Paris 2024: The greenest games ever

The Olympic and Paralympic Games for 2024 have arrived in Paris for 16 days of sporting glory. It has taken nine years for the French National Olympic Committee to develop Paris 2024 and they’re promising the most exciting and eco-responsible Games ever.

It is perhaps serendipitous that the 33^rd Olympiad has landed in the same city where world-leaders penned pledges to prevent global temperatures rising above 1.5C. Of all the cities in the world for the IOC to environmentally evolve the Games, I can’t think of a better place than Paris.

Here’s what you need to know about the Paris 2024 Legacy and Sustainability Plan.

What is the Legacy and Sustainability Plan for Paris 2024?

Paris 2024 has two stated ambitions.

“Deliver an edition of the Games that can be held up as an inspiring example socially and environmentally in every effort related to organising the Paris 2024 Games”.

“Leave a strong and enduring social and environmental legacy that harnesses sport to benefit individuals, society and the planet. “

These ambitions are based upon improving the quality of life for people in Paris’s Seine-Saint-Denis region whilst opening up opportunities for employment, training, inclusion and accessibility.

Paris 2024 is billed as the Eco-responsible Games. The organising committee asserts that hosting a conventional Games contradicts France’s climate and GHG reduction commitments. Instead, they have made the ambitious promise to guarantee that these Olympics and Paralympics will be carbon-neutral.

Some sceptics may question the IOC’s sincerity, but they’ve made it clear they’re concerned about the future of the Games. A 2016 Lancet report estimates that only 30 cities in the Northern Hemisphere will be temperate enough to host the Olympic Games by 2085. The Winter Games currently has no future beyond 2030 because of climate change.

How will Paris 2024 be carbon-neutral?

The Paris 2024 team’s carbon neutrality strategy took a broad but refreshingly simple approach to the challenge. 

Once they had anticipated (and calculated) the total carbon impact of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games, they rigorously examined their own history to find greener ways of operating. They set the target to use half the carbon of the Games from the 2010s.

Arguable their most progressive decision was to re-purpose existing and temporary structures for 95% of the infrastructure. This plan avoids construction’s extreme carbon footprint and doesn’t add to the abandoned Olympic infrastructure decaying around the planet. Using current structures ensures that the buildings are accessible by public transport, too.

They’ve also engaged with local suppliers to boost the local economy whilst reducing emissions.

Le Pavé, a Parisian eco-manufacturer, has manufactured over 10,000 stadium seats which are constructed from 100% plastic waste collected in the Paris region. Local sourcing has been key to the food supply. Around 80% of ingredients are coming from local producers and many venues will have vegetarian-only menus.

Scope 3 – The Olympic sized challenge

The Games is not excluded from the challenge of reducing GHG emissions which fall under Scope 3. This is the toughest environmental challenge for any business as it concerns all entities up and down the supply chain. One of the largest causes of Scope 3 emissions for Paris 2024 is spectator travel. The organisers plan to mitigate these with a comprehensive package of offsets and rebuilding initiatives to benefit the local environment.

Paris 2024, plastic and the circular economy

If this doesn’t sound ambitious enough, Paris 2024 has a circular economy strategy to minimise waste and resources by implementing eco-design principles focusing on raw materials, waste processing and end-of-life considerations.

Even the mighty Coca-Cola, Gold medal winner of the ‘arguably largest plastic polluter on the planet’ competition has adapted to Paris 2024’s ban on single-use plastics.

Coca-Cola is installing around 700 drinks dispensers at all sites, including free water stations, and asking spectators to bring their own reusable bottles. The athletes who were signatories on an open letter to the CEOs of Pepsi and Coca-Cola calling for action on single-use plastics will welcome this.

Admittedly, France lags behind the rest of the EU in terms of plastic recycling. The Paris 2024 organisers have challenged their logistics partners to focus on reducing plastic use, particularly that used in product packaging.

A key component of any circularity strategy is to avoid buying new products where possible. For instance, they’ve hired much of the electrical equipment, sports equipment and all of the commercial tents and stands. This initiative alone will reduce their carbon impact whilst boosting local coffers.

Is Paris 2024 the first green Games?

Perhaps not the first, but certainly the most progressive.

Naturally there are a few areas which may not meet with universal approval from a throng of environmentalists. Many would argue that corporate-sponsor Toyota should not be providing 2,600 new electric and hydrogen vehicles. Used vehicles would be more circular. Others may suggest that seeing zero-tailpipe vehicles on-screen has a greater influence on public perceptions than medal winners spluttering to the podium in the back of a knackered old pickup.

Paris 2024 is aware of the climatic problems we’re all facing. They appear committed to, at the very least, ensuring that the world stays in shape to enjoy the Games of the future. Critically, they realise they cannot do this alone. They’ve released their carbon-reduction calculation software, Climate Coach for Events, to any event organiser for free. It suggests methods to reduce event emissions, including choosing more accessible venues and locations with greener energy suppliers. The legacy of this single tool is to help more people do their best for the planet.

Will LA28 be feeling the heat?

We must hope that Paris 2024’s ambitious plans deliver. The eyes of global sports and global corporations are on the French capital. Perhaps these Games will show more of them that environmental change is vital, possible and viable.

The next games, LA28, will be held in California whose citizens are all too familiar with the effects of climate change. In four years’ time, the requirement to mitigate the environmental impact of business, including global sports, will be more urgent.

Olympic and Paralympic Games are not only judged on the excitement of the sport, but by the legacy of what they leave behind. Sadly, the legacy of recent Games has failed, with communities displaced to build the event infrastructure which was abandoned.

The attitude of Paris 2024 is genuinely encouraging. They’ve conceded that ‘business as usual’ equates to ‘head-in-the-sand’ where environmentalism is concerned. They know that without positive action, the Games are over.

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