Final Sustainability report highlights environmental, social
and economic legacies of the Games and the recognition received -
including the GLOBE Award for Environmental Excellence

The
2010 Winter Olympics went far beyond being green, it set a
new sustainability blueprint for future large-scale sport events,
according to the final Vancouver 2010 sustainability report
released last week.

The href=”http://www.2010legaciesnow.com/vanoc/”
target=”_blank”>final report shares the
successes and challenges on the road to 2010, and outlines how the
Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) successfully expanded its
definition of sustainability to include not only the environment
but also social and economic opportunities that produced lasting
benefits. It also reports on the accolades received, including
winning the GLOBE Award for Environmental
Excellence for Green Building.

“We strived to make sustainability part of
everything we did as an organization. Our team
conducted its work with a spirit of integrity and tried
to do what was right on every occasion,”
said VANOC’s Chief Executive Officer, John
Furlong.

“While this wasn’t always easy, we met our
commitments and we finished the Games knowing that we did our very
best to reach our sustainability goals whenever and wherever
possible”, he added.

VANOC created a new sustainability governance model
for large sport event organizations includiing a sustainable event
tool kit for mega sport events. It also demonstrated how a venue
program can be designed for legacy use and built to minimize
environmental impact.

It demonstrated how partnerships with Aboriginal
people can make Games stronger, how socially and economically
disadvantaged groups can participate and benefit from the Games,
and how greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced through
unprecedented participation in a Games carbon offset
program.

The final report covers the period from August 1,
2009 to April 30, 2010 and documents
VANOC’s sustainability performance leading up to and
through Games time as well as the
majority of the decommissioning phase post-Games. VANOC
produced five annual sustainability
reports. 

Report Summary

1. Accountability:
a new sustainability governance model for a large sport event
organization was developed with an annual reporting framework was
developed based on internationally recognized standards for
environmental management, corporate accountability and stakeholder
input. A Sustainable Sport Event Toolkit for mega sport events was
developed in partnership with the IOC and the International Academy
for Sport Science and Technology.

2. Environmental Stewardship and Impact
Reduction: Performance targets for green
building construction, carbon management and waste reduction drove
innovation and environmental performance across all aspects of the
Games. 

In addition to winning the 
Excellence for Green Building award from the
Globe Foundation and the World
Green Building Council for building the
greenest Olympic district in North America - all new facilities
were built to a minimum LEED Silver. New and upgraded Games
facilities provide long-term social, economic and environmental
benefits to venue communities.

VANOC signed the first Official Carbon Offsetter in
Olympic and Paralympic history,
Offsetters (www.offsetters.ca), and showcased British
Columbia’s leadership role in Canada and
internationally in the fast growing clean technology
sector.

VANOC’s carbon management program achieved a minimum
15 per cent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions across-the-board,
and was the first Games to stage a carbon neutral torch relay and
host carbon neutral athletes.

3. Social Inclusion and
Responsibility: Sponsorship,
construction, recruitment, procurement
and community support were leveraged to share the economic and
social benefits of the Games with
inner-city, Aboriginal and other traditionally
under-served
populations.

4. Aboriginal Participation and
Collaboration: Through formal agreements
and protocols, VANOC recognized
Aboriginal title on the shared traditional territories
where the Games were held, providing for
unprecedented Aboriginal Participation in all aspects
of the Games.

Over 
$59 million in economic opportunities were realized by
Aboriginal businesses since 2003, with
another $190,000 contributed to the Aboriginal Youth Legacy Fund
through the sale of official licensed
Vancouver 2010 Aboriginal merchandise since 2008.

5. Economic
Benefits: Leveraged sponsorship,
construction, recruitment and procurement
to enhance the sustainability performance of the Games.
The Buy Smart program was established to ensure sustainability
attributes, ethical choices and Aboriginal participation were
considered in all of VANOC’s procurement and licensing
activities.

6. Sport for Sustainable
Living: VANOC leveraged the interest in
sport to raise awareness and inspire
action on local and global sustainability solutions for
businesses, communities and
individuals.

Aside from VANOC’s own reporting, two independent
studies examining the impact of the Games
are in progress. They are the Olympic Games Impact (OGI) study
(www.ogi-ubc.ca) and
the Joint Canada-British Columbia Socio-Economic Impact
Study of the 2010 href=”http://www.2010wintergamessecretariat.com”
target=”_blank”>Olympic and  href=”http://www.2010wintergamessecretariat.com”
target=”_blank”>Paralympic Winter
Games.