How much snow is Ski World Cup sponsor Audi melting? Activists come up with world-first formula

Winter sports sponsors including Audi and Equinor will melt almost 2,000 square kilometres worth of snow a year with their carbon emissions, according to a new report.

For the first time, campaigners have formulated a way to measure the climate impact of major sponsorship deals with polluting industries.

The findings from the New Weather Institute think tank underline an already glaring irony: winter sports are imperilled by many of their largest backers.

“Winter athletes want to solely focus on their performance but the spectre of climate change looms large over every single snow sport,” says Anna Turney, former British alpine skier and Paralympian.

Record temperatures across Europe have forced the cancellation of numerous alpine and cross-country ski races this 2023-24 season due to poor snow cover, as well as closing many ski resorts.

“Snow sports organisations need to show courage and be brave,” adds Turney. “If we do not change, then there will be no more snow sports.”

The ‘Dirty Snow’ report from New Weather Sweden and its Badvertising campaign is released today as the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) Ski World Cup kicks off in Austria.

Car maker Audi is the main sponsor of the Ski World Cup which runs from 16-24 March on the slopes of Salzburg.

The multi-million euro deal will generate between 103,000 - 144,000 tonnes CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent emissions) according to the campaigners. The climate impact is comparable to between 238,000 and 333,000 barrels of oil.

This estimate was reached using a first-of-its-kind formula for calculating the emissions created for every euro spent on a high-carbon sponsorship.

As shown in the report, the equation factors in figures including a company’s yearly CO2e and its