Conference topics

Under the Conference theme “Changing Today for a Better Tomorrow”, some of the key topics to be discussed are: A Collective Vision for Sustainable Development, the new Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs), Russian Legacies pre- & post-Sochi 2014, the sustainable development landscape following Rio+20, and showcasing legacies of the Olympic Games and Olympic bids for sustainable development, as well as highlighting the UN system.

IOC Sport and Environment Awards

As has been the tradition since 2009, the winners of the 3rd IOC Sport and Environment Awards – recognising and celebrating outstanding grassroots initiatives in the field of sustainable sport and the environment - will be announced during the opening ceremony of the Conference. A dedicated session has therefore been incorporated into the Conference programme, to enable the awardees to present their innovative and winning projects. Nominations for the Awards can be submitted by National Olympic Committees, International Federations, Continental Associations and Recognised Organisations until 2 September 2013.

Learn more about this year’s Sport and Environment Awards here

Background information

The event is organised in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Russian government, the Russian Olympic Committee and the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games in Sochi 2014. This edition follows one year after the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), often abbreviated to Rio+20, which was a key moment in the global sustainability agenda. Indeed, Rio+20 saw a renewal of the sporting community’s long-term and political commitment to sustainable development.

The biennial Conference is one of the IOC’s key advocacy initiatives in the field of the environment, and usually attracts hundreds of representatives from the Olympic family, governments, the UN system, academic institutions and NGOs.

Learn more about the IOC’s initiatives to promote sustainability through sport

First introduced by the IOC Sport and Environment Commission in 2009, the Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of individuals, groups and organisations that have shown initiative and taken action to drive environmental efforts and projects within their community. The recognition continues to be an important stimulus in the awareness process for environmental stewardship at local, national and global level.

Nominations for the Awards, which are presented biennially in conjunction with the IOC’s World Conferences on Sport and the Environment, can be submitted by National Olympic Committees, International Federations, Continental Associations and Recognised Organisations.

The 2013 Awards will be presented during the 10th edition of the IOC World Conference on Sport and the Environment, which will take place in Sochi (Russian Federation) from 30 October to 1 November 2013. 

One award is given to a nominee from each of the five continents (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania) selected by a jury composed of members of the IOC Sport and Environment Commission.

Nominated projects should embrace the following principles:

- Regarding the environment as the third pillar of Olympism alongside sport, culture and education;

- Creating awareness by means of education through sport, especially with regard to young people;

- Believing in the catalytic power of sport to engage a global audience in accepting responsibility for safeguarding the fragile ecosystems of the earth.

2013 Awards Documents:

IOC 2013 Sport and Environment Awards – Invitation letter

IOC 2013 Sport and Environment Awards – Rules and Regulations

IOC 2013 Sport and Environment Awards - Candidature Form

Learn more about the UN International Year of Water Cooperation and World Water Day (WWD)

The new and user-friendly programme will provide sports organisations with the information and support they need to start, or continue, their journey in making their sports events more sustainable. The programme consists of four modules covering the key aspects of sustainability for sports events, namely; the business case for sustainability, the ISO 20121 Management System, Reporting and Impact Assessment.

Learn about the Sport Sustainability E-Learning modules here

Easy and practical approach

“It is about translating and applying international standards into the framework of sports events and integrating sustainability into our normal way of thinking”, said Gilbert Felli, IOC Olympic Games Executive Director, on the occasion of the launch. He added: “This is a process that takes time, education and structure, and the new AISTS programme offers an easy and practical approach to this important topic.”

Sustainability and the IOC

Sport has demonstrated its potential as a catalyst for creating more sustainable, healthy, urban and non-urban environments and economies. The IOC is committed to helping the Olympic Movement to improve sustainability in the organisation of sports events in order to educate, raise awareness and maximise the benefits to organisers and local communities alike. The format of the new Sport Sustainability E-Learning programme is particularly suited to events organised by International Federations and National Olympic Committees.

Participants in one or more of the Sport Sustainability E-Learning modules will automatically receive free access to the AISTS’s Sustainable Sport and Event toolkit, as well as to EventSustainability, an online monitoring, measuring and reporting tool which is aligned with existing international reporting standards, to demonstrate sustainability progress and achievements. 

Learn more about the IOC’s sustainability initiatives

Learn more about AISTS

Learn more about SportAccord

IOC President Jacques Rogge and Rinat Gizatulin, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne which outlines the collaboration of the IOC, the Russian government and the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in the organisation of the Conference, which is also supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The biennial event is one of the IOC’s key advocacy initiatives in the field of the environment and usually attracts hundreds of representatives from the Olympic family, governments, the UN system, academic institutions, NGOs, sponsors and the media. This year’s edition will also include the presentation of the third IOC Sport and Environment Awards, which recognise outstanding actions at grassroots level.

The on-line registration for the 10th IOC World Conference on Sport and the Environment will be launched shortly on www.olympic.org.

Learn more about the IOC’s initiatives linked to sustainability and environment

http://www.olympic.org/sustainability

Learn more about Sochi 2014

World leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups, are meeting in Rio from 20 to 22 June to discuss how to reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection on an ever more crowded planet. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), often abbreviated to Rio+20, will also be joined by an IOC delegation and this is for good reasons. The IOC and the Olympic Movement are actively contributing to achieving a sustainable future for all, and in recognition of its work, the IOC was even granted “permanent observer status” by the United Nations in 2009.

Launch of new publication

Rio+20 is a good occasion for the IOC to assess how sport, a world-wide social movement that has millions of members, has been a driver for change and sustainable development. The IOC’s new publication, entitled “Sustainability through Sport: Implementing the Olympic Movement’s Agenda 21”, contains a summary of progress made over the last 20 years in the area of sustainable development, including environmental protection, education and socio-economic development. It looks at how sustainability considerations have increasingly become an integral part of Olympic Games preparations, gives an overview of stakeholder initiatives and reflects on partnership models, including United Nations agencies.

Besides looking back, the new publication also casts a look forward to determine the steps that need to be made to involve future generations – today’s youth – in the process of working towards greater sustainability.

Click here for the full version of “Sustainability through Sport: Implementing the Olympic Movement’s Agenda 21”.

The Olympic Games and Sustainability

Olympic Games can function as a major asset for cities and communities to maintain and restore land, soil, forest, freshwater, wild fauna and flora, and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystems.
The timing and location of Rio+20 is key for the IOC, with the London Games and their significant sustainability efforts taking place only a few weeks after the conference; the 20-year anniversary of the 1992 Barcelona Games, which set a precedent in showing how the Games can change the face of a city for the benefit of its community; and the sustainability plans that Rio 2016 has for its Olympic Games.

Sustainability in DNA of London 2012

Sustainability has been a key consideration for the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) since London started to bid for the Games. The Games will start in a few weeks’ time. Major achievements include the creation of the Olympic Park, which is the largest new urban parkland created in Europe for 150 years; and the construction of the Olympic Stadium, which is the most sustainable Olympic stadium in history and has been completed on time, on budget and to high sustainability standards. In addition, London 2012 will be the first Olympic Games to measure its carbon footprint over the entire project term, and is also the first Games to commit to a zero waste to landfill target through the strategic Zero Waste Games Vision. In 2011, LOCOG also became the first Games Organising Committee to be independently certified to the British Standard 8901: Specification for a Sustainability Management System for Events, and has contributed to the development of ISO 20121 - the international standard on sustainability in event management, which will supersede BS 8901 and be part of a potentially very influential global legacy.

Learn more about sustainability through sport at www.olympic.org/sustainability 

And watch a clip to see how London’s young people help to clean up the environment ahead of the Games here: