Global Forum for Sports and Environment
The Eco-Efficient Major Event Manual
The 2005 World Championships was the first in the history of the IAAF to implement environmentally friendly measures. The legacy of Helsinki 2005 introduces a best practice model for the IAAF to be used in every corner of the world to provide guidance for the activities of over 211 National Athletics Associations. The Helsinki 2005 model gives practical guidelines for sports organizations on environmental issues and addresses eco-efficiency as a strategic tool for implementing environmentally friendly measures. Saving costs and the environment at the same time can and should be on everyone’s agenda! The Eco-efficient Major Event Manual is based on the Helsinki 2005 databook. Practical checklists cover the whole lifecycle of organizing major sporting events, demonstrating how integral environmental issues appear in every part of the planning cycle. The manual presents best practices from different parts of the world and introduces ways to protect and preserve the environment. The data and lessons from Helsinki 2005 also show clearly where the environmental impacts of the sporting event are created--the most important environmental impact being caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Planning the new, and upgrading the existing infrastructure can leave a sustainable legacy for the whole region. This aspect highlights the importance of partnerships between the host cities, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), the international federation, business partners, as well as stakeholders. Building a sustainable games is a group undertaking at its best! The cooperative spirit of such an undertaking must also include its most powerful ally, the general public. Practical empowering measures, such as recycling guidance, are ways to involve the spectators in contributing to, and spreading, the message. Waste-management is obviously a crucial part of the awareness building of the general public. The IAAF belongs to the club of sustainable sports, which cooperates with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and contributes to the International Olympic Committee’s third pillar- the environment- with its actions and commitments. Source: Lamine Diack, President IAAF, The Eco-Efficient Major Event Manual LINK : |
The legacy of the 2005 World Athletics Championships in Helsinki is reflected in The Eco-Efficient Major Event Manual published in May 2006, providing a guideline for all future International Athletics Associations Federation (IAAF) events. In the book’s introduction, IAAF President, Lamine Diack, outlines the importance of the manual.