For VANOC, sustainability means managing the social, economic and environmental impacts and opportunities of our Games to produce lasting benefits, locally and globally.

Our Vision

A stronger Canada whose spirit is raised by its passion for sport, culture and sustainability.

Our Mission

To touch the soul of the nation and inspire the world by creating and delivering an extraordinary Olympic and Paralympic experience with lasting legacies.

Our Values

Team, Trust, Excellence, Sustainability, Creativity

Sustainability and the Olympic Games

Sport and Culture are the traditional pillars of the Olympic Games. At the Centennial Olympic Congress in 1994, the IOC created a new pillar, Environment, while establishing a Sport and Environment Commission.

Stemming from the 1994 proceedings, in 1999 the IOC adopted its own version of the United Nations Agenda 21 for Sustainable Development. Called Sport for Sustainable Development, this statement outlined a program of action for using sport to advance sustainable development. To help implement this plan, the IOC established a formal collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The Olympic Games version of Agenda 21 has three objectives:

• Improve socio-economic conditions in host communities 
• Improve Games-based practices on environmental conservation 
• Strengthen the inclusion of women, youth and Indigenous peoples in the Games

While sustainability is still a relatively new discipline within Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committees, it is arguably a good fit with the core values and ideals of the Olympic Movement.

Implementation Documents

In planning and staging the Games, VANOC must comply with the Olympic Charter, our Host City Contract and instructions from the Executive Board of the IOC. Other documents relevant to our sustainability commitments include: 

• 2002 - Multi-party Agreement for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games 
• 2002-05 - A series of agreements between VANOC and the Four Host First Nations (FHFN) 
• Inner-City Inclusive Commitment Statement 
• 2004 - Requirements as per federal and provincial environmental assessment (EA) legislation

Sustainability Performance Objectives

VANOC has established a set of six corporate-wide sustainability performance objectives. These objectives are based on bid commitments, best management practices of other Organizing Committees and leading sustainability firms, and input from sustainability experts, key partners and stakeholders.

Our sustainability performance objectives have been incorporated into all of our business systems. As a result, responsibility for our sustainability commitments and outcomes is distributed across the entire organization and reflected in the performance plan and compensation of VANOC employees.

Our Sustainability Performance Objectives:

Accountability 

• To behave ethically, set measurable performance targets and communicate openly about our progress and challenges 
• To consult with external groups affected by our activities

Environmental Stewardship and Impact Reduction

• To conserve natural environments and manage, mitigate and offset negative impacts

Social Inclusion and Responsibility 

• To convene accessible Games that have a positive impact on socially and economically disadvantaged groups that otherwise would not benefit 
• To care for our workforce, protect human rights, and ensure health and safety

Aboriginal Participation and Collaboration

• To work with our partners to achieve our goal of unprecedented Aboriginal participation in the planning and hosting of the Games, and in the creation of Games legacies.

Economic Benefits 

• To demonstrate that sustainable innovation and practice makes good business sense

Sport for Sustainable Living 

• To use sport, and growing athlete and public interest in living more sustainably, to inspire action on local and global sustainability challenges

Sustainability Reporting

Sustainability reporting is the process of setting out our plans for achieving our sustainability objectives, and our performance to date. Our efforts are captured on subsequent pages of this site. You can also review our Sustainability Reports for a look at our performance over the last two fiscal years, and to find out more about the sustainability reporting process.

To help provide context in relation to other Olympic Games, see our Comparison of Sustainability Initiatives by Games Organizing Committees chart for a comparison of VANOC sustainability initiatives with those of previous Organizing Committees.

Sustainability Performance Reporting Boundaries

VANOC collaborates with many partners, stakeholders and sponsors. It can be confusing for observers to know who is responsible for projects that seem connected to the Games. People may expect us to take account for, or respond to a broader range of community initiatives or public works projects than we are responsible for.

For example, two major transportation projects are currently underway in the Games region: an upgrade of the Sea to Sky Highway between Vancouver and Whistler and construction of a light rail rapid transit system between downtown Vancouver and the airport. These projects are public infrastructure projects funded and managed by different levels of government. They are not within VANOC's sustainability reporting scope.

We have drawn our sustainability reporting boundaries around those issues and activities where VANOC has direct decision-making authority. Our approach is to measure what we can control and to describe what we can influence, especially where the impacts are significant.

Within VANOC's control (examples) 

• Procurement 
• Transportation which doesn't involve collaboration with TransLink and BC Transit (for spectators, media, athletes, Olympic and Paralympic Family and sponsors, VANOC operations) 
• Health and safety of VANOC workforce 
• VANOC performance on agreements with the Four Host First Nations 
• VANOC performance on bid-phase inner-city commitments 
• All Games-time operations in all Olympic and Paralympic venues, sites and villages 

• Construction of: 

  • Whistler Olympic Park (formerly called Whistler Nordic Venue) (biathlon, cross-country-skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping) 
  • The Whistler Sliding Centre (bobsleigh, luge, skeleton) \
  • Whistler Creekside (alpine skiing) 
  • Cypress Mountain (freestyle skiing, snowboard) 
  • Vancouver Olympic Centre/Vancouver Paralympic Centre (curling, wheelchair curling) 

  • Upgrades/improvements to existing facilities including: 

    • General Motors Place (ice hockey) 
    • BC Place Stadium (Opening and Closing Ceremonies) 
    • Pacific Coliseum at Hastings Park (figure skating, short track speed skating) 
    • VANOC Head Office

Under VANOC's influence (examples)

• Transportation which involves collaboration with TransLink and BC Transit (for workforce/spectator travel) 

• Construction of: 

  • Olympic and Paralympic Village Whistler 
  • Olympic and Paralympic Village Vancouver 
  • Richmond Oval (speed skating) 
  • UBC Winter Sports Centre (ice hockey, ice sledge hockey) 

  • Upgrades/improvements to existing facilities including: 

    • Community ice rinks for practice: Killarney Rink, Trout Lake Rink and Britannia Arena

Sustainability Performance Summary

Our Sustainability Performance Summary is comprised of a list of qualitative and quantitative performance areas designed to help monitor, measure and evaluate our sustainability performance. It sets out our performance goals and how well we actually accomplished them.