Quick before the Vancouver Winter Olympics are over, I wanted to write this blog…
In 2008, Beijing tried very hard to make the Summer Olympics as
environmentally-friendly as possible. Now the Vancouver Winter Olympics are being compared to those efforts. And in terms of sustainability and greenness, Vancouver is pretty impressive. For a good overview of all the Vancouver green initiatives, click here for all the details on the Olympics web site.
The Vancouver Olympics are the first to incorporate sustainability into their mission statement and fully embed sustainability into their operations, everything from green transortation, to buildings and green sponsors. The Vancouver Olympics organizers have used energy-efficient technology, clean energy and carbon offsets. And it all started very green on day one when Wayne Gretsky clutched a recyclable torch as he rode in a hybrid pickup en route to ignite the natural gas Olympic flame.
The Olympic Village buildings were all LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified projects adhere to a strict set of building standards to improve energy efficiency and sustainability) and will be turned into mixed-use mixed-income housing.
The buildings were also fitted with solar panels and “green-roofs” that will use a rainwater collection system to become self-sustaining. Many buildings used local wood from trees that were destroyed by storms. The Richmond Oval, where the speed skating took take place, was constructed using wood from trees that had been destroyed by a beetle infestation.
The hydrogen-powered Chevy Equinox was the official automobile of Vancouver 2010. The Zamponi ice-cleaning machines were electric. Public
transit improvements were key. A new Sky Train was built that runs from the airport to the downtown city center. Once downtown, all subways, streetcars, sea bus and buses were free to Olympic ticket holders. That included buses up to the mountain events. In fact, car usage declined 30% during the Games.
The Vancouver Olympic organizing committee pressured corporate sponsors, to reduce their environmental footprints. Many did, but the stand-out was the official beverage sponsor, Coca-Cola, which went completely green at this Olympics and was one of the first major marketers to embark on a zero-waste, carbon-neutral sponsorship of an event as complex as the
Olympic Games. Coke’s cafe furniture was made from pine-beetle-salvaged wood. Their beverages were delivered via hybrid vehicles and electric carts. All of the uniforms worn by Coca-Cola’s staff were made of recycled bottles. Compostable cups and lids were used for coffee. Coke introduced bottles called PlantBottles made from 30 percent plant-based materials that were used for all their beverages and water.
Another Olympic sponsor was the Canadian mining company Teck Resources who provided the metal for the Olympic medals. These medals were the first to be made out of recycled metals and circuit boards. Teck Resources was able to harvest gold, silver, and bronze from the circuit boards of old computers and have it melted down and cast back
into the Olympic medals. They included 1.52 per cent junk gold, 0.122 per cent recycled silver and 1.11 per cent recovered copper. It’s a pretty small percentage, but the real point was to create awareness that metals can be reused and recycled. And these beautiful medals look nothing like any other Olympic medals! Did you know the design is an orca, no two medals have the same design and the artist is from a First Nations’ tribe? Click here for a fascinating video about the artists and the process.
I understand that London is already planning for a very green Olympics two years from now incorporating many of the same plans as in Vancouver and with more creative environmental ideas.
If you have a question or comment, or a nature topic you would like to hear about on my blog, please feel free to comment below here on this blog, or email me at madelinedennis@optonline.net. (more…)








