Green Games: Paris 2024 organizers promise more sustainable Olympics

Paris 2024’s organizing committee is promising to deliver a more sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games.

With the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), organizers aim to slash the carbon footprint of previous Games in half and control the event’s climate impact.

This year’s Olympics will be the first edition aligned with Olympic Agenda 2020+5; the successor of Olympic Agenda 2020, which was adopted by the IOC in 2014. Olympic Agenda 2020+5 — the Olympic strategic roadmap until 2025 — details 15 recommendations for the Olympics, including the fostering of a sustainable Games.

Previous Summer Games, including Rio 2016 and London 2012, emitted an average of 3.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, according to the IOC. Paris 2024’s organizing committee has created a new climate impact model in an effort to cut that number in half.

Paris 2024 is using an AAROM approach — anticipate, avoid, reduce, offset and mobilize — to reach their sustainability goals.

As part of their new methodology to, the Games’ organizers have addressed the indirect impact — including spectator travel — calculated and mapped required resources to minimize and control their life cycles, and plan to use 100 per cent renewable energy during the Olympics while limiting diesel generator usage, which will be powered by biofuel, H2 or batteries, the IOC said.

One of the most recent sustainability initiatives was the official Paris 2024 podiums, unveiled on May 23. With a look inspired by the Eiffel Tower and Paris rooftops, the podiums feature an eco-friendly design made from French wood and 100 per cent recycled plastic.

As for venues, 95 per cent will be pre-existing or temporary, with others built from low-carbon construction. The Paris 2024 Olympic Aquatics Centre’s energy is said to be mostly reliant on 4,680 square metres of rooftop solar panels and seating is made from local recycled plastic.

The centre will also be used to improve living conditions in the northeast Paris suburb Seine-Saint-Denis — where half of all 11-year-olds know how to swim — in which it’s situated by providing swimming, climbing, fitness and other sports facilities. The Olympic Village will also be reused to benefit the community, becoming a residential and business district with apartment spaces for 6,000 people and the same number for workspaces.

French President Emmanuel Macron was at the Aquatic Centre’s inauguration in April and spoke about the importance of Paris reusing infrastructure long after the Games finish.

“We want to welcome the world, our athletes to win a lot of medals and it to be an incredible moment of French pride,” Macron said at the event. “But we also want these structures to remain, as with the Olympic and Paralympic Village. For us, this is one of the big elements of legacy.”

Reducing emissions through transportation strategy is also an item the Games’ organizers have focused on. Over 80 per cent of venues are 10 kilometres away or less, all being accessible with public transport. Toyota, the Worldwide Olympic Partner, will be transporting athletes with their fleet of electric, hybrid and hydrogen-powered vehicles.

There will also be a 40 per cent less vehicles used to transport athletes compared to previous Olympics.

On the plate, Paris 2024 is set to deliver 13 million meals with half the carbon emissions of an average French meal. The organizers plan to double the proportion of plant-based ingredients and locally source 80 per cent of their ingredients — 25 per cent produced within 250 kilometres of respective venues.

“Serving 13 million meals in four weeks at over 40 sites is going to be the largest event catering operation in the world,” Paris 2024 CEO Etienne Thobois said last summer.

Paris 2024 will also cut single-use plastic use in half compared to previous Games and reuse all catering equipment and infrastructure after the Olympics.

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