2010 Winter Games more than green Games; set new bar for large sporting
events

Final Sustainability report highlights environmental, social and economic legacies

VANCOUVER, Dec. 17 /CNW/ - The 2010 Winter Games were more than just green Games. They reached beyond the environmental pillar to deliver many other positive legacies locally and globally and they set a new sustainability blueprint for future large-scale sport events, according to the final Vancouver 2010 sustainability report which was provided to the VANOC Board of Directors and released today.

The final report is available now at www.2010legaciesnow.com/vanoc/ and shares the successes and challenges on the road to 2010. It outlines how the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Parlaympic Winter Games (VANOC) successfully expanded its definition of sustainability to include not only the environment but also social and economic opportunities that produced lasting benefits (see report summary below).

"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. We hope our experiences can help our friends at the IOC and future Games organizers as they host the world to celebrate the best in sport and culture."

As part of its legacy for future Organizing Committees, VANOC created a new sustainability governance model for large sport event organizations, reporting frameworks and a sustainable sport event tool kit for mega sport events. VANOC also demonstrated how a venue program can be designed for legacy use and built to minimize environmental impact, how partnerships with Aboriginal people can make a 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. Further examples and Games firsts are included in the final report.

IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli said, "For nearly two decades, the IOC has been encouraging and working with the Olympic Movement to improve the sustainability of sport. With each edition of the Games, we take new strides forward, and VANOC has undoubtedly raised the bar once again. Vancouver 2010 showed that the Games and sport can be truly sustainable and leave great legacies to the host community. We are confident that VANOC's work will leave a solid foundation upon which future Organising Committees can build. Congratulations to the whole VANOC team for a job well done."

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. Overall, VANOC produced five annual sustainability reports to tell the sustainability story - what was promised, what VANOC had control over, and ultimately how VANOC performed against its goals.

As a core value and a strategic corporate objective, sustainability influenced the way VANOC approached challenges, opportunities and decision-making related to environmental, economic, social and legacy aspects of the Games. In addition to outcomes achieved in the 2009-10 reporting period, the report features legacies relating to each of VANOC's six corporate sustainability objectives which are included in the attached backgrounder.

Report Summary

The following outlines legacies included in the 2009-10 sustainability report that relate to each of VANOC's six corporate sustainability objectives:

1. Accountability: a new sustainability governance model for a large sport event organization
• 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
• Assisted the Canadian Standard Association's development of a new Z2010 Sustainable Event Management Standard in Canada
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.
• VANOC received 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.
• Through Offsetters sponsorship an unprecedented level of participation from both the corporate and government sectors was secured. This not only reduced carbon emitted into the atmosphere, but also showcased made-in-BC climate change solutions and established a legacy of clean energy projects.
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.
• Carpentry trainees produced 11,000 Games-related items, valued at $2.3 million, as part of their real work experience at the RONA Vancouver 2010 Fabrication Shop.
• Inner-city businesses benefitted from $5.7 million in Games-related procurement opportunities
• 50,000 tickets to Olympic and Paralympic sport events and victory ceremonies were distributed to youth, families and others who would otherwise not have been able to attend the Games.
• The Travelsmart 2010 strategy reduced vehicle traffic and increased sustainable modes of travel such as transit, ridesharing, vanpooling, cycling, walking and tele-working.
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.
• The IOC recognized Aboriginal peoples as Games partners for the first time in history
• $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.
• 30 permanent works of Aboriginal art produced by 96 Aboriginal artists were displayed at Games venues
• 2010 Olympic Torch Relay passed through 115 Aboriginal (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) communities on its journey across Canada.
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.
• 528 Buysmart contracts issued at a total value of $277 million; this represents 95% of the total VANOC contracts.
• 51% of spending was with locally-based suppliers; a further 39% of spending was BC and/or Canada based, with only 10% of spending outside of Canada.
• Spurring new innovation within the Games region and beyond, the Sustainability Star program recognized 62 positive and measurable innovations of Games partners, sponsors and VANOC.
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.
• "Do Your Part" sustainability awareness and action campaign targeted youth, athletes, spectators and members of the public on topics such as climate change, waste management and sustainable transportation (Travelsmart 2010)
• Students, teachers and schools across all provinces and territories in Canada (and beyond) participated in the /EDU on-line education portal on vancouver2010.com/edu.
• Created CODE Live, a program that advanced sustainability engagement through the use of digital technology in overlooked community spaces.
• Developed Paralympic awareness programs for workforce and spectators to increase awareness of Paralympism and accessibility. The 'Ticket to Inspiration' program provided 30,000 low-cost tickets to school groups for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

The Sustainability report represents VANOC's self-reporting on its sustainability performance. Meeting a commitment to stakeholders, VANOC engaged a third party auditor to perform assurance on selected key performance indicators in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 reports. They found the subject matter to have been represented fairly in accordance with the world renowned Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (2006), industry standards and VANOC's internal management definitions. See globalreporting.org for more information about the GRI guidelines.

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 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (www.2010wintergamessecretariat.com).

About VANOC
VANOC was responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games were staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler hosted the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010.

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Chris Brumwell
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