Gaming Village, Cycling Track, Carbon Footprint

Athletes take off in a swimming pool in Saint-Denis, France, July 28, 2024. The Saint-Denis swimming pool, the only new facility for the Paris Olympics, was built using biodegradable materials. | Photo credit: Luca Bruno

During the Games Wide Open, the organizers of Paris 2024 committed to a responsible approach.

This is evidenced by the bicycle paths, accessibility of facilities by public transport and measures encouraging the use of public transport, which clearly contribute to achieving the environmental goals of the Games in a city with a festive décor.

Paris 2024 Olympic organisers face the daunting task of keeping their promise to cut their carbon footprint in half compared to previous Games.

While the previous Summer Olympics emitted an average of 3.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, Paris 2024, adopting a renewed approach — including steps such as anticipation, avoidance, reduction, compensation and mobilization — worked to keep emissions below 1.5 million tons. Low-carbon construction, renewable energy sources, sustainable gastronomy are all steps in this direction.

The biggest contributor to this was the use of 95% of existing or temporary infrastructure. The reuse of existing structures is a feature that was also found in the 1924 Games.

In the current edition, while the Saint-Denis pool, which is the only new venue for the Games, is made of biodegradable materials, the Games Village has been designed to do without air conditioning and to use geothermal and solar energy. In addition, the huge plantations around it are one step towards reducing the carbon footprint.

Later, the new buildings, the Games Village and the swimming pool, will be used by the public. While the Village, developed on an industrial wasteland, will be used as social housing, the swimming complex for 12,000 people, where they will live and work, will be a multi-purpose sports facility for the local community.

After the Games end, all materials and structures installed temporarily will be reused or recycled.

“Paris 2024 has launched its own Climate Coach, an app designed to help employees recognise and reduce their personal and professional carbon footprint. It is also encouraging its partners and suppliers to apply sustainability and climate mitigation to 100% of their Games purchases as part of its responsible sourcing strategy.”

For emissions that cannot be avoided, the Organising Committee has decided to fund projects that will help combat global warming while bringing co-benefits to the local community and biodiversity.

These include projects relating to reforestation, forest conservation and the development of renewable energy sources.

In the interests of social responsibility, the organisers developed the Social Charter of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the first in the history of the Olympic Games, which emphasises that the Games are to be responsible in economic, social and environmental terms, with particular emphasis on sustainable development.

The 16 commitments of the Social Charter aim to promote decent working conditions – which have been a problem in the past at many major sporting events – encourage the professional integration of groups particularly at risk of exclusion and ensure that enterprises and the social solidarity economy (enterprises that seek to reconcile economic prosperity with social justice) have access to project contracts.

“The Games are expected to employ more than 181,000 people. Between 2018 and 2022, around 90% of suppliers to Paris 2024 were French, with 75% being small and medium-sized enterprises,” the Games website says.

“With the support of various public partners, Paris 2024 has created a trust fund for social innovation. Impact 2024 supports projects that use sport to promote health, well-being, education, integration, equality and the environment. More than 1,000 projects have shared €38.7 million in funding since 2020.”

It is clear that all these steps taken up to Paris 2024 set a new benchmark not only for future Olympic Games, but also for any major sporting event to be more socially responsible.