World Environment Day

World Environment Day was proclaimed at the 27th session of the UN General Assembly, and is celebrated every year on June 5th. The date was chosen to commemorate the start of the Stockholm Conference on matters of the environment, held in 1972. Each year a subject and slogan for World Environment Day are chosen, and a site is selected to stage the main international events. The slogan in 2011 was: "Forests: using nature's services".

The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee actively supports the initiatives held as part of World Environment Day. In 2011, several projects were held in Sochi, aimed at preserving and promulgating the region's unique and distinctive natural landscape. Specifically, the river-bed of Sochi River was cleaned in the Plastunka village area, and, in conjunction with SC "Olympstroy", a clean-up day was held in order to look after plant species that were sown as part of the compensation measures for construction of the "Sanki" Sliding Center.

The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee's Partners were also actively involved in events dedicated to World Environment Day in 2011. Representatives of the partner-companies got involved in tree-planting projects in Krasnaya Polyana and landscaped the territory around the Narzan source. In addition to this, the partners gave talks about their experience and initiatives in the field of ecology and sustainable development, and also discussed the possibilities of implementing new environmental projects as part of the preparations for staging the Games in 2014.

Moreover, on World Environment Day, on June 5, 2011, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee and SC "Olympstroy" announced the launch of a Program to recognize achievement in the field of implementing environmentally friendly solutions in Olympic construction. Its main objectives are to encourage those organizations adopting innovative methods with regard to protecting the environment, and also to make the most successful practices more popular.

Three contests are planned as part of the Program: one for planning organizations (in 2011), one for constructors (in 2012) and one for the responsible executors and investors (in 2013). Entrants' works are assessed by an authoritative jury, consisting of Russian and international experts in the field of environmentally friendly construction. The "Recognition Program" award will represent not only international confirmation of the planning organization's qualifications, but also a high evaluation of its contribution to the legacy that will be left by the XXII Olympic Winter Games and the XI Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi. In 2011, 36 competition entries were received, and the winners were determined in 8 different categories.