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FACING THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE
PRODUCING ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE OLYMPIC GAMES AND ‘GREENING’ MAJOR
PUBLIC EVENTS
Tom Roper
In awarding the 2012
Olympic Games to London the International Olympic Committee (IOC) drew
attention to the London bid’s environmental centerpiece “which would
create a large new urban parkland, featuring wetland and waterways
restoration, natural corridors, environmental solutions to resources,
water, waste and energy management, and sustainable building
development.”
According to Paul King,
director of the World Wildlife Fund–UK, London’s low waste, low carbon
Olympics will “bring about long-term environmental and social benefits
to London long after the Olympic Games have ended.” London’s Olympic
Park will be a low emission (carbon dioxide) zone, utilizing low or no
emission vehicles. In addition, the UK will promote investments in
developing country renewable energy projects, to counterbalance carbon
emissions resulting from international air travel by athletes,
officials, and others who will be flying to London for the 2012
Olympics.
All five of the final
bidders for the 2012 Olympics committed their cities to fulfilling
exemplary environmental standards. Paris proposed a specially designed
eco-financing package to ensure the funding of innovative environmental
initiatives based on 1 percent of all Olympic revenues, along with funds
from the Paris 2012 Olympic Committee, and public/private partnership
environmental investments. The “Solar Stadium” in Paris would have
tripled the number of solar panels in France.
At the 2002 Metropolis
World Congress in Seoul, Korea, the impact of major events on city
development was highlighted in a report based on eight urban case
studies presented by Ile-de-France, the urban region surrounding the
city of Paris. The four key elements were: 1) the importance of city
image and international recognition; 2) the impact on national
development and tourism; 3) the contribution to urban development; and
4) the issue of environmental improvement.
This article will
concentrate on the pluses and minuses of major events including sports,
entertainment, conventions, and conferences. In particular, the article
focuses on the drive for environmental sustainability, carbon
neutrality, and reducing potentially harmful ecological impacts of major
events. The 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, placed the
environment on the sporting world’s agenda. For the first time
comprehensive environmental action was planned and implemented at a
large-scale sports event.
Sydney, Australia,
raised the bar six years later during the Summer Olympics in 2000 with
its extremely successful “green games.” Klaus Toepfer, Executive
Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), supported
Sydney’s efforts: “No other event captures the imagination of people
more than an Olympic competition . . . it is completely appropriate that
the Sydney Olympics gave priority to the environment.”
Sport is a vehicle for
capturing the public’s attention, and therefore can be important for
helping to change public attitudes. The legacy and knowledge gained
from one major event can become the minimum standard for future events
so that learning curves can become less steep, and even further progress
can be encouraged. Replication, adaptation, and innovation are the
touchstones for initiating a long-term cycle of continuous environmental
improvement. There is no reason why any major public event, from its
planning to execution, should not be sustainably “green”.
In this scenario, we
are not just referring to headline getting Olympic games and World Cup
competitions. A large number of other activities contribute to urban
development and tourism with international meetings and many more
domestic events held each year all over the world. During 2001, the US
alone had 11,800 major conventions attended by 12.5 million delegates.
Major events can harm
the environment by, among other negative effects:
-
Changes in land-use and the destruction of natural environments
through building construction, transportation, and other forms of
physical development;
-
The consumption of non-renewable resources;
-
Emissions to soil, air, and water, and the generation of large
amounts of waste;
-
Contributing to ozone depletion, global warming, and air pollution;
and diminishing biodiversity.
Urban hosts of major
events increasingly seek to minimize the negative environmental effects
and maximize the positive impacts. The growing number of successful
experiences has resulted in lowering the costs of best practices and
enhancing long-term gains. Major events and the design and construction
of their facilities represent a key opportunity to advance the level of
accomplishment and awareness about the urban environment and sustainable
development.
One good source of
comprehensive advice is the publication entitled Leaving a Greening
Legacy: Guidelines for Event
Greening which was prepared by the World Conservation Union (IUCN),
the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, and several
partner organizations. This useful document highlights experiences
drawn from the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in
Johannesburg, South Africa, and the WSSD’s 22,000 delegates. The report
offers generic guidelines for “greening” major events, complemented by
many practical tips and numerous examples.
The basic principles of
“greening” major events that should be incorporated by the host
organization include:
-
Environmental best practices – reduce negative
environmental effects by employing technologies and behavioral
practices that minimize waste, energy usage, and air and water
pollution, by utilizing resources sustainably and conserving
biological diversity;
-
Social and economic development – select options that
raise public awareness of environmental issues, involve communities
in all levels of decision-making, create local jobs, and stimulate
urban economies;
-
Education and awareness – communicate and explain
greening plans and their benefits with the aim of changing public
attitudes and future actions;
-
Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting – assess the
effectiveness of greening activities before, during, and after the
major event;
-
Leave a positive legacy – ensure that both the short and
long-term impacts of decisions and actions in producing a major
event lead to a substantial improvement in environmental
sustainability.
The report also
emphasizes six basic sectoral strategies to be incorporated into the
planning and implementation of major events: 1) waste minimization; 2)
water efficiency and conservation; 3) energy efficiency; 4) air, land,
and water pollution reduction; 5) biodiversity conservation; and 6)
social and economic development measures.
High-level economic and
financial support together with strong political commitment is the
essential first step for creating “green” major events. This initial
impetus must be quickly reinforced by the adoption of comprehensive
policies and plans communicated to staff, the general public, event
participants, and visitors. It must be further enhanced by the
allocation of adequate funds and the development of strategic
public-private partnerships.
Korea
strove to make the 2002 World Cup Football (soccer) games a more
environmentally sustainable event through the construction of “eco”
stadiums, energy and water conservation, water quality improvements, and
waste reduction. Among the specifics were the replacement of polluting
diesel-powered buses, the use of low sulfur fuels, the planting of 10
million trees, and the creation of several new urban parks. Both Seoul
Stadium and the World Cup Ecological Park were constructed on a former
landfill site, and the methane gas produced by the landfill was recycled
to help provide sustainable and renewable electrical energy.
The Royal and Ancient
Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland, has taken advantage of its world
renown to promote environmental issues – such as the use of water,
chemicals, climate change, and the planning of new golf courses –
considered by the entire golfing industry. During 2002 two
organizations, UK Sport and the Committed to Green Foundation, produced
guidelines to assist venue managers and event organizers in planning
environmentally sustainable golf tournaments and similar athletic
competitions.
Cities have even used a
“green” image for marketing purposes. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, built
the world’s first certified green convention center which has succeeded
in attracting additional conventions and related business activities.
Pittsburgh’s new convention center was built on a well-located downtown
site convenient for walking, bicycling, and public transportation. The
land development involved the reclamation and clean-up of a formerly
environmentally damaged “brownfield”. In addition, the convention
center structure includes special features such as natural ventilation
and lighting, increased energy efficiency, high internal air quality,
water conservation, waste minimization, and procurement of goods and
services from local environment-friendly businesses.
The US Green Building
Council held two recent annual international conferences in “green”
convention centers (Pittsburgh in 2003, and Portland, Oregon, in 2004).
In planning these conferences, the US Green Building Council chose
hotels and catering services that use good environmental practices. It
also minimized the waste of food and beverages, utilized conservation
techniques in constructing and managing exhibits and programs, purchased
recycled badges and paper, and used recycled carpet for exhibit booths.
The decorator/exhibit company, Stetson, permanently changed its
operations as a result of working on these two conferences. Stetson
recently published a paper entitled “Case Study: Raising the Bar for
Greening a Conference” on its website (www.meetingstrategiesworldwide.com)
explaining this transformation in its environmental awareness and
actions.
The US Green Building
Council’s annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in
Portland, with 7,700 attendees, used 600,000 kilowatt-hours of
electricity, 29,000 therms of gas, and resulted in 11.6 million
air-travel and 478,000 vehicle miles. The 8 million pounds of carbon
dioxide pollution was more than offset by business and individual
commitments, and the same pattern of environmental offsets held true for
sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, particulates, and mercury emissions.
The Coalition for
Environmentally Responsible Conventions promoted environmentally smart
practices at the 2004 US Democratic Party Convention in Boston; the
recent Solar Conference encouraged attendees to “green” their travel as
part of their registration, and the Clinton Global Initiative inaugural
meeting held in New York City during September 2005 offset its carbon
emissions by funding three solar villages in Nigeria through the Solar
Electric Light Fund (SELF).
The 2006 World Cup
Football competition in Germany has set itself a “Green Goal” to reduce
resource utilization by 20 percent including plans to develop renewable
energy projects in Tamil Nadu, India, and elsewhere to offset the
100,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions resulting from increased
traffic volume. All 2006 World Cup stadiums in Germany will
particularly focus on rainwater storage, waste water recycling, waste
reduction, and the use of construction waste foundation materials.
Germany’s Environment Minister, Jurgen Trittin, stated that “Green Goal
is a fantastic initiative . . . truly breaking new ground by introducing
an environmental concept into the World Cup.”
The 2006 Melbourne,
Australia, Commonwealth Games are committed to setting new benchmarks in
reducing the negative impacts on natural resources while staging a world
class sports event. Melbourne’s sustainable initiatives include:
·
“Waterwise” – venues with the capacity to collect and recycle water and
use water efficient fittings and fixtures;
·
Low waste
– minimizing waste generation from buildings and operations, promoting
recycling and anti-litter campaigns;
·
Carbon
neutral – installing energy-efficient appliances at venues, encouraging
the free use of public transportation by waiving the fares for people
attending the sports events, and planting a million trees to offset
participant and spectator emissions. Every house in the Athletes Village
will have a six star energy rating and use its own renewable energy
(solar hot water and photovoltaic panels).
Beijing, China, has
pledged to achieve World Health Organization air quality standards for
the 2008 Olympics, and is being assisted by experts from the US
Department of Energy (DOE). Beijing’s strategy depends on reductions in
the use of coal, as well as tougher fuel quality and emission standards.
As part of a public/private partnership, DOE will assist in managing a
hydrogen park in the Olympic Village by operating hydrogen/natural gas
buses. General Motors will donate zero emission buses, and solar panels
will generate electricity (including to heat swimming pools). More
effort will be put into developing a protective green belt, planting
trees in the city, and rejuvenating 40 kilometers of rivers in and
around Beijing. The joint China/US effort has identified 10 areas of
cooperation which can be replicated nationwide in China and throughout
the world.
Why Carbon Neutral?
The scientific
consensus is that human activity, particularly the burning of fossil
fuels, is changing our climate – temperatures and sea levels have
already risen. Major events can help address the greenhouse problem in
many different ways, including improved planning and building of
facilities, the promotion of non-polluting public transit vehicles,
reducing waste, and encouraging participants and visitors to offset
their travel and accommodation emissions. The basic emissions offsets,
relevant to major events, are planting trees to reabsorb carbon dioxide
and/or investing in energy conservation and renewable energy production
projects which either reduce emissions or replace polluting fossil fuel
power generation.
It is possible for
individuals, businesses, and governments involved with major events to
offset either part or all of the harmful emissions. There are many
methods that can be used, and numerous organizations that provide good
advice along with technical and financial assistance. The UK-based
Climate Care (www.climatecare.org)
has web-based tools which determine emissions, calculate the costs, and
promote investments in forestry, energy-efficient lighting, and solar
and wind energy generation. For example, an airline flight from Berlin
to New York City produces an estimated 1.79 tons of carbon dioxide
emissions per person, which cost approximately 11.62 British pounds
(US$20.36) to offset.
One of the first major
events to address the emissions problem was the 2002 Salt Lake City,
Utah, Winter Olympics, which encouraged US companies to donate emission
credits equal in value to the costs of the estimated 180,000 tons of
carbon dioxide that were emitted.
Similarly, the German
Renewables 2004 Conference successfully became one of the world’s first
“climate-neutral” conferences by offsetting carbon emissions through the
financing of 12 solar powered community kitchens in developing countries
to provide meals for 30,000 people, and replacing the typical use of
charcoal to cook food in these communities.
The UK Government has
decided to offset emissions arising from the recent G8 meeting in
Gleneagles, Scotland, as well as other international travel by Ministers
and senior officials. The G8 meeting’s 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide
emissions will be compensated through a small-scale Clean Development
Mechanism project in Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town’s Kuyasa
low-cost urban housing energy upgrade involves installing solar hot
water heaters, ceiling insulation, and efficient compact fluorescent
lightbulbs.
“Trippin,” the new
environmental adventure series hosted on Music Television (MTV) by
Cameron Diaz, is purchasing enough renewable energy to offset all of the
greenhouse gases emitted during production. In the same way,
“Carbonneutral” formerly “Future Forests” has enrolled popular musicians
and performers on international tours to offset emissions from concerts,
travel, and production facilities.
‘Footprint’ Neutral
Another evolving
concept is “ecological footprinting” — measuring a population, business,
or event’s demands for natural resources. The energy footprint
represents the area of forest that would be required to absorb the
carbon dioxide emissions from a region’s, corporation’s, or event’s
direct and indirect energy consumption. The land footprint includes the
area necessary for all crops, meat production, forest products, and the
fishing grounds for seafood. They are measured by “global hectares per
person.”
A coalition of the
United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Conservation International,
The Nature Conservancy, and the reinsurance company Swiss Re is
developing a system for business firms and major event hosts to
voluntarily offset harmful emissions by supporting projects that protect
biodiversity, enhance water quality, and promote local economic
development. The 2006 World Cup Football competition in Germany and the
Commonwealth Games in Australia will utilize “ecological footprinting”
as a measurement tool.
Professor Andrea
Collins of Cardiff University in Wales has calculated the ecological
footprint of the UK city of Cardiff, its International Sports Village,
and the 2004 championship football match between Manchester United and
Millwall. The 73,000 people attending the match — their travel, food,
and beverage consumption, their waste products, and a proportion of the
stadium’s infrastructure — yielded an ecological footprint of 3000
hectares. Travel made the largest contribution: 43 million kilometers,
an average of 591 kilometers per person, nearly half of which was by
private automobiles. Greater use of public transit will substantially
reduce these negative environmental impacts.
Ever since the 1994
Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, hosts and organizers of major events
have been challenged to reduce the harmful environmental effects of
their events. There is now overwhelming evidence and justification of
the need for all negative impacts to be examined and either eliminated,
reduced, or in relation to carbon emissions, offset. Examples of good
and best practices are now plentiful. Developing nations for whom
technology or finance may be a barrier, such as the 2010 World Cup
Football competition in South Africa, should receive the necessary
financial assistance from global public and private donors.
Tom Roper
is Project Director of the
Small Island States
Energy Initiative
for the Climate Institute in Washington, DC, a member of the Board of
Directors of Greenfleet, an Honorary Life Member of Metropolis, and a
member of the Board of Directors of Global Urban Development, serving as
Co-Chair of the GUD Program Committee on Facing the Environmental
Challenge. He served for more than two decades as a Member of
Parliament in the State of Victoria, Australia, including as Leader of
Government Business, and for more than a decade as a Senior Government
Minister with portfolios such as Treasury, Planning and Environment,
Health, Transport, Employment and Higher Education, and Aboriginal
Affairs.
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