For The Good
FOR THE GOOD is the affirmation of our commitment to do better for our world. When we were certified as a B Corporation in 2017, we pledged to protect our people, place, and planet, and have fun while we do it.
This has been a rewarding journey so far, but it’s not over. We must constantly improve our efforts and look for innovations because there is always room to do more.
B Corp
USING BUSINESS AS A FORCE FOR GOOD
Here at Taos Ski Valley, we strive to be the best version of ourselves that we possibly can. In that spirit, Taos Ski Valley became the first ski resort in the world to become a certified B-Corporation in 2017. Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.
As a B Corp™, we join a global community that uses business as a force for good. It means we have an obligation to consider our workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment in everything we do. We pursue business practices that are not only environmentally friendly but promote a more resilient and robust community that celebrates the rich, living cultures that are woven together in the region.
We are committed to making sure our community has the ability to experience the freedom and fun the mountain offers and actively seek opportunities to make sure the youth in Taos as well as underserved communities have the opportunity to ski. We invest in our local community through the donation of ski passes, ski lessons, and lodging, as well as hosting numerous charitable events throughout the year.
A few of our current initiatives include working with the Taos Community Foundation on programs like Give a Kid a L.I.F.T and the Ridge-a-Thon, Not Forgotten Outreach Week, and Boarding 4 Breast Cancer Shred the Love.
101 Ways and Counting
WORKERS
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1. We made a commitment to pay equity as it is the foundation of inclusion—we are committed to ensuring we pay our people fairly based on comparable work, experience, and performance, regardless of gender, race, religion, or age 2. Staff are able and encouraged to use their paid volunteer time to give back to the community. In 2019 our staff contributed 291 hours of paid volunteer time throughout Taos County 3. We are committed to B Lab’s Inclusive Economy Challenge & diversity/inclusion efforts 4. We committed to increasing our minimum wage to a living wage for our staff, based on the MIT calculation for Taos County 5. We value the importance of Mental Health First Aid and provide training for all our managers & first responders to be Mental Health First Aid Responders. We are also actively working to break down the stigma around mental health 6. We have a partnership with Greenheart Exchange, one of the only non-profit work and travel agencies that recruit our international staff and promotes volunteer activity 7. We created an Environmental, Social, and Governance portfolio with our 401K so people could ensure their contributions were more sustainable 8. In order to be more inclusive and help our staff members plan for retirement, we have expanded our 401K program to include our seasonal staff 9. We offer a free staff shuttle – reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 299 metric tons of CO2 10. We have a first-time home buyer discount of $1,000 off closing costs for our staff members 11. We have incorporated a give-back component to all staff parties to connect our seasonal staff to the community 12. We have participated in the Fit for Snow program for over 5 years – an educational program to increase awareness around exercise and nutrition to help alleviate injury for on-snow staff 13. We offer discounted gym memberships to local gyms for our staff 14. We have a safety committee dedicated to promoting and improving the safety and well-being of our staff members & guests 15. We offer free yoga classes for staff members throughout the winter season 16. We provide healthy “snack days” once a month during ski season for all staff members 17. Recipients of the 2020 Platinum New Mexico Family Business Award. Highlights of our practices include:
18. We renovated and improved many workspaces throughout the resort, ie: staff locker room, Rio Hondo Learning Center, Patrol headquarters, admin office, and more 19. We invested in the Avalung packs for Ski Patrol 20. We have continuously been upgrading vehicle fleets for staff 21. We offer a robust Employee Assistance Program for both staff and their family members 22. We offer paid parental leave for qualifying staff members 23. We offer paid health days to both year-round staff and seasonal staff members 24. Payout of staff bonuses when the company does well financially 25. Purchased & renovated employee housing units to offer affordable housing options to staff 26. Increased the 401K match for those that qualify from 3% to 4% 27. Continue to pay 75% of our FTYR staff’s health insurance and 65% of their dependents 28. We have invested in a Gazex system to make the avalanche mitigation on Kachina less hazardous for our patrol team 29. Over 20 full-time, year-round positions have been created for Taos Ski Valley staff in 2019 – we have increased the number of FTYR fully benefited staff by 40% since 2014 30. Created an Inclusiveness statement and incorporated it into all of our recruiting materials 31. 34.5% of Taos Ski Valley staff identify as belonging to a minority race 32. Partnered with Zen for Business, a fellow B Corp™, to provide training and development for our leadership team 33. Various staff members have participated in the Leadership Journey program; sponsoring the development of local leaders 34. We have partnered with Ride Amigos to offer a Ride Share App for staff members, encouraging them to carpool to work as well as around town. |
community
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35. Staff have the option to donate their $10.00 recognition cards to the Taos Community Foundation and we match their contribution 36. A partnership has been established with the Division of Vocational Resources, the Taos High School, and the University of New Mexico to provide an apprenticeship to students with disabilities 37. Partnering with the University of New Mexico to create a culinary certificate program as an effort to help develop a stronger local workforce 38. Taos has partnered with B Corp™ vendors and suppliers and established strong relationships with vendors/suppliers from New Mexico or from underrepresented populations
39. A growing partnership with Not Forgotten Outreach and the adaptive snowsports program 40. We became an Employer of National Service with AmeriCorps and Peace Corps, recognizing the unique skills of military service members, veterans & national service alumni. 41. Numerous local non-profit organizations have benefited from the contributions made by Taos Ski Valley's Donor Advised Fund through the Taos Community Foundation's grant program
42. We have committed to highly discounted children’s snowsports programs that support local participation and the growth of the future of the snowsports industry. We also created a new initiative in 2019 called L.I.F.T. – Learning Initiative For Taos, a program that allows staff and guests to sponsor underserved youth to be able to enjoy our snowsports programs. 43. We continue to maintain a strong relationship with the Taos Pueblo and recognize the importance of this amazing UNESCO World Heritage Site to the region 44. We actively work with New Mexico Workforce Connection to recruit local workforce through job fairs, rapid hire events, and advertising efforts 45. We’ve tapped into the local culture and history by commissioning artists and artisans to provide furnishings and amenities for The Blake, The Blake Penthouses, and expanding our scope throughout The Blake Residences
46. We created and hosted the B Inspired Day in February 2019 to educate the public on B Corps™. We also hosted the 2nd annual B Leadership Summit which helped form the "B Corp™ Climate Action Collective" 47. Sponsoring the Believe in New Mexico Day in conjunction with the local New Mexico B Corp™ community, the New Mexico Economic Development Department, and University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management to showcase responsible businesses in New Mexico 48. Every Fall, we host an annual Night of Philanthropy to benefit the Taos Community Foundation and allow our staff to give back through donations – Taos Ski Valley, Inc. matches all staff donations 49. At the end of the 2018-19 season we hosted an InterClub Ski Race that raised over $125,000 for the Taos Community Foundation 50. Our annual Boarding for Breast Cancer event raising money for breast cancer research and the Anita Salas Fund 51. We recruit with the women’s and men’s shelters in town to help develop a stronger local workforce 52. We work with our local Centinel Bank for our banking needs 53. We offer a robust friends & family discounted ticket program to our staff which directly impacts our local community by offering them the opportunity to experience Taos Ski Valley for free or for a steep discount |
governance
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54. Taos Ski Valley, Inc. has a commitment to grow better, not bigger 55. Our CEO, David Norden, signed the Camber Outdoors CEO Pledge, ensuring that Taos would strive to elevate an inclusive workplace where diversity of experience and people as a strategic business imperative will set our organization above the status quo 56. We have created and are implementing a purchasing policy that will hold ourselves and our partners accountable to more efficient and sustainable business practices 57. We signed the B Corp Declaration of Interdependence – found here: https://bcorporation.net/about-b-corps 58. Taos Ski Valley, Inc. signed on to support the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act; a bipartisan climate solution 59. We conducted a supplier survey to understand who we do business with and what their core values are. Currently, of the companies surveyed, 26% are owned by individuals who are minorities, women, veterans, or from underrepresented populations and it is our goal to continue to grow that number! 60. We have amended our corporate by-laws to state that the Board of Directors will consider all stakeholders and not just shareholders in decision making |
Environment
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61. We continue to work with The Nature Conservancy & The Rio Grande Water Fund to help promote forest health and a clean watershed. Our trail crew works hard throughout the summer in order to promote forest health and a clean watershed that affects the entire community 62. We encourage staff members to participate in our “go-green pay-stub initiative” so that they receive electronic pay-stubs instead of printed ones 63. We have a commitment to clean up our waste stream and improve our Taos Verde recycling program 64. We've partnered with Fairware for our recruitment and sales promotional products to ensure fairtrade and humane practices 65. We use Stone Paper to create our resort maps, employment guides, and leadership notebooks 66. Our food dehydrator converted over 28,000 pounds of food waste into soil amendment last year 67. We utilize geothermal wells for heating & cooling The Blake 68. We created a program called hydrate locally, help globally – which aims to eliminate single-use plastic throughout the resort 69. We use the soil amendment from the food dehydrator to landscape our mountain 70. We’ve incorporated occupancy light sensors/timers in all our new & renovated office spaces to reduce consumption 71. We utilize local suppliers whenever possible. We’re proud of the local players we work with, including; Chemistry, Second Street Brewery, Tea.O.Graphy, Taos Bakes, Zekes, Randall’s Lumber, Safe House Distilling, Co., Beck & Bulow, and so many more. 72. Partnering with the Village of Taos Ski Valley on the river restoration to create a healthier habitat for fish, wildlife, and opportunity to enjoy the river 73. All-hands, all-lands prescribed burn - forest health collaboration with Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, and fire department. 74. Native Energy helped us calculate, reduce, and offset the carbon footprint of Taos Air to a net-zero impact 75. We won the 2017 National Ski Area Association Golden Eagle Award for Environmental Excellence 76. We won the 2019 National Ski Area Association Golden Eagle Award for Innovation in Sustainability award for the food dehydrator program 77. We have worked with Spyder to help them reduce their packaging waste for our uniform program 78. Snowmaking operations - replaced three 200HP motors and one 400HP motor with new, high-efficiency inverter duty motors 79. Taos has installed a state-of-the-art Sno.Matic system to promote safe, reliable, and efficient operation of the snowmaking system 80. We have created new diversion gates at the river intakes our pump stations allowing better water flow and bypass gates to control natural water flow from the snowmaking uses of the river 81. Installed a variable frequency drive onto one of our existing 250 HP motors 82. We purchased a new PB 600 Polar Snowcat that uses 20-30% less fuel 83. Upgrading grooming fleet to all tier 4 diesel motors to make the fleet more fuel-efficient 84. Leasing fuel/energy efficient shuttles for our staff and guest shuttle programs 85. Retrofitting our new & existing facilities with low-flow water fixtures, waterless urinals, and dual flush toilets with the goal of reducing our water consumption 86. We now have a fleet of 110 high efficient, low energy use, HKD impulse snowguns 87. We source local products for the Spa & Wellness Center 88. Housekeeping at The Blake has eliminated the use of small toiletries and using green cleaning products 89. We have invested in lift upgrades that are more energy-efficient than our antiquated lifts 90. Our commitment to the NSAA climate challenge – participated since 2015 91. We have a strong partnership with Protect Our Winters and have contributed up to $5,000 to their initiatives, year-over-year 92. We purchased a Winter Stieger tuning machine that runs off less amps and has fewer disposables which reduces our waste and energy consumption (and also turns out an amazing tune for your skis/snowboard) 93. Silver LEED Certification for The Blake 94. We participate in “hard-to-recycle” programs such as recycling car batteries, printer ink cartridges, light bulbs, etc. |
CUSTOMERS
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95. Guests are able to opt into a $2.00 nightly donation during their stay at The Blake which will be donated to The Taos Community Foundation 96. Dog Pass for passholder pups where the contributions from the pass support the Taos Avalanche Rescue Dogs 97. We are incorporating Inclusive Bathroom Signage across the resort 98. Countless events and speaker series promoting community ties, outreach, etc. 99. We offer tours of The Blake to internal and external guests that honor our rich culture and history and help connect The Blake & Taos Ski Valley to both the town of Taos and the Taos Pueblo 100. $50,000 donated from chair lift sales to Hurricane Harvey efforts 101. Installed Electric Vehicle chargers in The Blake and parking lot for our guests |
AND WE CONTINUE TO DO MORE...
