By Jaiden Padda
Olympic sports stadiums have long been architecture and engineering marvels, showcasing cutting-edge design and technology. While these venues celebrate gold medal moments for the world’s greatest athletes, their environmental impact has not always met the gold standard in sustainability. Recently, efforts have shifted toward reducing the ecological footprint of both the venues and the Olympic Games. The carbon footprint of the Olympics varies by host city, infrastructure, and mitigation measures. Research indicates that this footprint can be quite substantial.
The London 2012 Olympics generated an estimated 3.3 million tonnes of CO2, nearly equivalent to the annual emissions of a coal plant, with construction accounting for 50% and energy use for 25% (Gold and Gold, 2015). The Rio 2016 Olympics had a carbon footprint of about 3.6 million tonnes of CO2, equivalent to the annual emissions of roughly 800,000 people (Rowberg and Rincker, 2019). Of Rio’s emissions, 30-40% came from energy consumption at venues, and 25-30% was from transporting athletes, officials, and spectators (Trendafilova et al., 2017).
The environmental impact of Olympic venues includes resource depletion, biodiversity loss, pollution, energy consumption, economic strain, social displacement, and long-term use issues. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) acknowledges these harmful impacts and has incorporated a greater focus on sustainability into its overall strategic roadmap. This strategy addresses these concerns by focusing on infrastructure, resource management, mobility, and climate action. To maximize these sports venues’ long-term benefits and longevity, buildings are repurposed for community use, providing recreational and social facilities. Additionally, the IOC’s Agenda 2020+5 mandates that all new and renovated venues must adhere to green building certifications to minimize their environmental footprint, extending the lifecycle of the buildings and reducing the demand for new construction (International Olympic Committee, 2020).
The most recent Games, Tokyo 2020, has set a new sustainability benchmark with a carbon footprint of 2.73 million tonnes of CO2, significantly lowered by reduced spectator numbers due to COVID-19 (Kietlinski, 2023). The host city prioritized sustainability by utilizing timber from sustainable forests, creating extensive green spaces, and deploying energy-efficient systems, collectively minimizing its carbon footprint. Additionally, Tokyo featured medals made from metals sourced from 6.2 million discarded electronic devices and podiums crafted from recycled plastic (Kietlinski, 2023).
The IOC’s mission to promote sustainable venues and Games benefits athletes, spectators, and host cities. With the Paris 2024 Games currently happening, participating buildings are focused on decarbonization, water and waste reduction, accessibility, and climate risk management. Bordeaux Stadium, a major venue, features 700 square meters of solar panels and a rainwater recycling system for irrigation. This year’s Games also emphasize using existing structures to minimize new construction. For example, Stade de France and other iconic venues will host various events, extending their lifecycle and maximizing their use post-games.
Overall, as the Paris 2024 Games approach, the Olympics are not just striving for gold but for green, setting a new benchmark in the overall sustainability and environmental impact they have. By prioritizing sustainability, from cutting-edge technologies to the reuse of iconic venues, the Games are paving the way for a future where the legacy of the Olympics enriches both the planet and its people.
References
Gold, J. R., & Gold, M. M. (2015). Framing the future: Sustainability, legacy and the 2012 London Games. In Routledge handbook of sport and legacy (pp. 142-158). Routledge.
International Olympic Committee. (2020). Olympic Agenda 2020+5. https://olympics.com/ioc/olympic-agenda-2020-plus-5
Ito, Eiji, James Higham, and Joseph M. Cheer. “Carbon emission reduction and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.” Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights 3.2 (2022): 100056.
Kietlinski, R. (2023). Environment eclipsed: Tokyo 2020 sustainability initiatives and the pandemic postponement. In Sports mega-events in Asia (pp. 47-69). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
Rowberg, K., & Rincker, M. (2019). 17. Environmental Sustainability at the Olympic Games: Comparing Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Book of Proceeding Selected Full Papers, 176.
Trendafilova, S., Graham, J., & Bemiller, J. (2017). Sustainability and the olympics: the case of the 2016 Rio summer games. Journal of Sustainability Education, 16(3), 1-22.