Energy and Climate Change

There is concensus among the world's leading scientists that:

There is also concensus that an important element in addressing climate change is the reductin of carbon dioxide emissions. These emissions are produced from the burning of fossil fuels. They are often referred to as carbon or greenhouse gases (GHGs).

Winter sports and Games depend on snow and ice, and they are particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming. The Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games also use considerable energy to heat buildings, make snow, freeze ice sheets and sliding tracks, power equipment, and transport people and goods. These actions all generate GHG emissions.  This challenges the Olympic and Paralympic Movements to minimize GHG emissions and leverage the Games to raise awareness among athletes and international audiences.

We focus on reducing Games-based emissions of GHGs at source. We ensure all VANOC construction and operating plans address energy conservation and efficiency, and the use of energy sources that produce fewer or no GHGs.

Our activities relating to energy and climate change involve:

a) Power planning
The power supply for Olympic and Paralympic Games venues is typically provided by direct connection to some combination of utility electrical distribution and temporary stationary generators. Temporary generators both increase the power-supply capacity to serve the base load and provide backup power for critical activities in the event of a utility electrical distribution power outage. Generators typically run on diesel fuel (the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games used over 600 temporary generator units).

We have been working with British Columbia’s electrical utility provider, BC Hydro, to design an innovative approach to provide both the base power-supply capacity and primary backup power to our key venues with a lighter environmental footprint. New electrical distribution lines, called feeders, will be installed from two different utility power substations to ensure power reliability and reduce the number of generators needed to about 100 units. Some of the generators would be deployed in a “cold standby” role, meaning that they would probably never need to run at all. This example of engineering innovation will result in significant reductions in both GHG and air contaminant emissions.

We collaborated with an environmental non-governmental organization, the David Suzuki Foundation, on a discussion paper on GHG management. The collaboration raised our understanding of the GHG sources involved in organizing and delivering an Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as the challenges and opportunities associated with convening carbon-neutral Games. We consulted with our partners, community groups and other ENGOs regarding our climate change program.

b) Transportation planning
We are planning for an efficient, reliable, accessible and financially sound transportation system for the Games. This system will include sustainable transportation guidelines for mass transit, “park and rides,” initiatives to encourage non-motorized access to events and event tickets that include transit passes.

Transportation planning is progressing with the addition of a Geographic Information System group within our Transportation function to assist in the routing optimization process. This also translates into lower fuel use and fewer GHGs.

c) Office operations
We moved to a new head office in east Vancouver that we renovated to incorporate LEED Commercial Interior design features, such as natural and energy-efficient lighting and an improved heating/ventilation/air conditioning system. We also use energy-efficient office equipment and emphasize best energy practices in office management. VANOC has a rush-hour shuttle service to the nearest SkyTrain rapid transit stations, provides bike lockers and showers to encourage cycling to work, and facilitates carpooling.

d) Venue design and construction
In addition to being guided by LEED green building standards, the venues we are developing include environmental improvements such as efficient lighting and heating systems, high-quality insulation and alternative energy sources (such as the capture and reuse of waste heat) to use less energy and emit fewer overall GHGs.

e) Fleet vehicle management
Our vehicle fleet grew from 87 to 96 units. Nineteen of them were hybrid vehicles and 29 of them were equipped with Active Fuel Management (AFM) technology. This represents 50 per cent of the total fleet. Thirty-four of the vehicles (including all the AFM-equipped vehicles) were E85-compatible (flex fuel vehicles); this feature could not be used, however, due to the lack of an E85 fuel supply in the region. E85 is an alcohol-based fuel mixture composed of up to 85 per cent, by volume, of plant-based ethanol. The remaining vehicles in the fleet consume conventional gasoline. We have a “no-idling” policy to further reduce GHG emissions.