MyWestworld

The “Greenest Olympics” Gets a Little Greener

Posted on 17. Apr, 2009 by Bernice Paul in Living

Vancouver 2010 commits to offsetting its entire carbon footprint

B.C. has always wanted to show the world a thing or two about hosting an Olympics in the “best place on earth” (cue Super, Natural British Columbia theme music). But last month VANOC upped the ante considerably by pushing the Olympic green envelope.

During the 8th annual World Conference on Sport and the Environment, held in Vancouver this March, VANOC announced plans to offset its entire estimated 300,000-tonne carbon footprint – an ambitious target given that this encompasses emissions associated with the 27 days of Olympic and Paralympic games, emissions created since the Games were awarded to Vancouver in 2003 and the travel emissions from athletes and spectators. What’s more, VANOC plans to source most of its offsets from B.C.-based projects that enhance community sustainability.

Still, though it sounds hefty, 300,000 tonnes pales in comparison to the total emissions expected from other upcoming major global events, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup. That event is projected to spew almost 3 million tonnes. And though VANOC’s lofty goals do set something of a precedent for Olympic and Paralympic organizing committees (which in the past have set only offset targets for the duration of the games themselves), I do wonder where on earth (or in B.C.) these 300,000 tonnes of offsets are going to come from. The province may be rich in natural resources that could replace conventional energy sources (not to mention intellectual capabilities). But is that be enough to capture the Olympic footprint?

June 9, 2009 Update: VANOC recently announced its partnership with BC-based offset company, Offsetters. The carbon offset portfolio will be sourced from clean technology projects.

Tags: Environment, Olympics