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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
source: www.greenpeace.org.au/
archives/olympics/
www.sustainablestyle.org/sass/
02/greengames.html
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"Going for gold and staying green" was one of the many slogans of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney… - Greenpeace called the effort the ‘greenest games ever’, receiving 5 out of 10 stars in their rating system. The organisation’s aim was to ensure the 'Green Games' were a global showcase for environmental solutions. The combined efforts of Greenpeace, other environmental groups, progressive businesses and committed Olympics officials were an essential part of Sydney's Green Games;
- the Olympics campaign began back in 1992 when Greenpeace won a design competition for the Athletes' Village. In 1993, a specific set of Environmental Guidelines for the Games, developed by Greenpeace, were passed into law by the NSW Government. By releasing an Olympic Report every 100 days from 1995 to 2000, the organisation kept environmental issues firmly on the agenda;
- following the general four points laid out by Project-Friendly Olympics and working closely with Greenpeace, the organisers of the Sydney games implemented numerous projects, focusing on reduced energy consumption, solar energy use, energy conservation and design, public transport, best-practice toxic waste remediation, PVC-free building materials, waste reduction and non-toxic disposal, water conservation and re-use, protection of endangered areas and species, and responsible use of timber and building materials, and expanding the systems put in place for the Olympics to surrounding areas;
- for example, Greenpeace was pleased that 665 houses in the Athlete’s Village have grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and solar hot water systems, making it the largest solar-powered suburb in the world. The Village’s energy load was 50% less than conventional dwellings, saving 7,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. Moreover, the Olympic Village was car-free, used land wisely, allowed only non-toxic and eco-friendly materials and showcased cutting-edge green technologies from around the world.
- Greenpeace fought against the use of PVC and ozone depleting chemicals, as well as rare native forest timber, in Olympic venues. The Government's failure to clean up the Homebush Bay area, near the Olympic site, prompted Greenpeace activists to don protective gear and repack barrels of highly toxic dioxin-contaminated waste themselves; (1)
- in addition, campaigners have worked to ensure that Newington Forest, one of the last virgin forests in the Homebush area, was saved from development and that the habitat of the endangered Green and Golden Bell frog was protected;
- one of the Greenpeace’s major victories was the Coke Challenge campaign, which saw Olympic sponsor Coca-Cola meet their demands for a new refrigeration policy to reduce its impact on global climate change. As a result, on 28 June, 2000 Coca-Cola announced that it would phase out potent greenhouse gas hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) in refrigeration by the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. It will expand its research into refrigeration alternatives and insist that suppliers announce specific time schedules to use only HFC-free refrigeration in all new cold drink equipment by 2004;
There have been a number of areas where Sydney has fallen short of its original commitments or where it has decided not to go with the best environmental option. These include: - the decision to use ozone-depleting HCFC and the potent greenhouse gas HFC, in air conditioning systems throughout Olympic venues, including the SuperDome;
- despite remediating toxic waste from the Olympic site, no commitment has been made to clean up highly toxic Homebush Bay and the surrounding area just off the Olympic site; (2)
- failure to commission a cutting-edge solar thermal plant to power the Olympic site as originally planned;
- the use of toxic PVC plastic for Games mascots and in some Olympic venues;
- missed opportunities to use sustainable timber in some Olympic venues despite availability of this environmental product;
- although the Green Games resulted in both wins and losses for the environment, the Sydney’s experience showed the world that clean, green alternatives are available. All the successes in Sydney led to the publication of the "Greenpeace Olympic Environmental Guidelines: A Guide to Sustainable Events."
(1) The area has been home to a number of unpleasant industries since early in the XX century. Part of the site once housed the State Abattoirs (1907 to 1988) and the State Brickworks (1911 to 1988) which included a quarry for clay and shale to make bricks. In the mid-1980s when it became evident that the brickworks and the abattoirs were nearing the end of their operating lives, the area was designated for redevelopment. It is surrounded by chemical industries, a fuel terminal, a large petroleum products storage area, an oil refinery and a prison. Unoccupied parts of the site have also been subject to years of waste dumping.
(2) According to many local residents, the remediation work at Homebush Bay has been going on without any environmental impact statement being prepared and publicly displayed. And the need for a quick clean up has obviously affected remediation decisions. For example removal of 80,000 tonnes of asbestos waste from the Olympic precinct posed a problem that was overcome by using unorthodox methods. With the agreement of union officials the waste, instead of being sealed and bagged, was wetted down and moved in bulk.
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