Jun 03, 2025 - The snow sports industry is increasingly recognizing the urgent need to address climate change and secure a sustainable future for generations to come. To be at the forefront of this transition, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) is committed to advancing sustainability.
Guided by this strategic vision, the FIS Impact Report 2024 serves as both a framework for structuring key sustainability priorities and a roadmap for future action. The report highlights FIS’s progress to date, acknowledges ongoing challenges, and outlines areas still in development. As such, it provides a benchmark for accountability, and reinforces FIS’s commitment to transparency and sustainable transformation.
The report presents FIS’s key sustainability objectives. For each objective, major projects and tools are highlighted which represent significant milestones and showcase meaningful, exemplary progress in sustainability. These objectives are organized under three overarching pillars:
1. Eco-Responsible Choices
Focusing on environmental sustainability and climate action, this pillar includes:
Mitigating climate change
Supporting biodiversity and nature conservation
Advancing a circular economy
2. Responsible Choices
Aiming to promote inclusivity, human rights, and well-being through sport, this pillar includes:
Safeguarding human rights
Ensuring inclusivity and accessibility
Promoting sport as a tool for well-being
3. Responsible Governance
Focused on creating value, fostering innovation, and enhancing collaboration within the winter sports ecosystem, this pillar includes:
Creating long-term value
Ensuring responsible and transparent governance
Encouraging innovation and idea-sharing
A core focus of FIS’s sustainability agenda has been to measure and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Collaborations with global experts such as Planet Mark and Deloitte have strengthened these efforts. Notable achievements include the launch of a CO₂ calculator, the delivery of training programs and webinars for key industry stakeholders, and partnerships with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the European Space Agency (ESA) to better harness science and technology in addressing climate change and biodiversity loss.
Yet, FIS’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond these environmental efforts. That is, FIS embraces a comprehensive approach that also prioritizes strong social and governance responsibilities.
On the social front, a significant achievement has been the creation of a framework for the FIS Refugee Team. In December 2023, Atefeh Ahmadi became the first athlete granted FIS Refugee Team status. She was one of eight new recipients of the Refugee Athlete Scholarship announced by the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF) - and notably, the first from a winter sport. Ahmadi, who sought asylum in Germany after leaving Iran, made history as the only Iranian woman to compete at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
FIS also continues to champion responsible governance through initiatives like the FIS Code of Ethics, which promotes core principles such as transparency, integrity, solidarity, and fair play. Plus, beyond internal policy, FIS aims to be a powerful advocate for positive change, leveraging its political and social influence to take a bold, high-profile stand on the climate crisis.
These highlights offer just a glimpse into FIS’s broader impact. To explore the full scope of FIS’s 2024 sustainability efforts and accomplishments, view the complete 2024 Impact Report .
You can count on FIS to double down on its commitment to support a better planet, a better society, and a better future. Whether it be striving for diversity and gender equality, promoting human rights, or taking action on climate change, FIS will keep on working - and keep on holding itself accountable.Johan Eliasch, FIS President
