I really have to admire all the effort into making these very "green" games. Good on Japan!
The Olympic and Paralympic Games aren’t just a showcase for the greatest sporting talent on the planet - they are also a platform for emerging technologies helping to create a more sustainable future.
Under the banner 'Be better, together – For the planet and the people', the Games’ organisers aim to promote a circular economy that will benefit Tokyo’s 14 million residents well into the future.
According to a recent report from Harvard University, “by using circular economy strategies, which seek to maximise resource reuse and minimise waste, Tokyo 2020 may be able to achieve both goals simultaneously.” The resulting benefits are a more sustainable environment, long-term cost savings, and a more content population, it says.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Tokyo 2020 has pledged to be ‘net carbon zero’ by reducing energy, resource consumption and minimizing construction. Where it hasn’t been possible to use renewable energy, green power certificates will be used to compensate for the use of non-renewable electricity.
The Games plans to compensate more than 100 per cent of its remaining emissions by acquiring carbon certificates from over 200 Japanese companies that have implemented reduction measures. The carbon offsetting programme covers all direct and indirect emissions related to the Games, including construction and transport.
When it comes to where the events will be held, Tokyo 2020 is also leading the way by resuing as many existing buildings as possible. Of the 43 competition venues, 25 were already in use - some of them dating back to the 1964 Olympic Games. Many of these existing locations have also been retrofitted with advanced building technologies to reduce energy consumption.
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