Have sustainability goals been met at the 2024 Olympics?

The 2024 Paris Olympics had ambitious sustainability goals for both the Olympic Village and games. The aim is to be “the first international sporting event that achieves neutrality and reduces its carbon footprint by 55%, compared to the London Games 2012,” as decreed by the European Commission.

They published a document explaining their sustainable strategy, including using 100% renewable energy to power the Games, via the grid, and using twice as many plant-based menus.

The Responsible Jewellery Council has confirmed that the metals used in the medals are 100% recyclable. Coffee tables, 6,000 toilet roll holders, 16,000 beds and bedside tables, 1,400 microwaves, 7,000 toilet brushes, and 2,200 parasols are among the items included in the products made from recycled items.

Paris 2024 has pledged to provide all of the furniture and equipment utilized in venues a 100% second life. This will be accomplished by gift, recovery or resale. For instance, the 16,000 beds and pillows in the Village will be given to beneficiaries like the Paris Opera ballet school, so they can be used again.

In previous Olympics, when creating the Olympic Village, they built buildings for accommodation and events. However, this time 95% of the venues already existed. Considering the significant amount of carbon emissions caused by the construction of new infrastructures, the event still managed to reduce their GHG emission rates by 30%.

Related to energy usage, the aim was to arrange games that are solely powered by renewable electricity (solar and wind) through the grid; all venues are connected to the public electricity distribution network to reduce the need for generators.

As a Premium Partner of Paris 2024, EDF provided all venues with renewable electricity from eight production facilities (six wind-powered and two solar-powered) in France, together with Guarantees Of Origin (GOO), an energy certificate that proves the energy is generated from renewable sources.

Another significant area that contributes to the increase of carbon emissions is transportation. Many competitors and staff are coming from overseas, which is not possible to reduce. Nevertheless, they made some improvements in Paris to make it easier and more sustainable to travel to the Olympic Village.

They made current metro lines go to the Olympic Village and made public transportation available for visitors. They created active mobility by non-motorised transportation and made 415 km length cycling lanes and parking spaces for cycles around the city.

In light of this information, there was clearly a significant effort to make the event more eco-friendly. However, when we look at the results, after the Olympics, it seems like not all these good intentions have proceeded exactly as planned. There is still a long way to achieve a fully-green Olympics.

As part of the green initiatives, the plan was to clean the River Seine, so they could hold swimming competitions in the river. The cleaning of the river wasn’t successful and the water was deemed to be unsafe, due to a type of bacteria, but there were still some competitions that took place there. Another plan was to not have air conditioning in the buildings, opting for a more natural solution by a geothermal system.

Nevertheless, the temperature was higher than predicted so they had to order 2,500 air-con units for the competitors, because heat can cause heat-related illnesses like cramps. Considering the size of the event it is normal to expect some setbacks. It seems obvious that the Olympics in Paris in 2024 might mark a sea change in the way that major athletic events handle sustainability. It might serve as a guide for future developments but, as 2050 approaches and the world’s carbon budget shrinks, more work will be needed.