MADRID, 23 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The general director of Grandvalira-ENSISA, David Hidalgo, has highlighted that sustainability is a key axis in the Andorran resort’s candidacy to host the Alpine Skiing World Championships in 2027, both at an environmental and social level, and has highlighted that they work hard to organize “an event accessible to everyone”.
“We understand sustainability in its entirety. Sometimes, when we talk about sustainability, we only talk about the environmental part, in which Grandvalira has been working for many years. For us, environmental awareness is not something new, but sustainability it goes further: solidarity, equality, labor rights… We have assumed as our own the development objectives of the United Nations, of the 2030 Agenda, and with a whole sustainability plan that responds to each of these objectives,” he said in a interview to Europe Press.
Thus, the competition aspires, among other things, to be “an event accessible to everyone”, as well as to continue betting on a policy of equality. “We are the only organizing committee that has 50-50% parity, and not facing the gallery, but really executive; in the last European Cup finals, there was 50% of each gender. There are a lot of plans , but above all there is an internal coherence. That is to say, there does not have to be a ‘green washing’ message just for the sake of it,” he pointed out.
In this sense, “almost 40 different action plans in seven different areas” have been launched, such as equality, labor rights, solidarity or environmental sustainability. “In Andorra we can choose the electrical mix that we want and what we already have the guarantee is that we will have 100% of the energy supplied from renewable sources. We seek that internal coherence, not only during the 15 days of the World Championship, but already from now on. We have assumed that this entire sustainability plan does not have to be for 2027, but that we have already started walking from today”, he continued.
Regarding the management of water for the production of snow and for other services, Hidalgo explained that they are aware of controlling energy consumption. “It is not that we consume a lot of water, we slow down the water cycle. We turn water into snow through a process of air and water, without any additives. Artificial snow is natural snow, snow produced, it melts and returns to the channel The key is to be able to have significant water reserves,” he said.
Regarding this, he announced that they are working with the University of Lleida and with the Andorran Ministry of the Environment in a study of all the flows of the rivers of Andorra to define the use plan that the stations will be able to make in the next twenty years. “We have sensorized all the riverbeds in the country to know at all times what the average riverbed is and what is the minimum that must be maintained so that the ecosystem is balanced. This study will give us a clear idea of how much water we can have “, he stressed.
Hidalgo also stressed that as technology advances they can be “more efficient.” “We are looking for storage capacity, production capacity and, above all, optimization of the energy used. These would be the three pillars. We are an electricity-intensive sector and we have to put all our efforts into optimizing it, reducing it as much as possible and, above all, be as efficient as possible,” he said.
“If we calculate the footprint per person, we would be surprised and see that the energy footprint of people who live in mountain environments is much lower than that of those who live in cities. We have carried out a study that says that a large part of the Drinking water from the mouth is lost due to inefficiencies in the pipes, because there are leaks. We are optimizing our infrastructure to the maximum to reduce leaks,” he warned.
On the other hand, Hidalgo stressed that Grandvalira’s candidacy is Andorra’s candidacy and that, therefore, they will focus on working “with Andorran companies”. “We will present our sustainability plan together with the Andorran Electric Forces company (FEDA), which is the company that has become a standard bearer for sustainability in our country. It is a very solid partner, it will help us bring knowledge and experience,” he said.
Unlike the candidatures of the Swiss Crans-Montana, the German Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Norwegian Narvik, Grandvalira is clearly committed to pioneering Alpine Ski World Championships in terms of accessibility and inclusiveness. “The International Ski Federation has been very pleased with our commitment to accessibility; they would be the first World Championships to have accessibility as one of their work axes”, she highlighted.
“We have worked with a company that specializes in analyzing ‘pain points’. Their starting point is that 40% of the world’s population, at one time or another in their lives, will have some type of disability, whether temporary or temporary. permanent. When we talk about disability we always think of someone who has mobility difficulties, but this company works with thirteen different levels of disability, from difficulty interpreting signs, vision, hearing, etc.”, he said.
“We want to know where we are and design an investment plan so that by 2027 we have improved in all the indicators. We will go much further than what the regulations require, because the regulations are very, very brief. We are going to force both our environment and our Government to follow us. When you propose an event, you propose it for the whole world, not only for people who have mobility without limitations or for people who have perfect vision”, he added.
Lastly, Hidalgo believes that the harsh weather conditions experienced at the resort in the European Ski Cup finals will be an apprenticeship to become the venue for the World Cups. “They required an additional level of effort, they stressed the organization to the maximum, and it has been shown that when the weather conditions are adverse there is a capacity to react,” he said, stressing that the International Federation technicians praised his response.
“There are other organizers who, with the weather forecast, would have said ‘the races are not going to take place’. Here they have fought to the fullest. All the technical tests were saved in truly incredible conditions, and two speed training sessions were saved; no we saved the descent because on the last night we lacked three hours of serene night to have been able to celebrate it. We have been put to the test and the response has been very positive, they have congratulated us for it”, he continued.
In addition, he recalled that the probability of adverse weather in Andorra is “quite less” than that of its rivals. “That also positions us very well, although it is not a guarantee for anyone. The guarantee is that, if things go wrong, we will be there and we will respond to the maximum, as was shown that time,” she concluded.