The Paris edition of the Olympic Games halved the quantity of single-use plastic compared to that of London in 2012 for a comparable volume distributed, announced the organizing committee.
While Coca-Cola’s commitments to reducing the use of plastic are controversial, the Organizing Committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Cojop) has just published the summary of its post-games sustainability and inheritance (1) . The document mentions significant reductions in the use of plastic bottles, contrary to criticisms made by environmental NGOs. The carbon footprint of Paris 2024 is also significantly lower than that of other recent editions.
Greenwashing and targets revised downwards
It is the environmental controversy which closes the Paris Olympic Games: Coca-Cola is accused of having used the event to carry out a greenwashing. France Nature Environnement contacted the Nanterre public prosecutor for deceptive commercial practices, accusing the multinational of having used the slogan “Zero packaging waste on these games” when more than 6 million plastic bottles were sold.
The controversy is reinforced by Coca-Cola’s decline in terms of reuse. In 2022, the company announced that it wanted to reach 25% reusable packaging in 2030. The commitment is no longer, noted The Guardian (2) which notes that Coca-Cola focuses solely on recycling. From now on, the company is targeting an average recycled material rate of between 35 and 40% for all of its primary packaging (glass or plastic bottles and cans) and 30 to 35% for plastic bottles alone. . Previously, the target was set at 50% for all packaging used by the group. This decline explains The Guardianfollows the postponement in Busan (South Korea) of the adoption of a treaty aimed at combating plastic pollution.
Less disposable plastic than in London
What does the Cojop report tell us on this subject? Reducing single-use plastic was “one of the major axes of the circular economy strategy” of the Games. And “the beverage distribution model implemented by [Coca-Cola] made it possible to reduce the quantity of single-use plastic by half (-52%) compared to the London 2012 Games with isovolume distributed ». This thanks to “a unique beverage distribution model with the use of beverage fountains and the use of returnable and reusable glass bottles”. However, Cojop does not provide quantified details on this reduction and reuse strategy and these concrete results (apart from the overall reduction).
The report also mentions a 70% drop in the number of disposable plastic bottles used (in number of portions served) “by integrating the reduction in the volume of drinks served by Paris 2024 compared to London 2012”. And on this second subject, the report highlights the use of water bottles and the provision of fountains which allowed “significant drop in sales” of bottled water (unquantified drop, again). According to Cojop, four out of five spectators came with a water bottle (figure taken from a study carried out with 1,000 spectators).
More generally, 3,750 tonnes of waste were produced on the sites, a reduction of 60% compared to London 2012, according to Cojop. The organizer also mentions a “more circular model”since 90% of the 6 million sports equipment, uniforms and other objects were taken back by partners and service providers to give them a second life. The remaining 10% was donated or resold. To reduce food waste, 300 tonnes of food products were donated to associations (the equivalent of 600,000 meals).
1.75 million tonnes of CO2
For the rest, the balance sheet shows emissions of 1.75 million tonnes of CO2 (MtCO2), over a scope covering all direct and indirect carbon emissions (scopes 1, 2 and 3). This is a 54.6% reduction from 3.5 MtCO2 issued on average by the London 2012 and Rio 2016 editions (Tokyo 2020 was excluded because this edition was held without spectators).
The report details the impact avoidance, reduction and control actions implemented in all sectors of the organization: construction, operations and travel. For example, in the field of construction, “over the entire life cycle of buildings, Solideo estimates show 47% less expected carbon impact compared to a traditional operation”. Another example: 98.4% of energy needs were covered by certified renewable electricity, while “diesel generators [sont] usually used in events ».
The weight of transport
As for travel, unsurprisingly, it indeed constitutes the majority of CO emissions.2 and total 53% of the global carbon footprint. An international spectator arriving on a long-haul flight has an impact approximately 1,000 times greater than a visitor from the Ile-de-France region, illustrates Cojop. Ultimately, the Olympic Games attracted more spectators than expected, particularly from outside Europe. The committee estimates that 2.7 million unique spectators made the trip, including 72.5% from France, 19.5% from Europe (the United Kingdom comes first, followed by Germany and the Belgium) and 8% from other continents (the United States first, then Brazil and Canada).
Once in Paris, 87% of spectators took public transport or active mobility (bicycle, scooter, walking) to get to the events, explains Cojop, which is based on a survey carried out among 100,000 visitors. The organization particularly recalls the mobilization of public transport in the Ile-de-France region and the 415 km of cycle paths connecting the Olympic sites in Île-de-France (as well as the 27,000 temporary bicycle parking spaces). These measures have made it possible to reduce car use by 37% compared to London 2012.
Article published on December 13, 2024
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