Industry News
Over the past several years, the Freeride World Tour (FWT) has been grappling with how it can advance its sustainability efforts. Between the environment, gender equality, and safety, the competitive freeriding circuit has been aiming to reduce its footprint and operate sustainably. Recently, its focus has shifted to one particular area: travel emissions.
According to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), which acquired the Freeride World Tour in 2022, travel accounts for 70% of the tour’s emissions, with fan travel making up 57%. In collaboration with FIS, the Freeride World Tour has been exploring strategies for reducing travel-related emissions.
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With fans traveling in private cars generating the bulk of emissions, the Freeride World Tour evaluated how to incentivize fans to use public transportation. Headed by sustainability manager Alicia Cenci, the tour launched its “Take the Train” campaign during its season finale, Xtreme Verbier, held in Verbier, Switzerland. The campaign offered fans a 40% discount on Verbier ski passes for taking the train. 230 fans took the train to the 2026 Xtreme Verbier, eliminating nearly 12,500 miles (20,000 kilometers) of travel by car and thus preventing 6.5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. As an event that draws high numbers of spectators, utilizing Verbier’s rail access has proven to be an effective strategy for reducing the tour’s emissions.
In addition to fan travel, the Freeride World Tour has also made strides to address athlete travel. Athletes using public transportation are reimbursed, leading to 38 athletes using public transportation in 2025, combining for over 28,000 miles (45,000 kilometers) of travel and preventing 14.7 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. 2026 saw 32 athletes choosing similar low-emission travel options.
Event staff have been supporting as well. Carpooling is widely used among staff to reduce the number of trips and cars used for events. The use of helicopters for filming has also been cut out in favor of drones.
While the Freeride World Tour has made progress, there are still many challenges it faces in reducing emissions. In extreme mountain environments where safety is a top priority, sometimes high-emission equipment and vehicles are used to keep athletes and spectators safe. Additionally, while public transportation is encouraged, many event destinations lack rail access, and public transportation with ski equipment is difficult.
Despite challenges, the Freeride World Tour and FIS remain optimistic about the tour’s future emissions. The tour carefully tracks its emissions using the FIS Carbon Dioxide Calculator, helping it to find areas of improvement. The tour also uses locally sourced food, partners with the Summit Foundation for mountain cleanups, and engages in environmental research.
“As mountain lovers, we are committed to taking meaningful action to reduce our impact as much as possible,” Cenci told FIS.
The Freeride World Tour has demonstrated that reducing emissions in snow sports is possible. With the conclusion of its 2025-26 season, the tour will look to continue its sustainability initiatives as it shifts its focus to preparing for 2026-27 competition.
