Be better, together, for the planet and the people!
The slogan for one of the most important world events that recently ended: the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
How important was this sporting event in terms of sustainability?
To begin with, the Olympic Games had worldwide coverage, and promoted healthy competition between countries around the world! Political or territorial disagreements are not welcome within the Olympic City. And while we're on the topic of global integration, we can't forget to praise and applaud the Paralympic Games!
Created in 1960 by Ludwig Guttman, these games have been avery important component in the inclusion of people with disabilities in society. The Games Paralympics were not always held, for example in the 1980 Summer Olympics, the Soviet Union refused to host the event, denying the existence of disabled people in their country. A major breakthrough occurred in 1988, where for the first time the Paralympic Games took place at the Olympic Stadium and from then on, its construction had to take into account the requirements for its holding.
From an environmental point of view, it is natural that plans have to be made to mitigate the impacts of a temporary mega event in a specific city.
Several SDGs that were considered in this edition, such as:
- SDG 11: Nature and Biodiversity - city within nature;
- SDG 12: Resource Management - zero waste;
- SDG 13: Climate Change - aiming to achieve zero carbon emissions;
- SDG 16: Human, Labor Rights and Fair Business Practices - celebrating diversity;
- SDG 17: Involvement, Cooperation and Communication - united and equal partnerships;
One ??of the practices adopted was the reuse of electronic equipment (78 tons) to reuse gold, silver and bronze to make the medals. They have been collected since 2017.
To include local products, the BATON operation was developed, which stands for ?Building Athletes Village with Timber of the Nation?. In this way, to build the Olympic Village, wood from sustainable sources was used, which was donated by the various municipalities involved.
The availability of public transport powered by hydrogen energy was also a way of showing the world the great potential that this energy has - a Since it is non-toxic, it has great energy density and potential in the transport sector!
This was the first time I heard about this type of energy and all the commitment this event has toachieving the Sustainable Development Goals, but It certainly won't be the last!
What will be the new reality of sustainable Olympic Games in "4" years?
Author: Joana Cordeiro
Reviewed by: André Castro
About the Author:I joined Forall Family as a Shaper in February 2019. In 2020 I was part of the sustainability quiz team, later becoming Team Leader of the Aveiro Sal team and Community Project Manager. I am very curious about topics related to sustainability, which is why I accepted the challenge of being part of the blog team.
