The Olympic Games provide the ultimate opportunity for sporting achievements. The Olympic Games also present a unique opportunity to raise environmental awareness, and implement a set of highly visible green initiatives. As a leader in technical consulting and sustainability, ÅF is proud to act as Green Advisor to four national Olympic Committees.
Work with sustainable development is important for the Olympic movement. As far back as the early 1990s the International Olympic Committee presented its own “Agenda 21”. Now the Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swiss Olympic committees are taking the next step via their cooperation with ÅF.
Sustainable development, change that takes into account social, economic and ecological aspects, requires absolute competence, a meticulous methodology and an indomitable will. The Olympic Committees and ÅF are active in different fields, but nevertheless they share much in common. Based on a strong platform of knowledge and experience, both understand that quality and competence development are ongoing responsibilities in everyday life. The first step in the collaboration between the National Olympic Committees and ÅF in the Green Advisor field is for ÅF to implement strategic sustainability studies. The results of these will provide an agenda for action, an overall list of more profound changes. This can include everything from the energy efficiency of buildings to the implementation of literacy programs among employees and athletes. The results of the Green Advisor cooperation will be presented and regularly updated on the websites of the National Olympic Committees and here at afconsult.com.
Statements from the Swedish Olympic Committee:
“Environmental work has an important role within the Olympic Movement. The first organizer to become involved in the environment from an Olympic Games perspective was the organizing committee in Lillehammer in 1994. The following year, in 1995, the International Olympic Committee created a special Sport and Environment Commission. Today the Commission is very active and the environment is a top priority in the review of Olympic candidate cities. We in the Olympic movement look forward to cooperating closely with ÅF and hope that, with ÅF’s help and through our Olympians, we will be able to sharpen our focus on environmental issues and link sport and the environment in an even broader perspective.”
Gunilla Lindberg, Secretary General of the Swedish Olympic Committee (SOC) and a member of the International Olympic Committee.
“The cooperation between ÅF and SOC is innovative. For the first time we have secured an international cooperation agreement that means that ÅF becomes an Olympic partner not only in Sweden, but in many of the other countries where ÅF is operating. It opens the way for similar solutions with more internationalized Swedish companies. With ÅF as Green Advisor, SOC has a partner that will enable us to better assume our responsibility for sustainability issues.”
Stefan Lindeberg, President of the Swedish Olympic Committee