The 2010 Olympics will kick-off today, February 12th, in Vancouver!  Like everyone else, we’re excited for the winter games to begin – what’s more gripping than watching skeleton racers slide headfirst down a track at 80 mph?   But, we’re even more excited about seeing the Vancouver Olympic Committee’s commitment to sustainability in action.  In an effort to be the greenest Olympics ever, the Committee has pledged to manage “the environmental, social and economic impacts and opportunities of our Games to produce lasting benefits, locally and globally.”

So, what are some of the ways in which the 2010 Olympics have gone clean & green?

• LEED Olympic Villages: The two Olympic athletes’ villages are targeting LEED certification of silver or better for its buildings.  LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) provides a framework for green building design and construction in energy savings, water efficiency, carbon emissions, indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources.  Vancouver is targeting LEED “Gold” green building certification for the Village’s new buildings and “Platinum” for the Village community center.  The Vancouver village also uses heat captured from the sanitary sewer’s main line to address the village’s heat and water needs, and has streets designed primarily for pedestrians and bicycles.  In addition, the village’s buildings are fitted with solar panels and self-sustaining “green roofs.”
• Electric Zambonis: These electric ice grooming machines are much more environmentally friendly than their gas or propane counterparts.  The initial cost of these electric Zambonis are twice as much as the traditional ice machines, but are cheaper and cleaner to run ($0.25/run versus $3.00/run for propane machines & $4.00/run for gas machines)
• Public Transit: Not only are all Olympic and Paralympic venues accessible by public transportation, but ticket holders have unlimited access to all public transit on the day of their event.  Extra train cars and buses have been added to accommodate the crowds and public parking is not available at any of the game venues.
• Reducing Fleet Emissions: Over one-third of the fleet vehicles are low-emission vehicles (51 are hybrids and 32 have Active Fuel Management).  The hydrogen-powered Chevy Equinox is the official automobile of the Games.
• Offsetters: The Olympic Committee is using “Offsetters,” a BC-based carbon asset management company to offset its emissions and reach its carbon-neutral goal.
• Waste Diversion: The Olympic Committee aims to divert 85 of its Games-time waste from landfill.  To support this goal, Coca-Cola has ensured that 95% of its waste materials will be diverted from landfills and Mcdonald’s has committed to source separation of organics, waste, and recyclables at its Olympic restaurant locations with 90% of its packaging will be made from renewable resources.
• Olympic Torch: 90% of the materials for the Torch were selected for recyclability, its combustion system minimizes greenhouse gas emissions, and even the remaining fuel will be recycled.
• Recycled Medals: Olympic and Paralympic medals contain recycled metals.

The Games are a great opportunity to showcase clean energy and energy efficiency initiatives and Vancouver has done a great job in placing sustainability front and center.  This Olympics, we’re not just going for the gold, we’re going for the green!

This entry was posted on Friday, February 12th, 2010 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Green, Solar Events, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.