Every year the Alps attract about one million tourists from the Netherlands including many mountaineers. About 55,000 of them are members of the Royal Dutch Mountaineering and Climbing Club (NKVB). That makes it the biggest mountaineering club outside of the Alps. In an on-line ballot, the members of the NKVB voted the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) the clear winner in the competition for the most sustainable organisation in 2012.

The award is a reflection of CIPRA’s long years of work for the protection and sustainable development of the Alps – including its commitment to environmentally friendly mountain sports. There is no prize money attached to the NKVB’s Sustainability Award, but for CIPRA President Dominik Siegrist, who travelled to the Netherlands to receive the award in person, it is nevertheless something very special: “This award is priceless for us; it shows that we are on the right road.”
2012 is the first year of the Dutch Sustainability Award. The other nominees included the new Monte Rosa Hut in the Swiss Canton of Valais and the outdoor clothing company Patagonia.

Further information:
Dominik Siegrist, President CIPRA International, +41 (0)79 673 43 30