Island Lake Wins Environmental Award

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Already world renowned for its world-class cat skiing, and luxury backcountry experience, Island Lake Lodge is positioning itself as a leader in sustainable tourism and environmental conservation. In the past year, Island Lake Lodge has received a 4-Key rating in the Hotel Association of Canada’s Green Key Program, and was also recently awarded the Energy and Environment Award of Excellence, also from the HAC. These two designations mark Island Lake Lodge as a national leader in sustainable practices for the hospitality industry.

With over 7000 acres of property owned by the company, including a rare Old Growth Cedar forest, it is very important to the owners to preserve the land’s natural heritage. A key step to ensuring a sustainable business model was the installation 5 years ago of a 2 stage micro-hydro system. Since the installation of this system, Island Lake has generated 100% of its electrical needs on site from the nearby stream. This has eliminated the need to burn diesel generators, thus reducing both exhaust pollution and noise pollution in their idyllic setting.

Not content with stopping there, over the past year they have taken a hard look at many of their other business practices. A Green Committee was formed to audit and brainstorm new ideas that will improve not only the environmental impacts of their business, but also the corporate bottom line. Areas that have seen a change include: Housekeeping have switched their cleaning products to a Green Seal approved cleaner to eliminate the need to use toxic cleaners around the lodges; the recycling program has expanded to include compact fluorescent light bulbs and used in room amenity containers; and the feasibility of a staff shuttle has been studied and hopes to be implemented this summer. According to Kyle Hamilton, who has been the key driver to much of this change, its purpose is to improve the guests experience at the lodge, and to help promote environmental best practices in our day to day lives. “It doesn’t take much to make little lifestyle changes that have a big impact and hopefully when our guests see what we have accomplished they will feel motivated to take charge and make better decisions in their own lives” he says.

While many may see the receipt of the Hotel Association of Canada’s Energy and Environment Award as a culmination of effort, Island Lake hopes to use it as a stepping stone to leverage themselves into the international spotlight. With the release of the Master Development Plan last spring, Island Lake’s owners have put forth their Land Use Strategy for the development of the 7000 acres they own. Most notable among the highlights of the plan are the commitment to minimize the footprint of the development. In all, less than 3% of the total land holdings will be developed. The remainder will be placed into covenants to ensure that it remains natural space into perpetuity. As the development plans progress, Island Lake Lodge hopes to ensure that environmental best practices are followed throughout and that the property becomes an international example of sustainable development.