The United States Olympic Committee USOC is not only looking to further the athletic accomplishments but make sustainable environmental changes to the Winter Games. And with the bid for the 2022 games being award in 2015, they must move fast with their efforts. This began with naming Andrew Liveris and Dow Chemical the worldwide partner in the Olympics for the next decade.

As fantastic and unifying as the Olympics are, it’s quite a carbon-rich event. So while these changes may only seem minor, they’re actually a huge deal. It has been estimated that over 2/3 of the carbon emissions from the event is a result of some of the 1.5+ million attendees traveling (mostly via airplane) to and from the event.

CEO Andrew Liveris and USOC members are looking to do more by basing off of the services used in Beijing and double that impact.  The 2008 Summer Games, held in Beijing, made great efforts to showcase conservation practices and sustainable energy sources and helped begin a process of making the Olympics more green. Exactly what environmentally friendly services did the Olympic facilities feature?

  • Solar power – Used to light lawns, courtyards and streets at several venues, including the Olympic Village. A 130 KW photovoltaic system illuminated The National Stadium, where events such as athletics and football were held.
  • Water Conservation – Waste water collected from the Qinghe sewage treatment plant was filtered and used for the various heating and cooling needs throughout the Olympics site, yielding a 60% savings in electricity. Rainwater was collected from around the grounds, collecting over 75,000 gallons by using water permeable bricks, pipes and wells installed on roofs, roads and green areas.
  • Natural Light – Remember the famous ‘Water Cube’ where the aquatic events were held? The walls of the National Aquatics Centre provided natural light, and for the interior of the building, specially designed ‘beam-pipes’ funneled sunlight into corridors, toilets and car parks at venues, including the Olympic Green.
  • Recycling – The 2008 Olympic hosts aimed for a 50 per cent recycling of waste including paper, metals and plastics at venues. A modest expectation, considering that a test run carried out during the 11th World Softball Championships held in 2007, achieved a nearly 90 per cent recycling rate.

The 2008 Olympics made great improvements in making the event more environmentally sound and had great new ways of filtration and insulation for the events. However that vision has progressed to include dozens of other products which will help reduce waste and promote conservation. You can expect these products to appear at the coming events over the next decade and be a part of the USOC recommendations.

This post was originally posted here: Green Changes in the Works for the 2022 Olympics