Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes have teamed up with the Masters of Digital Media (MDM) students to launch Project Blue Sky – http://www.projectbluesky.ca.

Inspired by athletes, built by students and supported by the Official Carbon Offset Supplier to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Offsetters Clean Technology Inc. (Offsetters), and the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee (VANOC), Project Blue Sky uses the latest in on-line digital tools to motivate individuals and groups to take steps in their personal lives to fight climate change through increased physical activity and sustainable travel.

“Project Blue Sky is a place where you can connect with your favourite athletes, challenge your friends, tell your story and use kilometres to track your efforts to reduce your carbon emissions. You can cut your carbon emissions by cycling, walking, taking public transit or by coming up with other physically ingenious ways to save energy,” said B.C. Olympian Dave Calder, silver medallist (Rowing), a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee’s (COC) Athletes’ Council that has spearheaded development of the project.

Calder and his fellow COC athletes believe the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games represent an important opportunity to encourage more people to take action on climate change as well as draw attention to carbon saving initiatives already underway. “VANOC and its partners have set an ambitious goal of convening carbon neutral Games. Project Blue Sky’s goal is on an equally ambitious scale: by the end of the Closing Ceremonies for the Paralympic Games in March 2010 we want to have inspired individuals who care about climate change to contribute 1 billion kilometres of carbon-reducing activities from their daily lives.”

For full article please see: http://www.olympic.ca/en/news/project-blue-sky/

The crucial role played by Sports in various aspects of sustainable development was discussed by UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner in an address to the ‘Forum on Productive Youth Development through Sport in Africa’.

The Forum brought together practitioners and experts in the field of sport and productive youth development to share experiences on best practice, discuss collaboration strategies and make recommendations on Sport and Development.

Describing the role of environmental sustainability in sports, Mr. Steiner cited the success of the Beijing Olympics in not just meeting, but exceeding the environmental standards outlined by the International Olympic Committee.

Mr. Steiner, who is also UN Under-Secretary-General, said “I think Beijing stands out at the moment when the Olympic games had perhaps its most transformative impact in terms of the host city going well beyond the parameters in terms of Beijing itself and the country”.

Over the past ten years, UNEP has worked closely with the International Olympic Committee in setting criteria to define the sustainability of cities that want to host the Olympic Games.

Mr. Steiner also acknowledged the intersection between youth, sports and the environment, that was most evident in the work of Tunza, UNEP’s youth network.

“Sports has become a way in which youth can combine the reality of their enthusiasm to be engaged in sports while also taking social responsibility and doing something about their communities, neighbourhoods and the issue of environmental sustainability.”

Taken from: http://www.azocleantech.com/Details.asp?newsID=5964

Making sport operations and activities environmentally-friendly is possible, underlined the director of a French observatory for sport and sustainable development in an interview with EurActiv.

Sustainable development is the answer to sports-related global problems, said Nathalie Durand, director-general of the French Observatory of Sport and Sustainable Development (OSDD).

The problems to be addressed include air pollution affecting athletes’ health, greenhouse gas emissions generated by sports equipment and water used by swimming pools and golf courses amid current fears of water scarcity, she explained.

According to Durand, irresponsible economic practices and intensive production of sports equipment should also be considered.

She described sport as an actor in territorial development, with environmental, social and economic impacts. It also affects competition for land, consumption of goods and foods, and waste, transport and CO2, she said. Durand believes in furthering cooperation between all actors.

Making sport sustainable requires global consideration of the impact of sports infrastructure, equipment, events, clubs and related transport, Durand underlined, adding that OSDD had developed the idea of life-cycle assessment (LCA) for sporting activities as well as an accompanying means of evaluating progress.

The full article can be found at http://www.euractiv.com/en/sports/eu-sport-sustainable/article-182872