An important part of Nordic Sustainability Arena is to showcase any actions and initiatives that accelerate and inspire transition towards more sustainable choices. Below, you can read about some of the initiatives, projects and outcomes taking place within the Arena, enabling us to monitor, follow up and share progress on an ongoing basis.
Food for White Winters
Testing more resilient meals at the Alpine World Cup Weekend in Åre
During the Alpine World Cup Weekend in Åre, volunteers, conference guests, athletes, and partners will be part of testing how more resilient meals can support performance while reducing the negative environmental impact of food.
Swedish Olympic athletes, scientists, chefs, and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) are collaborating to explore how sustainable meals could help protect the future of winter sports. The learning from the project will inform future FIS sustainability guidelines for food.
“At FIS, sustainability must translate into action. By testing science-based food principles during our World Cup events, we are turning ambition into practical solutions. Based also on the results, we aim to keep developing our dietary guidelines for all FIS events and gradually expand the “Food for White Winters” approach across the entire FIS network and beyond,” says Susanna Sieff, Sustainability Director at FIS, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.
The initiative, named Food for White Winters, responds to a critical global challenge: food production generates nearly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions are a threat to winters and snow, the foundation of all winter sports.
“This is about raising the bar — for performance, for sustainability, and for the future of winter sports. It’s encouraging that our World Cup event serves as a testbed where local solutions can inspire global change”, says Olle Danielsson, CEO, Svenska Skidförbundet Events, organizer of the World Cup Weekend in Åre.
A First Step – New Recipes
The first test meals of the project will be presented during the World Cup Weekend in Åre, from 13 to 15 March 2026 as part of Nordic Sustainability Arena. From three selected restaurants, athletes, coaches, conference guests, and volunteers will be served culinary meals designed to meet both nutritional needs while aiming to reduce environmental impact.
The food served in Åre is based on local ingredients too – including vegetables, dairy, and sustainably sourced meat, such as elk– reflecting the Nordic food culture and the mountain environment.
The long-term ambition is to cut emissions from the food served during the World Cup Weekend in Åre even more, but 2026 marks a first step towards change. The chefs and restaurants in the project’s first stage include Victor Wildhuss Helmersson of Årelagat, Patrick Fjällstedt of Holiday Club, and Johnny Fredriksson of Bergstugan.
“My priority is to lower the climate emission from the food we are serving. Cooking sustainable food is just like any food, season it well and combine flavours that people enjoy” says chef Victor Wildhuss Helmersson.
About Food for White Winters
The project is anchored in the latest food science, i.e. the EAT-Lancet “Planetary health diet and the “PLATE principles”. 🔗Food for White Winters is part of the research programme PLATE and a collaboration with Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SLU, Eldrimner, and local culinary innovators.
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Transport Initiatives
The Swedish railway provider SJ and World Cup Åre will explore how to connect Alpine World Cup hosts Åre, Kvitfjell and Narvik in the future.
This ambition requires a change in the World Cup Calendar in order to reduce travel for athletes and teams. This work continues together with athletes and members of the the International Ski and Snowboard Federation FIS.
The Glacier Project 2025
Ski Team Sweden Alpine, the alpine bransch of the Swedish Ski Association, and state-owned energy company Vattenfall, join forces with Swedish glacioligist Erik Huss to launch a project to protect glaciers by covering parts of them.
New Alliances in Ski Resort Management
Local ski area operator Skistar, that also operates a number of other Nordic ski areas , met with representatives from several of the world’s largest ski resorts in Åre before NoSA 2025. Together, they have initiated regular knowledge exchange and joint conversations to improve sustainability work at ski resorts. It was agreed to sign a joint CEO letter in which alliance members formally confirm their commitments for future collaborations.
Exchange of Knowledge and Engagement
One of the key objectives of the arena is to increase knowledge and engagement among athletes and participants.
Participants 2025 responded to the question about whether any action will follow:
“Yes. We have several follow-up meetings regarding sustainable finance and other projects that we came up with in Åre.”
“We will definitely meet for a joint venture reducing impact from transport.”
“Yes, two new ideas and hopefully some new projects to get involved with.”
“Yes, I made a lot of new contacts and there will be future cooperation with several of them. Really valuable for me.”
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