Partners of 2010 Winter Games sign on and collaborate with Project Blue Sky to help increase physical activity and reduce the carbon footprint in their communities

For Immediate Release

Vancouver (Nov 16, 2009) –   In support of the Olympic and Paralympic athletes who are speaking up about climate change, all five Mayors of the venue cities for 2010 today announced their support of Project Blue Sky.  Citizens in each of the communities are being urged to sign up at www.ProjectBlueSky.ca to log their increased physical activity and sustainable travel options to help track their carbon footprint reductions.

Project Blue Sky is a fun and engaging online community led by Olympic, Paralympic and other high performance athletes to challenge individuals to fight climate change through increased physical activity and sustainable travel. The objective is to track 1 billion kilometres of carbon reducing activity by the end of the Paralympic Winter Games in March 2010.  The project is supported by the Official Carbon Offset Supplier to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Offsetters and Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee (VANOC).

Leading the race for Project Blue Sky are some well known Canadian athletes and Olympians including Olympic silver medallist Dave Calder (Rowing), Olympic gold medallist Beckie Scott (Cross-Country Skiing), Paralympic gold medallist Stephanie Dixon (Swimming), professional trials rider Ryan Leech, and Sam Whittingham, a local cyclist with a global reputation for bike design and a multiple world-record holder.

 “We know the Games can inspire people to be healthier and make more sustainable choices like walking, running, cycling and choosing more sustainable modes of transportation,” commented Calder.  “The 1 billion kilometres is a big goal. Being an Olympic or Paralympic athlete requires big goals and big commitments and that’s what Project Blue Sky is all about.”

 “Project Blue Sky is a great way to raise public awareness about climate change, and helps us move closer to our goal of making Vancouver the world's greenest city," said Mayor Gregor Robertson.  "Most importantly, it's easy to get involved and there's no reason why we can't reach Project Blue Sky's goal of logging 1 billion kilometers by the end of next year's Paralympic Winter Games."

Each of the venue communities will be throwing their weight behind Project Blue Sky to encourage their citizens to help support this initiative.  “We all say 'what can I do?'. Well go to your local community’s website and follow the link to Project Blue Sky. Follow the lead of these great Canadian athletes, and really help to make these the green Games" urged Pam Goldsmith-Jones, Mayor of West Vancouver.

The 2010 venue communities have each made a commitment to sustainability and Project Blue Sky is a great way to help citizens take practice into action.  “The City of Surrey is working towards a carbon neutral Celebration Site during the games and I encourage residents to log on to Project Blue Sky and learn how to reduce their individual carbon footprint.” commented, Mayor Watts from Surrey. 

“We have a very active and motivated community when it comes to sustainability”, said Mayor Melamed from Whistler. “This is a great opportunity for Canadians to show leadership with carbon footprint reductions at a community level.   Hopefully, through Project Blue Sky, others in the community will be inspired to join in, and learn about how their actions contribute to immediate results.”   

“Achieving more sustainable lifestyles and combating climate change are key priorities for the City of Richmond, and Project Blue Sky helps takes us one step closer to achieving these goals.  A more sustainable future can not be reached by technologies alone; it depends on the commitment and actions made by each of us as individuals. As we prepare to welcome the world to the 2010 Olympics, I can not think of a more inspirational message to send across the globe, than one conveyed by thousands of ordinary people who join forces to promote healthy living and slow climate change” remarked Mayor Malcolm Brodie.

Join the athletes and visit www.projectbluesky.ca to get started, invite others to the challenge, and track your kilometres of carbon footprint reductions. “Together we can make a difference”, expressed Calder confidently.

For further information:

Project Blue Sky Backgrounder

 Background

Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes have teamed up with the Masters of Digital Media (MDM) students to launch Project Blue Sky (www.projectbluesky.ca).

 Project Blue Sky (PBS) is a fun and competitive online community led by Olympic, Paralympic and other high performance athletes which challenge individuals and groups to fight climate change through increased physical activity and sustainable travel. The project is supported by the Official Carbon Offset Supplier to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Offsetters and Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee (VANOC).

The project is supported by Offsetters, as a means of using the carbon story of the Games to inspire individuals to take steps to reduce their own carbon footprint. James Tansey, President and Co-founder of Offsetters states, “Project Blue Sky is a public engagement opportunity that uses efforts by 2010 Games organizers and participants to take responsibility for their carbon emissions to encourage broader awareness and responsibility for reducing personal emissions.”

The Technology

To track progress against its target of 1 billion kilometre’s worth of carbon reductions, Project Blue Sky has developed an easy-to-use online ‘widget’ that can record the number of kilometres individuals or groups contribute towards the one billion kilometre target. The widget can be shared across other social networks and web applications, and is easily embedded on websites.

The B.C.-grown on-line technology behind the project has been developed by students in the Masters of Digital Media (MDM) program at the Centre for Digital Media in Vancouver.

 The Athletes

Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes are challenging other athletes and friends in Canada and abroad to make physical activity and sustainable transportation choices part of their daily lives.  Project Blue Sky hopes to get people all over the world supporting the goal to achieve 1 billion kilometres of carbon reducing activity by the end of the Paralympic Games in March 2010.

Leading the race for the Project Blue Sky team are some well known Canadian athletes and Olympians including silver medallist Calder, Olympic gold medallist Beckie Scott (Cross-Country Skiing), Paralympic gold medallist Stephanie Dixon (Swimming), professional trials rider Ryan Leech, and Sam Whittingham, a local cyclist with a global reputation for bike design and a multiple world-record holder on a recumbent bike.

The Goal

Calder and his fellow athletes believe the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games represent an important opportunity to encourage more people to take action on climate change as well as draw attention to carbon saving initiatives already underway.

 “We have set an ambitious target of 1 billion kilometres tracked by the end of the Games in March 2010” explains Calder. “ So when I ride my bike 15 km to work, that equates to 3.3 kg of carbon equivalents and when my wife walks our daughter 1 km to preschool every day this equates to .22 kg.  If all Canadians could commit to doing their part just a few times a week, we will achieve our objective of 1 billion kilometres in carbon reduced activity by the end of the Games.”

About Offsetters

As Canada’s first and leading carbon management provider, Offsetters helps individuals and companies understand, reduce, track and offset their climate impact – in that order. Headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Offsetters  is the first ever Official Supplier of Carbon Offsets to an Olympic games and will be providing the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) with carbon credits sourced from clean technologies developed in BC’s Lower Mainland.

In addition to supporting Project Blue Sky as a community engagement tool to track carbon reducing activity, Offsetters has also produced a 2010 Travel & Accommodation carbon calculator to allow users to easily discover the climate impact of their travel, event and accommodation choices when coming to experience the 2010 Winter Games. With just a click of a mouse, users can purchase offsets from the 2010 Legacy Portfolio – a portfolio of clean technology projects, created specifically for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games.  Visit www.offsetters.ca for further information.