Quality. Innovation. Sustainable development.
Even before Ferreol was founded, we knew that our impact on the environment would be a key element of our business. Making high-performance skis while respecting nature was an obvious choice for us. Because nature is above all our playground... We unanimously refused to compromise. Our skis were going to be high-performance and more ecological. Two things that are too often put in opposition. We knew that our strengths in R&D and innovation would be the pillars to make this idea a reality. So we are very proud to present here the fruit of our efforts to become the pioneers of the sustainable ski industry.



Durability.
The first step for us was to make durable skis. Durability is the ability to last over time. This requires a solid construction, quality materials and timeless aesthetic. That's why we make all our skis with a semi-cap construction, using Quebec wood and with a minimalist but sophisticated finish that doesn't change with the years. This way, your skis will serve you for many seasons and you won't want to change them just for aesthetic reasons. We encourage you to take good care of them and hope that you will use them as long as possible.
Reduction.
The next step in our process of making high-performance but environmentally friendly skis is to take steps to reduce the footprint of the skis. First, we've adopted the best practices already present in the industry. All of our skis are made from renewable energy, we use bio-based topsheets and epoxy, our wood cores come from sustainable cuts, and we use flax fiber for reinforcement when we can. In future productions, we will replace almost all (92%) of the synthetic reinforcements with flax fiber.
Evaluation.
Next, we had to evaluate our impact on the environment to know how our actions are performing, in order to reduce our carbon footprint. To do this, we called upon an external firm specialized in life cycle assessment. For this first analysis, we focused on the global warming potential as a performance measure (measured in equivalent mass of CO2), but we would like to add other indicators in the future as we consider that this is not sufficient.
The scope of this study includes the environmental impact of raw materials and waste, production energy, transport to our offices and end-of-life emissions. The only part that is not considered is the use of the skis, as this part can vary considerably from person to person. Finally, while we consider the data presented below to be a very good estimate of reality, please note that this analysis is constantly evolving and we will correct these values if we obtain new results.
The life cycle analysis (LCA) has been performed for each of our models. You will find the complete information for each model in the product pages. As an example, the Pionnier 104 will be used here to expand on the results of this study. The carbon emissions of our ski production operations are detailed in full transparency.
ACV GLOBALE DU PIONNIER 104
Les matériaux (y compris les déchets de production) représentent 74% de l'empreinte carbone du Pionnier 104. Le reste de l'empreinte carbone est composé des émissions émises lors du transport des skis, de la gestion de la fin de vie et de l'énergie de production. Contrairement à de nombreuses autres usines dans le monde, l'usine de Rimouski est alimentée par une énergie 100% renouvelable, ce qui réduit considérablement l'empreinte carbone de nos skis. Ces proportions sont relativement similaires pour tous les skis Ferreol. Au final, en considérant l'impact environnemental de chaque taille, le Pionnier 104 a une empreinte carbone moyenne de 17,96 kgCO2eq par paire, ce qui correspond à peu près aux émissions de carbone produites par une petite voiture sur 95 km.
ACV DES MATÉRIAUX DU PIONNIER 104
Puisque le Pionnier 104 est fabriqué avec des renforts synthétiques comme la fibre de verre et la fibre de carbone, les principales sources de l’empreinte carbone des matériaux sont les renforts (28%), les sidewalls (19%) et l’époxy nécessaire pour les assembler (14%). Ensuite, les composantes de plastiques synthétiques contribuent aussi de façon significative avec 14% pour la base. Les autres composantes, comme les carres, la plaque de montage et les renforts de spatules contribuent pour 11% de l’empreinte. Et finalement, notre topsheet biosourcé contribue pour seulement 10% de l’empreinte du ski tandis que le noyau de peuplier du Bas Saint-Laurent contribue lui pour seulement 2.8%.
DÉTAIL DES OPÉRATIONS
Dans le cadre de nos phases de développement et de tests sur neige, certains membres de notre équipe ont dû se déplacer en avion. Même si le nombre de voyages a été limité au maximum, nos émissions liées à ce moyen de transport s'élèvent à près de 6tCO2eq (43%). Pour nos déplacements en voiture à travers le Québec et ailleurs, 3,6tCO2eq (26%) ont été émises. Ensuite, les appareils électroniques des 6 membres de notre équipe ont été pris en compte et totalisent également 26% des émissions de carbone de nos activités. Enfin, l'électricité consommée par nos locaux et les émissions des autres moyens de transport utilisés sont comptabilisées et contribuent ensemble au dernier 5% de nos émissions liées à nos opérations.
Compensation.
After reducing the carbon footprint of our skis as much as possible, there are inevitably emissions that cannot be avoided. In this case, the last possible reduction step is carbon offsetting. To do this, Ferreol has chosen to collaborate with a local, reliable and transparent organization that also works in research: Carbone Boréal.
« Carbone Boréal is both a research infrastructure of the UQAC and a greenhouse gas offset program through tree planting. Directed by the Chair in Eco-Counseling, Boreal Carbon allows organizations and individuals to offset the greenhouse gases emitted by their organization, family, activities, etc. The trees planted are also used for scientific research projects. »
Planting a tree in your garden does not necessarily mean that you have just offset carbon, as this tree could have grown naturally on its own. However, Carbone Boréal's plantations are carried out in naturally barren areas of Quebec's boreal forest, where the forest does not regenerate on its own, which explains the benefits of the project. In addition, the capture of greenhouse gases by Boreal Carbon is verified by an independent third party.
Thanks to Boreal Carbon, Ferreol was able to plant 158 trees equivalent to the sequestration of 22.13tCO2eq to offset the production of the 2022-2023 skis and the company's operations associated with the production, sale and development of these skis.



Continuous improvement.
While the entire Ferreol team is proud of what we've accomplished so far, we won't stop there. Indeed, there is always room for improvement, which is why we are already innovating to develop better technologies that will allow us to make skis that perform even better, but with an even smaller environmental footprint. New materials and constructions that can have a real impact on the entire ski industry.
How can you do your part?
As we mentioned in the life cycle analysis of our skis, use, including travel to our favorite mountains, is the most polluting part of a ski's life. For this reason, we invite you to do your part and offset the transportation associated with their use. You can compensate directly on Carbone Boréal's website, but to make it easier for you, we also offer you to do it directly on our platform. It is therefore possible to purchase high-performance, environmentally friendly skis while offsetting their use. The entire amount will be donated to Carbone Boréal.