UNEP to assess Games'
environmental performance - Vancouver (Canada),
12 February 2010 - As the 2010 Winter Olympics
kick off in Vancouver, the athletes will
not be the only ones going for gold - the
Game organizers are also shooting for the
stars with a series of ambitious
environmental goals.
The Vancouver Organizing
Committee (VANOC) have been working with
the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) over
the last three years in a bid to enhance
the event's environmental performance and
increase green awareness.
The Olympic organizers
have focused on minimizing the event's carbon
impact, with clean technology choices, an
expanded transport system for the city,
green construction for the Olympic venues,
and a commitment to offset direct carbon
emissions from the Games.
Some of the environmentally-friendly
features of the Olympic sites include low-flow
toilets that use rainwater for flushing,
energy-efficient grass-clad roofs and separate
bins for compostable waste.
The Games' green performance
will be reviewed by UNEP in an Environmental
Assessment Report which will be published
later in 2010.
The report will look
at areas such as the greening of the venues,
sustainable transport and waste management,
and Vancouver 2010's climate neutrality
target and work with non-governmental organizations.
VANOC is also planning
to use the Games to inspire broader awareness
and action on climate-change solutions.
UNEP and VANOC have
partnered on the Do Your Part video contest,
which called on youth aged 13 to 24 across
Canada to produce a 30- to 90-second video
or animation clip to show how youth can
do their part to live a more environmentally-friendly
lifestyle during and well beyond the 2010
Games.
The winner of the video
contest will be announced at an award ceremony
on 13 February during a special event to
celebrate contributions to the Vancouver
2010 Sustainability Program.
The award ceremony will
be attended by Wilfried Lemke, the Special
Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport
for Development and Peace.
UNEP's work with Vancouver
2010 is one of several partnerships with
major sporting events to help lower the
carbon footprint of sports and raise green
awareness.
UNEP is advising the
organizers of the Sochi 2014 Olympics in
Russia, and has also worked with Torino
2006 and Beijing 2008 - producing an Environmental
Assessment of the Beijing Games that assessed
how well the 2008 organizers fulfilled their
eco-pledges.
This year, UNEP is partnering
with the FIFA World Cup in South Africa,
where it is helping to fund solar-powered
and energy-efficient street lamps, traffic
lights and billboards in several host cities
around the country.
In addition, UNEP is
involved in partnerships to help green the
Commonwealth Games which will take place
in New Delhi (India) in October 2010, as
well as the Indian Premier League (IPL)
for cricket.
Notes to Editors
The United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) and the Vancouver Organizing
Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic
Winter Games (VANOC) signed a Memorandum
of Understanding in October 2007 at UN headquarters
in New York City to enhance the environmental
performance at the 2010 Winter Games and
increase public awareness of the importance
of environmental protection and sustainable
development.
UNEP's Environmental
Assessment Report on the Vancouver Games'
green performance will be published in late
2010.
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