for the week, but in Gibraltar a fleet of cars were
used as a shuttle service to pick up athletes and drop
them off at different locations, thereby reducing the
number of vehicles and individual journeys made
throughout the games.
Kim hopes that the legacy of the games will in-
fluence future events here in Gibraltar but also the
upcoming Island Games in 2021 and 2023, “The XVIII
International Island Games will hopefully be a ca-
talyst for future games to make sustainability part
of their initiatives. Everything we have done here in
Gibraltar will be handed over to the next games, so
that organisers there can implement similar sche-
mes.” He also went on to proudly say how everyone
involved welcomed the changes - “Everyone really
embraced the sustainability of the games! Each
[Island Games] wants to be better than the last, so
hopefully this will be the benchmark for future ga-
mes due to be held in Guernsey and then Orkney”.
Around the world, green policies are now a promi-
nent aspect of securing and organising large events,
so here are a few others setting a new standard for
sustainability.
2020 Olympic Games
From the 1990s, each Olympic Games have drawn
in numbers of 6-8 million people. This year, the host
city is Tokyo, and organisers have made reducing
their carbon footprint and increasing sustainability
a top priority. Historically, many large-scale events
have mainly used carbon offsetting as a way to neu-
tralise their fuel consumption, and although Japan
will also utilise carbon offsetting to reduce their im-
pact, they are also aiming to only use electricity deri-
ved from 100% renewables across the games. Solar
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OTWO 08 / MARCH 2020
panel farms have been installed across Japan to
provide power to all venues and seven of the venues
in Tokyo have renewable energy systems installed.
In terms of reducing waste and single use plas-
tics, the Tokyo organising committee has set a goal
of using 65% reusable materials. This will not only
include cups, cutlery and plates but will extend to
everything from name tags to anti-doping kits. Food
waste will be tackled by using proper portion control
and supply management. Recycling will also play a
big part – team Japan athletes will wear uniforms
designed by Asics made from recycled materials and
even the Olympic medals will be forged from recy-
cled metals.
Music Festivals
Glastonbury festival in the UK made headlines
last year for banning single use plastics for the
first time, but there are several other music festi-
vals across Europe setting the standard and making
great leaps towards making their events completely
green.
Dance music festival DGTL in the Netherland is
aiming to become the first circular festival in the
world. Their manifesto has placed sustainability at
its core, focusing on reusable items, meat free me-
nus and a smart energy plan.
Terraforma in Italy have taken things to the next
level. Sustainability is central to their ethos in all
aspects of planning and clean up. Aside from their
unique musical line-ups, a broad range of eco wor-
kshops and lectures are available for festival goers,
architects are brought in to build everything on site
from sustainable materials and attendees also help
to restore the area when the weekend is over.
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