251 participants from 30 countries, including NSAs, LOCs, and FIS staff. Built in collaboration with consultant Ben Barrett and a global working group, the course covers climate science, environmental impact, and real-world sustainability applications.
Snowmorrow: Unveiled during the FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships in Planica, “Snowmorrow – Innovating Climate Action Together” engaged junior athletes in vital conversations and hands-on activities around climate solutions and leadership.
FIS partners with UN WMO and ESA to tackle climate challenges
FIS has partnered with the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in the first-ever collaboration between a UN agency and a sports federation. This collaboration seeks to address the urgent challenges faced by snow sports due to climate change, such as vanishing glaciers and shrinking snow cover. By leveraging data-driven solutions, the goal is to safeguard the future of winter sports as rising temperatures threaten their viability.
But that’s not all. FIS has also partnered with the European Space Agency (ESA) to use space technologies for sustainability in snow sports, focusing on climate change, biodiversity, pollution reduction, and the circular economy.
