Healthy Living In Harmony with Nature Sustainability Management System
Barrier-free World Economic prosperity Culture and national values
Modern technologies Sustainability Award Green Building Recognition Program

Sustainability

Sustainability and the Olympic movement

In the late 1980s, the UN General Assembly decided to create an international commission on the environment and development, and adopted the concept of sustainable socio-economic development in harmony with the environment.

In 1987 the UN set out once and for all the concept and strategic aim of Sustainable development, as development that meets the needs of today without putting under threat the ability of future generations to satisfy their own needs. Sustainability involves taking well-balanced decisions that take account of the consequences of their implementation in three inter-related fields: economics, the social sphere, and the environment.

Today the UN proposes that observing principles of Sustainability and environmental protection should represent a component part of any activity in the field of economic and social development.

By sharing the principles of sustainability, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has implemented a host of key measures.

In 1994 an Agreement was signed on collaboration with the UN Environment Program (the UNEP) in order to carry out a program to raise awareness and educate people about the field of environmental protection and sport. In 1996 the IOC announced that environmental protection was the third pillar of the Olympic movement, alongside sport and culture, and introduced the relevant guidelines to the Olympic Charter. In 1999 the Agenda for the Olympic movement in the 21st century was adopted, containing a program of measures in the field of sustainable development. In 2003 the IOC developed the "Olympic Games Impact" research program (OGI), which must be undertaken by the organizing committee of each Olympic Games. Since 2009 the IOC has included sections in each of its technical manuals devoted to applying sustainability principles to the procedures for preparing and staging the Olympic Games.

The first Games to be held on a platform of sustainability were the Winter Games of 2010 in Vancouver. The first Summer Olympic Games to be prepared and staged on a platform of sustainability will be the 2012 Games in London.

Sustainability and the Organizing Committee

The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee sees its objective as making the best possible use of the opportunities created by the Olympic project to ensure the long-term sustainable development and flourishing of the city of Sochi, the Krasnodar Region and Russia as a whole.

In its preparation and staging of the Games, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee understands sustainability to mean: creating long-term positive change in the social, economic and environmental spheres, based on effective use of the resource potential for all Russians both today and tomorrow.

The Organizing Committee's attachment to the principles of sustainable development is set out in its core documents:

  •  Bid Book
  •  Host-city contract
  •  Games Foundation Plan
  •  Master-plan
  •  IOC Technical Manuals
  •  Games Strategy

The conditions in Russia create an unprecedented opportunity to use an integrated system to approach the management of sustainability activity among the key participants in preparing and staging the Games (the Organizing Committee, Sochi city administration, the Administration of the Krasnodar Region, the government ministries and agencies, and the Marketing Partners).

With this aim in mind, and in order to reinforce cooperation and create new opportunities for collaboration in the field of sustainable development during the preparations and staging of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi, the Organizing Committee has developed a Concept for the sustainability management system (hereinafter - CSMS).

The Concept for the CSMS was approved by 15 executive state bodies and organizations, namely: The Russian Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Sport and Tourism of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Communications and Networks of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the Administration of the Krasnodar Region, the Administration of the city of Sochi, the Russian Paralympic Committee, and SC "Olympstroy".

Furthermore, in order to implement the tasks ahead of it, the Organizing Committee has developed Policy Guidelines in the field of sustainability.

The Sochi 2014 Policy in the field of sustainability reflects the Organizing Committee's commitment to follow sustainability principles, and determine key areas of activity in this field. The Policy will also determine the mechanism for introducing sustainability principles into the process of preparing and staging the Games.

This is taking place by means of integrating them into various areas of the Organizing Committee's activity, namely:

  •  into the Organizing Committee's current management system (planning, reporting, effectiveness evaluation);
  •  into the system for training and informing Organizing Committee staff;
  •  into the Organizing Committee's external communications procedure;
  •  into the Organizing Committee's procurement activity and licensing policies.

The policy is reinforcing the Sochi 2014 sustainability agenda, which sets out the 6 main areas of activity in the field of sustainability within the preparations and staging of the Games in 2014:

  •  Healthy Lifestyle
  •  Harmony with Nature
  •  Barrier-free Environment
  •  Economic Prosperity
  •  Modern Technologies
  •  Culture and National Values

In order to achieve the aims and tasks in the various areas of activity, a Program of action in the field of sustainability within the Olympic project for 2011 - 2014 has been drawn up.

The aim of the Program is to provide complex, coordinated activity by the Key participants in the preparations for the Games, in order to achieve the goals and tasks of Sustainability within the framework of the Olympic project, and also to make effective use of the Games legacy.

The Program includes projects and initiatives by the Organizing Committee, Sochi Administration and the Marketing Partners, aimed at creating long-term positive change in the social, environmental and economic fields. The Program was officially launched at the X International investment forum in Sochi, in September 2011. At present the Program contains over 200 Projects.

At the current time 9 marketing partners have got involved in implementing the Sochi 2014 Sustainability Program, and they are carrying out a combined total of 27 projects. These are the companies MegaFon, Rostelekom, Russian Railways Company, Rosneft, Ingosstrakh, Dow, Procter&Gamble, Coca-Cola and Panasonic.

In the interests of stimulating efforts and recognizing achievements by the marketing partners of Sochi 2014, Sochi Administration and the Administration of the Krasnodar Region, SC "Olympstroy" and the non-commercial organizations involved in preparing the Games, in the field of sustainable development, and also in the interests of promoting and popularizing the core principles of sustainability among the wider public, the Organizing Committee has established an Award for contributing to sustainable development, for which there are 11 categories. In December 2012 the conclusions will be drawn from the work done in 2011-2012 and the first gala awards ceremony will take place.

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© 2013 Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games 2014 in Sochi