Taos Ski Valley is leading the way on how to mitigate their global footprint

It's steep, green and leading the way.

Taos Ski Valley last month earned its recertification as a B Corporation, which indicates a business is focused on social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. Taos in 2017 became the first ski area to earn the status. It's now one of eight resorts worldwide who are B Corp slopes.

“As proud as we are of our B Corp recertification and score increase, they are not endpoints but milestones in our journey,” said Dawn Boulware, the vice president of environmental and social responsibility at Taos.

When the ski area re-earned its certified B Corp status in August, it also raised its score by 15 points, earning a 97.8, compared to the average score of 50.9.

"We hope Taos Ski Valley sets a new standard in skiing and adventure travel in which resorts, visitors and locals work together for preservation of the environment, economic prosperity for all and stewardship of common values," said Andrew Kassoy, the B Lab cofounder.

To achieve the designation, companies like Taos Ski Valley pay to take an impact assessment. Any score below 80 means the business failed to achieve B Corp status, but companies are allowed to test again. Once a company has a passing score, it has to retest every three years to maintain its status.

"There’s no planet B" is the slogan of B Corp, which determines a B Corp status. Its goal is to allow customers to be more informed and give businesses a metric to compare against and better themselves.

B Corp started back in 2006. It's almost like the organic sticker on fruit and vegetables, but for businesses.

Key to Taos' score increase was upgrading equipment to be more energy efficient, improved waste management practices and increased recycling efforts.

The ski area also partnered with local organizations and businesses to support the community.

Taos also enhanced employee benefits by providing a fair wage, professional development opportunities and ensuring a supportive workplace.

“We’re proud of what we’ve achieved and that we can give guests some of the best days of their lives, while also aligning with the values of our staff, community and visitors,” said John Kelly, chief operating officer at Taos.

This year, Taos Ski resort scored highest in worker financial security, followed closely by worker health, wellness and safety. Its lowest score was in serving underserved populations.

“We recognize that the path to improvement is ongoing and that there is always more to learn and achieve,” said Boulware.