Industry News
Elan, the only global ski manufacturer handcrafting skis 100% on green energy and 100% in the Slovenian Alps, for 77 years, earns the coveted GREEN STAR Certificate for the company’s integration of social responsibility and sustainability plans through 2030 and beyond.
As a heritage brand, deeply connected to its local community and environment, sustainable development has always been part of Elan’s identity. Today, Elan is the only global ski manufacturing company running 100% on green energy that can claim all products are handmade in a single location in the Alps, with an emphasis on sustainability of the supply chain declaring 99% of the raw materials used to make skis come from the European Union, with nearly 70% coming from within 400 kilometers (250 miles) of the Elan Factory. Furthermore, the company uses sustainable-sourced wood with controlled origin and traceability.
2022 has been a landmark year for Elan by building a solar power plant at the company’s headquarters, allowing its production to be powered by electricity generated 100% from sustainable renewable energy sources (RES) and working towards an emission-free future. This follows the company’s various sustainability efforts over the past decade such as pioneering a new standard in the industry for digital printing technology, saving over 32 tons of volatile organic compounds (VOC) waste alone at Elan, since 2016.
The company’s actions have been recently recognized by GREEN STAR, the first certificate of its kind for contribution to climate neutrality and a greener future. CER Sustainable Business Network – the Slovenian-based third-party assessment uses science-based metrics and data to set strategic priorities and highlight areas of improvement to help achieve green transformation and the road to net zero, giving Elan a recognition of a “determined challenger”.
“When you place sustainability in the context of a business balance sheet and use it as a cornerstone of the business ethos, it transforms into an opportunity to drive the strategic direction of the business and harness its innovative potential. When your work is so closely intertwined with nature the lines between personal commitment to the future of the environment and business commitment to sustainable growth become blurred. But that’s why we are sustainable by nature.”
– Director of Elan’s Winter Division, Leon Korošec
Elan draws inspiration for a sustainable future from its environment, the local Slovenian Alps and its people, and the multi-generational employees committed to designing skis of the future but also the future of skiing while protecting the plant.
For more information visit: https://elanskis.com/us_en/sustainability
