Sustainability communication for Seilbahnen Schweiz (SBS), the association of the Swiss cable car industry

Seilbahnen Schweiz (SBS), the association of Swiss cable car companies, is driving the topic of sustainability forward, both among its own members and in the perception of key external stakeholders.

The goal is to position cable car companies as part of the solution to the many challenges related to sustainability and to highlight the efforts already being made within the industry to use available resources responsibly. In addition, SBS aims to support its members on their journey toward greater sustainability.

For this reason, Seilbahnen Schweiz commissioned Kontx to develop a concept for sustainability communication on its website and to create communications materials to support its members. Kontx also assists with the subsequent implementation of the individual measures.

Showcase projects from various Swiss cable car companies featured on the SBS website

For Seilbahnen Schweiz (SBS), the focus was explicitly not on putting the association itself in the spotlight, but rather on raising awareness of its members’ sustainability efforts and supporting them in their sustainability communication. It was also important for SBS that all three dimensions of sustainability were addressed, namely ecology, society, and economy/corporate governance.

An internal survey had already identified several cable car companies implementing pioneering sustainability projects. To raise public awareness of these initiatives, Kontx developed a new overview page, “Flagship Projects at Swiss Cable Car Companies,” within SBS’s existing website. To ensure consistent quality of the texts, Kontx also created an interview guide, which allows project managers at the respective cable car companies to be interviewed about their projects and serves as the basis for drafting the texts for each project. Kontx also conducted the first two interviews and prepared the corresponding texts.

Sustainability Information for Association Members

To best support the members of Seilbahnen Schweiz on their journey toward greater sustainability, Kontx created various documents on the topic of sustainability, which are made available to members in a dedicated download section on the Seilbahnen Schweiz website.

The survey conducted by Seilbahnen Schweiz revealed, among other things, that most members did not yet have a full-time sustainability position, and that the individuals responsible for sustainability had often only recently taken on their roles. Based on these findings, Kontx recommended that the informational materials initially focus on basic knowledge in the areas of sustainability and sustainability communication. In the first phase, Kontx created the following documents:

• Extensive sustainability glossary
• Guide to Sustainability Communication
• Identifying and avoiding greenwashing

In addition, on the topic of “Avoiding Greenwashing,” Kontx had the opportunity to co-design and co-conduct a workshop for interested members at the “Forum Seilbahnen” in October 2024.