By Leah Conway –
Tokyo 2020’s motto is ‘Be better, together – For the planet and the people.’ This year’s Olympics – delayed due to the pandemic – have aimed to intertwine the idea of global sustainability and taking responsibility into its planning and preparation. Here’s how:
Reduce, Reuse & Recycle
Many of the iconic elements of the Olympics have been made using recycled materials.
The Olympic Torch was made using aluminium waste; the torchbearer’s uniforms were made out of recycled plastic bottles. Even the podium was made from recycled plastic waste.
The Olympic and Paralympic medals were made from salvaged metal from nearly 79,000 tones of smartphones and other electronic waste donated by the Japanese public – making 5,000 medals
Even the beds the athletes sleep in – a whole 18,000 of them – are made from recycled cardboard.
The Olympics have the ability to showcase innovative new ideas and the potential of ‘circular economy’ which focuses on reducing, reusing and recycling waste over more disposable forms.
Venues
When cities host the Olympics, many often construct brand new, extravagant venues for the event. This scale of construction can be both extremely costly and extremely bad for the environment.
This year, however, Tokyo have used 25 existing venues to host this year’s games. The venues were originally built when the city last hosted the games in 1964 and many have been reworked and updated over the years with new technologies to reduce energy consumption.
Despite this, a total of eight new venues have been built and a further 10 have been built as temporary structures. However, they aim to minimise the cost of construction and energy use.
For example, for the Olympic Village, local governments in Japan donated 40,000 pieces of timber to build the plaza. When the games are finished the timber will be returned and used elsewhere.
Equipment
Much of the equipment needed for the Olympics has been hired rather than bought, which has reduced the manufacturing cost of goods and waste.
Items such as computers, tablets, consumer appliances, office desks and chairs are being used and then passed on.
Renewable energy
Lots of the energy needed to fuel Tokyo 2020 is sourced from renewable sources, including solar arrays and wood biomass power.
Wood biomass power uses Japanese waste such as construction waste and tree clippings to then produce electricity.
Tokyo will not simply aim to be carbon neutral, which is offsetting an equal amount of carbon produced. Instead, the Games’ aims to be ‘carbon negative’ through an offsetting programme that covers all direct and indirect emissions, including transport and construction.
‘Setting an example to the world’
Marie Sallois, IOC Director for Corporate and Sustainable Development stated: “The Games are one of the world’s most widely televised events, and they offer an excellent chance to demonstrate sustainable solutions.
“With its emphasis on the circular economy and sustainability, Tokyo 2020 is setting an example to the world of what can be achieved now and in the future.”