Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

Dates: February 12 – 28, 2010 and March 12 – 21, 2010
Carbon neutral claim: Carbon Neutral Event
Public disclosure: Yes, available online.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) set sustainability goals for the Games to conserve natural environments and manage, mitigate and offset negative impacts during the planning and beyond the execution of the global event. 

How we helped
In 2009 Offsetters was selected as the first official supplier of carbon offsets in the history of the Olympic movement, and seized the Olympic-sized spotlight to engage the public, athletes and sponsors in taking action against climate change. Working with VANOC, we played an instrumental role in marking the 2010 Winter Olympics as the first Carbon Neutral games in Olympic history.

Together with ISIS, a research centre at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder of School of Business, we first helped VANOC understand their footprint which allowed them to reduce emissions by close to 20 per cent, and in addition to offsetting the direct emissions of the Games, offset indirect emissions associated with athlete travel to and from the Games and enabled the Olympic Torch Relay to be carbon neutral, another Olympic first!

To offset the direct and indirect emissions associated with the Games, we developed the 2010 Legacy Portfolio, an offset portfolio of projects comprised of a 50/50 blend of BC-based clean technology projects and international Gold Standard projects that reflected the local and global nature of the 2010 Winter Games.

Recognizing the Winter Games would attract more than three billion spectators, we developed an engagement strategy to support VANOC's carbon neutral plan that leveraged the profile of the Winter Games to raise awareness about the climate impact of large events.  As part of this strategic plan, Offsetters worked closely with VANOC to “Educate, Engage and Inspire” sponsors and spectators to take action on climate change to understand, reduce and offset their footprints associated with attending the 2010 Games.

Prior to Offsetters’ involvement with VANOC and the 2010 Winter Games, global protocols for major sporting events to manage their carbon footprint did not exist. With our help, VANOC set a very high bar for environmental performance for future large-scale sporting and public events. We created programs that enabled spectators, sponsors and suppliers to take responsibility for offsetting their own travel and associated emissions – critical to changing habits and improving behaviours when it comes to taking ownership of one’s own carbon footprint.

Sponsor Engagement

Through the Carbon Partners Program, we engaged over 50 per cent of the VANOC family of sponsors and partners involved in the 2010 Winter Games and offset up to 75 per cent of their total emissions.

Spectator Engagement

We created and supported a number of lasting initiatives including:

• Online Travel and Accommodation Calculator —allowed spectators to quantify carbon footprint incurred by attending events.

• Offsetters 2010 pin—With the “pin-sanity” of the Games, we developed a commemorative pin with the purchase of 1 tonne of offsets from the 2010 Legacy Portfolio.
• Social media campaign to draw attention to the impacts of climate change. Focused on Bobwheeling, as opposed to bobsledding, an ironic demonstration sport proposed for a future with warmer winters, the overall media campaign generated around 30 million media impressions and it was covered by press from around the world, including Great Britain, South Korea, Japan and Belarus. Travelling around the streets of Vancouver during Games-time, the Bobwheel, a bobsled on wheels attracted attention from visitors and locals alike. Inspired by our campaign, a South Korean student reached out to us to become an intern during the course of the Games after seeing media clips on a South Korean news program!
• Other communications elements included:
  • Animated carbon video to help individuals understand what offsets are and how they tie back to the Games—played at compete and non-compete venues. The video also proved to be a popular teaching tool and we learned that a teacher in Washington, DC used the video to explain carbon offsets to her middle school students.
  • Full page ads promoting our Carbon Partner Program
  • Offsetters-wrapped Harbour Air seaplane which was seen taking off during the American broadcast of the Men’s Gold Medal hockey game
  • Project Blue Sky was an online widget that we supported which encouraged active living and sustainable transportation choices in the lead-up to the 2010 Winter Games. The widget was developed by graduate students at Vancouver’s Centre for Digital Media with further support from ISIS and the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Council. 

Successes

Offsetters has set the bar for future Olympic Games and other large-scale global events, demonstrating for organizing committees, that it is possible to be carbon neutral.

Carbon Neutral Mission Accomplished

• All 118,000 tonnes of direct emissions offset and a portion of the indirect emissions including athlete travel and the torch relay were offset

Inspired sponsor and spectator involvement

• Over 40 Games sponsors voluntarily offset their carbon emissions with 75 per cent of their total emissions offset

Massive media and public awareness

• Offsetters garnered close to 30 million impressions from June 3rd, 2009 through to the end of March 2010.

Created a Green Legacy

• Offsetters and VANOC have helped to promote a shift to a low carbon future and set a carbon neutral precedent for future Olympic Games.
• Offsetters’ CEO Dr. James Tansey has also been named a UNEP special advisor to the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.

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