2008 Olympics Report Card

Everyone knows the important role that Greenpeace has played over the years in protecting our planet.  With regards to the Olympic movement, Greenpeace has been actively campaigning for environmental improvements since 1992 and was actively involved with Sydney Australia's Olympic bid for the 2000 games.

Greenpeace recently published a report on the 2008 Olympics click here to view the full report.

In the report China was praised for the environmental initiatives taken but were also criticized for lack of transparency and other shortcomings.   The Greenpeace report is 43 pages long and I cannot do justice in this blog post.  I do recommend that you read the entire report. 

My only complaint is that some parts of the report had a "sour grapes" tone   i.e. Greenpeace had high praise for the Sydney games but then again Greenpeace was working closely with the Sydney Olympic bid.  Although China consulted with Greenpeace they were not involved as a major player.  Therefore I would take some of the criticisms with a grain of salt.

The following is the reader's digest version of the Greenpeace report. 

Positives:

• Energy saving technology at Olympic venues.
• New vehicle emissions standards introduced ahead of schedule.
• Added four rail lines for the city of Beijing.
• Use of (some) wind power.
• Improved sewage and wastewater treatment plants.
• Fleet of buses running on Compressed Natural Gas.
• 60,000 boilers upgraded,
• 32,000 households converted from coal to electricity,
• Increased collaboration bettween government and civil society,
• sponsors delivered environmental commitments.

Negatives:

• Limited transparency including lack of independently verified data and certification
• No internationally recognized timber procurement policy
• Failure to move towards zero waste policy
• Introduced temporary measures to improve air quality
• Water saving technologies were limited to Olympic venues
• Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) were not eliminated
• Environment friendly policies were non-binding
• Sponsors failed to showcase refrigeration equipment free of HFCs.