We believe that everyone has a role to play in reaching the goal of a carbon neutral Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. Learn how individual efforts can help create a carbon neutral Games, discover sustainability initiatives made by VANOC and read on for factoids about carbon and the Games.

Videos

Carbon Neutral Games
Learn what you can do to support a carbon neutral Games.

Vancouver 2010 Sustainability Journey
Discover the sustainability initiatives made by VANOC and its partners in the planning, hosting and legacies of the 2010 Winter Games.

Did you know?

• VANOC is using approximately 500 fewer diesel generators than previous Games. This has reduced GHG emissions from diesel power by 90%! [2]
• VANOC estimates that green initiatives have reduced the carbon footprint of the 2010 Winter Games by 57,000 tonnes of carbon over business-as-usual. [3]
• By volume, 4,835 tonnes of CO2 can fit in BC Place! [4]
• VANOC is the first Olympic Organizing Committee to track and report its carbon emissions from the day of winning the bid until the closing of the Games. This means VANOC is committed to reporting, reducing and offsetting carbon over a duration of seven-years instead of the 27-day Games-time period.
• Offsetters is the first Official Supplier of Carbon Offsets in the history of the Olympic movement
• In total, we are aiming to reduce 268 000 tonnes of direct and indirect carbon emissions generated as a result of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. To put that into context, reducing 268,000 tonnes would be the equivalent of taking 49,084 passenger vehicles off the road or the equivalent electricity use to power 37,171 homes for a year.
• The average spectator is personally responsible for 0.3 tonnes of carbon emissions as part of their experience at the 2010 Winter Games

Carbon Factoids

One tonne is the equivalent weight of:

• 5 four-man bobsleds
• 25 skeleton sleds
• 52 curling rocks
• 6,135 hockey pucks

(Source: Official Olympics sports equipment weights taken from IOC website at http://www.olympic.org/en/content/Sports/)

One tonne of GHG emissions (tCO2e) equals:

• 15 km of the torch relay, including emissions from torch fuel, support vehicles, community celebrations and each torchbearer’s heavy breathing!
• 83,333 trips of 5 km in length, on Vancouver’s transit system, one of the cleanest in the world!
• 10 days of running one snow-maker powered by a diesel generator.[1]
• Approximately 11 tanks of gasoline for your car or 9 tanks of diesel fuel. (40L)