The Aspen Skiing Co. is sticking with its partner Audi even though some of the manufacturer’s cars are violating clean air standards. But SkiCo is parting ways with Audi vehicles emitting pollutants prohibited by the Environmental Protection Agency. Aspen Public Radio’s Carolyn Sackariason has the details.
SkiCo’s fleet includes the A7 and Q7 models, which have the so-called “defeat devices” designed to bypass emission standards. Auden Schendler is vice president of sustainability for SkiCo.
“Nobody knows exactly the nature of this cheating. Was it a CEO or was it a bunch of engineers who were charged with a task they couldn’t achieve and gamed the system? We’re not going to torch a long standing partner that actually makes really good cars from our climate perspective,” he says.
SkiCo is rotating out the models affected and replacing them with compliant vehicles. The company touts its environmental stewardship as a high priority.