The Highlands is committed to sustainability, and we're working hard to reduce our environmental impact at every level of resort operations. Over the next few years, we'll continue to utilize a combination of cutting-edge technology and ingenuity to increase efficiency, reduce waste and emissions, and ensure the health of our natural resources for generations to come. Our efforts are in coordination with ForeverProject, Boyne Resorts' goal of reducing carbon emissions to net zero throughout North American operations by 2030.
Highlands Future - 2030
We have mapped a transformation for the years to come, one we mean to achieve in the most sustainable way possible, through what we call the ForeverProject. The late, great founder of this story, Everett Kircher, once said, “You have to make improvements. Otherwise, you won’t make progress.” So here we go, we’re building a better future, sharing every step as we go. Most of all, we’re making more room for the stories that will transform people’s lives forever.
Latest News
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ForeverDay 2022
SEP 15
Across Boyne Resorts, we are celebrating ForeverDay with mini sustainable projects to enhance sustainability and recycling efforts. From trash clean-up to planting native Michigan wildflowers, The Highlands Team embodied ForeverDay!
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Offset Your Trip
One of the major steps The Highlands has taken in reaching our 2030 net-zero emissions goal is to partner with Tradewater to offset emissions from our operation.
Guiding Principles
Mindful Efficiency
Create and maintain a culture of reduction: energy use, waste output, water impact; balanced with maximized utilization of our human, technological, natural, and financial resources.
Tireless Conservation
Protect the natural environment unwaveringly, ensuring proper use for purposes related to outdoor recreation, and preserving or rehabilitating the land over which we are stewards.
Innovative Collaboration
Support and reward outreach and partnerships that extend beyond all traditional boundaries, providing deeply valuable impact among our team members, and in our communities, industry, and environment for the long term.
Climate Awards
Making a Difference
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ENERGY EFFICIENT SNOWMAKING
The Highlands recently replaced several of our older snow guns with state-of-the-art HKD R5 Impulse towers and sleds out on North Peak. This installation will not only allow us to open a skiers’ favorite earlier in the season, but it will use only a fraction of the amount of compressed air formerly needed for snowmaking. These energy efficient snow guns have lowered the required time to cover the same amount of terrain by nearly 24 percent, allowing The Highlands to outpace the regional effects of climate change. This installation is projected to save over 600,000 kWH, throughout the course of each season.
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COMPOSTING & RECYCLING
The Highlands has recently teamed up with Emmet County Recycling to compost all our pre-consumer food waste. We are proud to be working with a program that last year alone diverted over 220,000 pounds of local restaurant food waste from the landfill. They in turn mix the food waste with yard waste and turn it into nutrient rich compost for local farmers and gardeners. Additionally, our food and beverage department has switched to using Your Green2Go compostable takeout containers and plant starch utensils. Our new composting program is a nice complement to our current recycling efforts, which last year alone were responsible for diverting over 290,000 pounds of paper and over 115,000 pounds of mixed containers from the landfill.
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RENEWABLE ENERGY COMMITMENT
As of January 1, 2021, Boyne Resorts committed to a renewable energy purchase with CMS Enterprises, a CMS Energy subsidiary, which entirely offsets electric energy consumption at its resorts and facilities throughout North America. As a result, The Highlands’ electrical consumption will be 100% renewable energy for 2021 by sourcing a global purchase of renewable energy credits.
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Boyne Resorts is committed to a goal of reducing carbon emissions to net zero throughout our North American operations by 2030.