Brussels, 12/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - One month ahead of the start of the Winter Olympic Games of Turin, the members of the organising committee on the European Commission on Thursday welcomed the fact that they have closely collaborated in order to guarantee that this sporting event will come strictly into line with the requirements of sustainable development. The use of the environmental instruments of the EU, applied voluntarily, and the integral approach of the life-cycle adopted by the organising committee, from the design of this vast project to its closing ceremony, have been the driving force behind this cooperation. "The 26th Olympic Games and Paralympics of Turin, to take place in February and March respectively, will be the first genuinely ecological major sporting events ever held in Europe. Such events can have a major impact on the environment, because they draw on natural resources- water, air, earth-, and because the crowds they draw generate mountains of rubbish. But it is possible to reduce this impact by dint of the judicious and effective voluntary use of the environmental instruments of the EU. The members of the organising committee of the Winter Olympic Games have voluntarily used the Community Environmental Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), the Community ecological label and green public procurement contracts. They are to be congratulated. I hope that in future, the environmental States will become a major concern for all sporting events", Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told the press.
Professor Valentino Castellani, President of the Organising Committee of the Winter Olympic Games (TOROC), explained that TOROC had opted for an approach based on the life-cycle, taking account, from the very beginning, of Community instruments and standards for the environment, covering such aspects as the health and safety of workers, the staff and the local population, the management of waste generated by construction work on-site, the rational use of energy, sustainable mobility, water management, the prevention of natural risks, the preservation of the countryside, sustainable architecture, measures to attenuate and to compensate for any inevitable environmental damage, greenhouse gas emissions, the sustainable use of the installations after the Games have finished. In this way, at the planning and construction stages, TOROC obtained the EMAS registration for the 29 Olympic sites, and the eight municipalities which will host the games also joined EMAS. The main Olympic Village (whose 39 complexes will be able to accommodate 2500 athletes) is an example of sustainable architecture: solar panels to heat the water, glass surfaces facing the South for optimum sun-exposure in the winter, use of low-energy consumption lamps, the use of rain-water butts to water the green areas. The main village reserved for the media will soon be awarded the Community ecological label as it meets the criteria (low consumption of energy and water, low production of waste, use of bio-architectural techniques, use of renewable energy sources and substances with the lowest possible impact on the environment) and because its transformation into university halls of residence once the games are over is considered a possible example of the sustainable use of the installations. TOROC's use of green public procurement contracts had the result that 39% of products purchased fulfil ecological criteria. "Collaboration with the Commission has been the best way for us to respect the commitment we took, when submitting the project, to organise sustainable Olympic Games. EMAS and the ecolabel have been valuable tools (...). We wanted the EMAS label because this is certification of excellence for environmental policy. We worked with many hotels and farms (...) to encourage them to obtain the Community ecological label. Piedmont is the region with the largest number of tourist facilities with the ecolabel", said Mr Castellani. Stressing the "important heritage" to be left behind by the organisation of these Games, he quoted the experience of best practice by local institutions and many operators, and the guidelines to implement EMAS at sporting events- a document drawn up by TOROC by request of the Commission (with Community co-funding of 25,000 EUR), for the attention of the organisers of forthcoming major sporting events.
"The future of sport is closely linked to environmental protection. Sporting competitions must be sustainable", said Manuela Di Centa, cross-country skiing champion who won many medals at the Winter Olympic Games of 1992, 1994 and 1998, and who represents athletes within the organising committee. "My role in Turin will be in support of the athletes (...). I will be the Mayoress of the Olympic Village, with its EMAS certification", she added. Mercedes Bresso, President of the Region of Piedmont, spoke out in support of the "HECTOR" project, which guarantees "Olympic Games which are completely neutral in terms of their CO2 emissions". Energy requirements and transport activities were calculated, and will be compensated, by the acquisition of carbon credit for energy savings made. Furthermore, after the games, the CO2 balance will be certified by a neutral third party, she explained, concluding that these games will leave behind them "the material heritage comprised by the legacy of infrastructure, but also the non-tangible legacy of values and best practice".