The Refinishing Touch Blog

Last week the world’s foremost winter athletes descended on Vancouver, kicking off the 2010 Winter Olympics. These Olympics see the realization of more than 12 years of careful planning, and then, only 16 days after they began, they’ll be gone.

The city of Vancouver will be left with more than sporting memories though. In these past 12 years, Olympics planners haven’t just been structuring events schedules and sketching logos; they’ve also been determining what kind of legacy they want to leave in British Columbia. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the Games (VANOC) took a big step in crafting that legacy by creating the Sustainability Stars program, which recognizes initiatives by sponsors, partners and VANOC itself that promote social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Sustainability Star awardees thus far include Purolator, which created a battery-operated electric delivery vehicle called the Quicksider for Vancouver’s couriers. The Quicksider generates 99 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional courier vehicles. The City of Vancouver’s LiveCity Yaletown project, paved with recycled rubber tires, also earned a star. More sustainable than brick or asphalt, the pavers will be used in other parts of the city after the Games end. Teck and the Royal Canadian Mint’s Metal for Medals program is another star recipient. Teck provided metal from e-waste as part of the winners’ medals, created by the Mint, for both the Vancouver Olympics and Paralympics.

Vancouver and the rest of the world will see its share of memorable performances and world records over the course of the 2010 Winter Olympics, the kind of moments that stay with spectators for a long time. These memories are to be cherished, but the Sustainability Stars program ensures that that Vancouver will see its Olympic legacy throughout the city, in tangible, environmentally-conscious ways.

Labels: 2010, Environment, Green, Olympics, Vancouver