Sustainability is at the core of our business at Extrem. Minimizing our environmental footprint, taking care of our employees, and being a positive force in the ski community are all vital to us.
Together with RISE – the Research Institutes of Sweden – we have identified the energy mix as the single biggest factor in the environmental footprint of ski production.* North central Sweden, where our ski factory is located, is dominated by 100% renewable and 100% fossil free, local, hydro power.
With a five-year average of 16 g carbon intensity per kWh (gCO2eq/kWh), our region is the lowest carbon emission consumer per kWh in the world.** Compared to other European ski producing countries such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and the Czech Republic, with an average five-year carbon intensity level of 352g per kWh, the difference is substantial.**
One pair of Extrem Skis has a carbon footprint of 28,8 kg CO2 including raw materials, transportation, manufacturing and waste emissions. Only 0,6 kg CO2 originates from our own manufacturing due to the exceptionally low carbon intensity of our region.* Building an identical pair of skis, but in a high carbon-intensity country can therefore be up to 400% higher with a footprint of up to 120 kg CO2 per ski.***
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* Source: RISE report BioSkiBoard Closing Meeting 2021-12-16
** Source: app.electricitymaps.com
*** Sources: RISE and app.electricitymaps.com
Our ski factory is powered by 100% renewable and 100% fossile free local hydro power. In 2020, we invested in an efficient solution were the excess heat from our two ski presses is recycled through an innovative ventilation system and used to heat our factory building during working hours, eliminating the need for other heat sources. During the other times of the day, we use very efficient geothermal heating. The combination of these two highly efficient systems has reduced our heating consumption by 70%.
We strive to minimize our material use and to be as efficient as possible in every way we can. All our waste is sorted by material type, compressed, collected and recycled by Lundstams AB, a world leader in the field. The scrap wood from our wood cores is used for the district heating in the neighboring town Östersund (as well as our own wooden stoves back home).
Looking at the bigger picture, we’re firmly confident that we run the most sustainable ski production in the world today.*
* Well, apart from enthusiasts carving out wooden skis in their own garage of course.
We believe in making skis that can stand the real world abuse of the mountains and last for many winters to come. We also believe that a pair of skis should be easy to tune and repair, and not be thrown away just because you skied into a rock and got a coreshot. That’s why we use extra thick ABS sidewalls, alongside highly durable, all black, graphite race bases and the thickest steel edges in the ski industry.
We use fiberglass and carbon fiber sheets that come pre-impregnated with epoxy, eliminating the need for our crew to handle liquid epoxy. Pre-Preg also distributes the epoxy perfectly in the skis, making them stronger and lighter.
Steel edges
We use high-quality, extra thick, steel edges from Waelzholz Gmbh with 26% recycled content.
Top sheets
Our durable topsheets from Isosport Gmbh are made out of 50% bio-based materials.
Bio-Wax
Our skis are treated with Nordic Swan eco-certified, 100% biodegreable, wax from Holmenkol.
We always strive to use materials with the highest percentage of recycled content as possible, swapping to more sustainable, recycled or bio-based options when we feel we can do so while maintaining the high quality we always strive for. We’re also conducting an ongoing study together with RISE Sweden, looking to find bio-based solutions to replace existing materials used in our skis.
We know, we know. For skiers – by skiers is a washed-up cliché used all over the ski industry. But, when you buy a pair of Extrem Skis, that very pair of skis has been developed and built by a ripping, hard-charging skier who’s just as passionate about the sport as you are.
We proudly provide around 15 people with year-round job opportunities in the Swedish countryside*, contributing valuable tax money to the local Åre community. We also pay a wage that makes it possible to live in a ski town, enjoying the high quality of life a place like Åre has to offer.
* In Swedish: glesbygd, inlandet.
Sweden has some of the strictest rules and laws regarding working environment in the world, as well as waste and chemical management. We always go the extra mile to ensure that our crew is healthy and feel good about coming to work every day. Our use of Pre-Preg carbon and fiberglass in the production is one such thing, skiing and doing other fun things together is another.
We’re a small and flat organization, and if anyone in our crew has an idea on how to do something in a better way we encourage them to bring that idea forward – whether it’s about using our machinery in a more efficient way or the graphics of our skis.
We frequently turn to the bigger ski community to pick their brains and ask them what they want from, and in, a ski – something that makes us unique in the ski industry. During the past 10 years we’ve community developed four different ski models.
Opinion 118
Developed together with the users in a massive thread on the Freeride.se ski forums in a unique process, gathering thousands of ideas. Winner of an ISPO Gold Award 2014.
Mothertree 105
The Mothertree concept was created in collaboration with the InspireUs action sports community to meet the specific demands of female skiers in an otherwise male-dominated ski world. Winner of an ISPO Award in 2017.
Roots 90
When developing the Roots 90 youth ski, we asked a group of local, young shredders what they they want a ski to feel like. They also demanded a lot of candy, but the ski won an ISPO Award in 2020, so it was worth the extra cost.
Factory 112
After ten years of asking other people for their opinions, we decided it was time to let the hard-charging rippers on our factory floor to design a ski from the ground up. The result is Factory 112. Not winner of any award. Yet.
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