Season 6, Post 29: Going for gold, sustainably
With the pomp and circumstance of the opening ceremony, the ensuing drama around the track, field and pool, the Paris Olympics will continue to captivate the world for the next fortnight. Beyond sporting glory, events such as these often allow host cities to shine, demonstrating to the outside world their prowess. The last Olympics, in Tokyo, saw robots, cashless payments and facial recognition on display in full force (per our Blog at the time). For Paris, the story is less technology per se and more sustainability.
Sustainability has been a pillar of the Olympic charter since 1996 and is a focus of its planning for the future. The 2012 London Olympics saw the introduction of a new international certification standard (ISO2012) that provides sustainability guidelines for any large event. These focus on everything from catering to construction.
Paris claims that its Olympics will be the greenest in its history. The organisers have stated that the energy used to power the games will come from 100% renewable sources, predominantly wind, solar and geothermal. Wherever possible, existing venues have been utilised. Where new ones have been built, the focus has been on construction via low-carbon concrete and recycled materials. Many of the seats have come from recycled plastic. Every venue where events will be hosted can be reached by public transport, reducing the potential number of car journeys undertaken.
The carbon footprint of the Paris Olympics should correspondingly be around half the levels of the prior three Olympiads, say the organisers. While this is cause for celebration and perhaps even worthy of a gold medal, do not forget that some of the Parisian success has been achieved through the purchase of carbon offsets. At the same time, the arrival of thousands (both athletes and spectators) by plane creates a carbon footprint of its own.
We have made the case for renewables, more sustainable buildings and plastic recycling in our own work for some time. Progress in Paris is encouraging, but the runway ahead for all three of these trends remains significant.
30 July 2024
The above does not constitute investment advice and is the sole opinion of the author at the time of publication. Past performance is no guide to future performance and the value of investments and income from them can fall as well as rise.
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