our
manifesto
Responsible, committed, confident in the future
We are convinced that the Aravis mountains are a wonderful source of values and positive energy. A living environment, rich in wildlife, flora and forests, they are also a shared land, looked after by those who live and work here. They are also a magnificent place for learning, for knowledge as much as for human values, through sport, skiing, our history, our traditions and the people who live here…
La Clusaz, a village before being a resort
At the foot of the Aravis range, La Clusaz brings together a renowned ski area, a village lived in all year round, mountain pastures where, among other things, the famous farmhouse Reblochon cheese is made, and craftspeople who keep local know-how alive.
More than a hundred years ago, when skiing arrived, our elders welcomed it with common sense: a complement, never a replacement. Everyone kept their farm, opened a small hotel, installed their own lift. La Clusaz never sold its soul to “white gold”, and it still shows today:
- Pastures still grazed and traditions that are very much alive;
- Local volunteers who bring the village to life all year round, with slightly offbeat events;
- A village that has grown without oversized property developments;
- A ski area where two family-run companies still exist, with their own ski tows and snow groomers.
SATELC belongs to this land and helps keep it alive.
Our convictions
The mountain is not a backdrop. It is a living environment.
Its biodiversity, its farming and its craftsmanship shaped our landscapes long before skiing did. We have a duty to protect them.
Skiing has a future, but it will no longer stand alone.
The Climsnow scientific study, which forecasts snow reliability decades ahead using the same calculation bases as the IPCC, is clear: we will ski in La Clusaz as we do today until 2050, and even until the end of the century in the Balme sector.
But seasons will be more unpredictable, and difficult winters more frequent. We refuse denial, just as we refuse doom-mongering. That is why, starting today, we are anticipating these changes and preparing for the future with reason, but with confidence.
Skiing will finance the transition.
Winter still accounts for 70% of the village’s economic activity. It is what gives us the means today to build tomorrow’s mountain.
The mountain is a place of meaning.
People come to glide, but also to breathe, to contemplate, to learn and to share. Already 40% of overnight stays take place outside winter.
With its history, its traditions and its people, La Clusaz has everything it takes to pass on its values, its nature, its natural wealth and its knowledge.
We haven’t waited to act
In the mountains, we are the first witnesses of climate change and periods of drought. Since 2017, the way we work has been changing.
The results are in:
What we have done
Moving away from fossil fuels
- Fuel oil replaced by heat pumps and geothermal energy: -85% emissions for our buildings.
- Diesel replaced by HVO, a fuel made from vegetable oils: -90% emissions for our machinery.
- 100% renewable, local electricity from the Seyssel dam, supplemented by our own solar panels.
- Satellite-optimised snow grooming (Snowsat), village shuttles, incentive pricing with ski + bus mobility offers, and dedicated carpool parking at Balme.
Respecting water and wildlife
- Snowmaking managed as precisely as possible (ATASS) and meters on all our water points.
- Water from our reservoirs supplies livestock on the mountain pastures in summer.
- Work carried out with farmers, at the pace of pastoral farming.
- Areas closed to skiers to protect the black grouse.
Investing equally in skiing and diversification
- Our investment budget is split equally between skiing and other activities. A rarity for a ski area.
- In 2026: modernised Col de Balme chairlift and expanded Family Run, for young skiers in winter and beginner mountain bikers in summer, but above all to invest at altitude.
- Snowmaking installed on La Bergerie in 2025, and historic slopes made safer: Family Run, Stade du Louveteau, Mélèze, Combe des Juments.
- Bike park, trails, panoramic terraces… and summer luge tracks since 1985.
- And more: Espace Immersif, a new luge track, a giant swing, Kart, Débaroule…
- And soon: a new film, a mini bike park, a treetop adventure course, a cycle track, a zip line, a stargazing discovery area…
Taking care of our teams
- Profit-sharing, 13th-month pay, value-sharing bonus and a heavily subsidised canteen: the wealth created is shared.
- An ambitious training plan and career development for permanent and seasonal staff alike.
- Permanent jobs created for workers who cover both winter and summer seasons, and new housing created.
Our commitments
What we have done is not enough. We commit to:
- Reaching carbon neutrality by 2035, by cutting our CO2 emissions by 95% thanks to HVO and by strengthening our decarbonisation fund.
- Using only renewable, local electricity: solar power produced by ourselves and 100% hydroelectric.
- Making snow as precisely as possible, without drawing more water: slope by slope, covering more terrain with the same amount of water as today.
- Making summer a true pillar: 40% of our activity outside skiing by 2040, with the Bossonnet four-season luge track, the Balme aquatic play area, the walking and cycling trails at Beauregard, the discovery of the timber industry at Combe des Juments…
- Giving back to nature what we have taken, by restoring to nature the areas developed for our activity.
- Housing those who keep the resort alive, by doubling our seasonal-worker housing by 2030.
- No longer going it alone: helping our customers and suppliers reduce their emissions, and involving associations and researchers in our projects from the design stage.
What we give up
The hardest part is not acting. It is giving things up.
In the mountains, knowing when to turn back saves lives. The guide who gives up the summit doesn’t lose: they save their strength to keep going. We apply this principle to our development.
We have already said no:
- NO to a Club Méditerranée resort.
- NO to developing the Combe de la Creuse.
- NO to promotion aimed at intercontinental markets.
- NO to tourist residences built to finance new lifts.
- NO to fossil fuels.
And we are still giving up, to prepare for the future:
- keeping every lift: the Côte 2000 chairlift will be dismantled;
- grooming every slope, everywhere, all the time;
- guaranteeing that you can ski back to the village in all circumstances: in some winters it won’t be possible, and we accept that;
- making skiing our only horizon: every euro invested in skiing is also invested in diversification;
- “always more”.
So that we can say YES to restraint, to improving what already exists, to projects true to our history, to consultation and to the transition.
These renunciations have a cost. We accept it, because they are the best proof that our development is steered in a sustainable and responsible way.
Keeping our word
A manifesto is only worth the actions that follow it. Our results since 2017 show that we keep our commitments. We will keep going, even when it is hard, even when we have to give something up.
Our ambition is clear: to make La Clusaz the model for the mid-altitude mountain resort of tomorrow. To remain a village that lives with skiing, but not only from skiing. And to show other villages in the Alps, and beyond, that it is possible, because we will have done it.
Nothing is won in advance. We will meet obstacles, opposition, doubts. We are prepared for them. This project will only succeed with everyone’s energy: residents, village professionals, employees, partners, visitors, and all those who recognise themselves in this vision of the mountains.
So that at the end of the century, La Clusaz is still what it is today: a true Alpine village, the real thing, where people ski.
This manifesto is our commitment. It is neither perfect nor exemplary, but we are convinced and determined to change things!
Partners
