The Grand Lodge on Peak 7 was recently awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Pollution Prevention award for its region and is the only hospitality company to win the award nationwide. 

The award was granted for reducing natural gas consumption by 14% in 2022. This reduction was achieved by increasing efficiencies in snowmelt systems and mitigating overall usage. 

The Grand Lodge, part of the family of resorts operated by Breckenridge Grand Vacations, is at the base of Peak 7 in the Tenmile Range. The 20-year-old, ski-in/ski-out resort borders Breckenridge Ski Resort.

Some methods utilized by the Grand Lodge to mitigate natural gas usage included implementing weather forecasting and simple system efficiency improvements. These measures have enabled their snowmelt systems to predict weather patterns, allowing them to turn on and off when needed more accurately.

The lodge also turned their melting temperature down from 80 degrees to 40 degrees, which significantly decreased their natural gas usage. 

“We are honored to be recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency for the hard work and efforts we have put into reducing our carbon footprint. We are committed to continually improving as a company and finding ways to reduce our impact,” said sustainability manager Emily Kimmel in a recent news release.