Premiere of the alpine Audi season 

Hi! In the Northern Hemisphere we are approaching winter and hopefully we'll see a lot of snow this year – and hope to practice and watch a lot of snowsports. 

This weekend is the premiere of the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup in Sölden, Austria. And Audi certainly seems to receive dividends from the 5-7 million euros they pay in advertising money to the FIS. Feel free to check out this years Audi FIS Ski World Cup Teaser here. 

In March, we presented for the first time a method that makes it possible to calculate how much carbon dioxide emissions are caused by the sponsorship money that sports receives. Sponsorship is not charity, it has to pay off for example Audi, Volvo, Preem and SAS. 

Our model shows that the International Skiing and Snowboarding Federation (FIS) sponsorship income from the car manufacturer Audi, €5-7 million per year, increases the car manufacturer's emissions by between 103,000 and 144,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide – leading to more ice and snow melting. FIS is thus involved in driving the snowmelt. 

In a letter to the FIS management, we informed them of this, while urging them to end their collaborations with companies that drive climate change, i.e. oil companies, airlines and fossil car manufacturers. Their response was filled with misinformation and hollow arguments that were easy to refute.

Of course they objected to our figures, but refused to give us an estimate of their own. They also have not returned any response to our proposal for a meeting and dialogue. 

(You can find our communication at the bottom of this page.)

But a lot of positive things have happened since the last time, not least that UN Secretary-General Antònio Guterres has called for an end to fossil advertising. But more about that (and other things) in our next update. In the meantime, feel free to spread the word about this appeal to more people in your vicinity – snow lovers are stronger together!

We'll be back soon!
The Save Our Snow team