GREENING THE TORINO WINTER OLYMPICS: AN EU SUCCESS STORY

The upcoming 20th Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Torino in February and March, respectively, will be the first ever truly “green” major sports events in Europe. Both events will achieve this goal by making good use of EU voluntary environmental tools, in particular the EU eco-management and audit system (EMAS) and the European eco-label. At a press conference today, Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas congratulated the representatives of the Torino Winter Olympics Organising Committee (TOROC) for rigorously applying these EU standards and tools from the planning to the execution of work at the Olympic sites.

EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: “Sports events draw enormous public attention. They also have a long-lasting impact on the environment. The way the Torino Olympic Games have been prepared demonstrates that organisations can use EU environmental tools and guidance effectively to lessen this impact and turn major sports events into an opportunity to raise citizens’ awareness of sustainable development. I hope other organisers of future sporting events will follow suit.”

TOROC President Professor Valentino Castellani said : “TOROC cooperated with the European Commission from the very beginning. We found that the EU environmental tools, EMAS and the European Eco-Label, were the best suited to handle the complex environmental aspects of the Olympics. The Commission helped us throughout the entire process leading up to the Games”.