In a Swiss alpine village, this organisation works to prevent climate change’s destructive effects

The tale of Blatten is a cautionary one. On 28 May, a catastrophic glacier collapse obliterated the small alpine village of Blatten in Switzerland. The thawing permafrost caused an avalanche of ice and stone to rush down, burying the entire village in seconds. Of its inhabitants, 300 were successfully evacuated days prior — one man remains missing, presumed to have stayed behind. The survivors lost everything they owned.

Alpine villages like Blatten are always the first to feel the effects of climate change. When the temperatures rise and greenhouse gas emissions reach their peaks, the icy peaks of the mountains will crack and lose their structural integrity, posing a stark danger to anyone living below. Although it may be too late to prevent the tragedy of Blatten, there’s another Swiss village currently seeking to mitigate climate change’s effect on them.

Andermatt

Andermatt is unique. Its stewards of sustainability are not the government, nor an alliance of local villagers. In fact, Andermatt Responsible Board is the representative of two companies, Andermatt Swiss Alps Group and Andermatt-Sedrun Sports AG. The former is responsible for driving the transformation of Andermatt into a 365-day Alpine destination and community, while the latter manages the year-round mountainside resort that offers a range of winter and summer sports — and thus, both companies have a vested interest in protecting the environment of the village they are based in. It’s no longer just a matter of visitor experience when climate change could wipe out the entire region in a matter of years.

Formed to manage issues of sustainability and climate change on behalf of the two companies, the Andermatt Responsible Board focuses on four pillars — customer centricity, people and culture, strategic partnerships and ESG. As the strategic supervising body for the Andermatt Responsible initiatives, they set targets that the companies are encouraged to meet.

Energy sustainability strategies

So far, their strategies seem to be working. Their recently-published report, which covers their activities in 2024, states that both groups used less fossil fuels, consuming less overall energy for heating and cooling than in the previous year. Although the consumption of electricity and water as well as waste disposal increased, they attributed it to the higher number of tourists visiting, as well as higher occupancy rates. An 8.2% overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions was also observed, with emissions decreasing by 25.8% in 2024 alone.

On long-term sustainability, the group is actively working to invest in energy-efficient infrastructure to reduce overall costs. Measures taken include optimising their oldest office buildings for energy efficiency, as well as hiring experts to conduct measurements on their cable cars to determine their ideal operating speed for maximising energy efficiency. All their new buildings are reportedly climate-neutral, with high-consumption facilities like the cableway running on CO2e-neutral electricity from the region.

Reforestation in progress

In addition, a large-scale project is currently underway for the region. The Board has partnered with Wald und Klima, the Ursern Forest and Climate Association, to begin a reforestation project for the Ursern Valley. As a corporate partner, the Group is financing the buying of seedlings to be planted in the Swiss Alps, investing in both a new habitat for the wildlife as well as a carbon sink for the future.

Although there may be some doubts on how effective it will be at offsetting the carbon emissions of the group itself, it’s possible. “If you’re in it for the long haul, yes,” confirmed Pascal Heiniger, a forester at Wald un Klima Ursern. “The mountain forest here needs 50 to 100 years to reach that level.” Regardless of short-term feasibility, it is undoubtedly a step in the right direction for the region.

Challenges to tackle

Even with all the sustainability measures being implemented, there remains multiple uncertainties. The continued unpredictability of the weather in the mountainous regions force the tourists and companies to abide by Mother Nature’s schedule instead of their own. A cold snap in April with record snowfall, for example, caused the 2024 cycling, mountain biking and hiking seasons to start late. Locals left the area in droves to vacation abroad as summer brought with it high levels of precipitation, all of which affected the amount of resources used and made the previous year’s resource predictions less accurate.

The Andermatt Responsible Board also needs to tread the fine balance between its own economic goals and sustainability values. Some challenges cited in the report include the increased use of resources to cater to larger volumes of tourists, as well as how 95.7% of the group’s emissions currently come from their indirect supply chain.

As climate increases and its 2040 net-zero target rapidly approaches, Andermatt’s tale is one of cautious optimism. Its comprehensive climate strategy, backed by both locals and companies, is a mixed-approach one that delicately balances the livelihood of the region against the rapidly approaching danger of climate change. The world will continue to watch Andermatt’s climate model pave the way, and if it can serve as a viable strategy to adopt in this fast-changing climate.