Working towards sustainability.
“Sustainability can be defined as a state of dynamic equilibrium achieved by taking responsibility for balancing long term economic, environmental and social health – for our communities, our world and ourselves. Sustainability brings to light the connections between natural and human communities. It implies evolving our local and global civilization in a manner that makes sense socially, ecologically and economically. It involves treating our world as if we intend to stay. “
— Stewardship of Mountains Ecosystems: Best Practices for Sustainability, HeliCat Canada 2003
The helicopter and snowcat (helicat) industry has an opportunity to act as a leader in adventure tourism and the greater business community by implementing practices for sustainability in mountain ecosystems. We recognize that currently available technology does not allow for a perfectly sustainable helicopter or snowcat skiing operation. However, committing to current best practices and looking towards the next practices possible will allow operations to continue to evolve towards a more sustainable future.
By acting as a leader and demonstrating the possibilities of sustainability to our staff, guests and the public, the helicat industry hopes other recreation, tourism and outdoor resource industries will join us in our vision of a sustainable future.
The sustainability next practices mission.
HeliCat Canada’s sustainability next practices mission is to provide a living document that informs and guides operators in prioritizing and implementing strategies and next practices that consider all focus areas of sustainability relevant to mountain operations, and acts as a model for other industries and stakeholders.
A resource for operators
The purpose of this page is to be a resource for the industry. It serves to assist operators in understanding regulations and prioritizing sustainability when planning their next practices. The practices suggested within are voluntary and not a list of requirements for operators or HeliCat Canada. This document is meant to encourage individual operations to take their own unique steps towards a sustainable future, on their own accord.
Why next practices?
You will notice the term next practices being used throughout this document. The more commonly used best practices describes activities that an entity can take to operate at a high standard. However, using the word best implies there is one set of best practices for everyone. The word next demonstrates the commitment of the industry to push the envelope on its own unique next practices, which can be built on to increase sustainability in the future.
A theory of sustainable development.
Sustainability has been structured as a set of three concepts: Environment, Society and Economy. An updated view of these three areas sees them as nested concepts, while companies see their operations bounded by the social and environmental systems that surround them. The relevance of this model is becoming increasingly obvious in all industries and particularly for the helicat industry which nests literally as well as figuratively within a close social and natural environment.
The success of our industry relies on the support of our communities and governance, and the resilience of the mountain environment.
The future of sustainability.
Right now, we can’t predict what will create a perfectly sustainable future. These resources are not meant to provide guidance for the long term. HeliCat Canada is continuing an evolving process that will grow and change with developments in science, technology and policy.