Beijing 2022 and sustainability: vision and objectives

by Chiara Aruffo

With just a few days to go before the start of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, let’s have a look at the sustainability plan: in this first in-depth article we talk about the vision and objectives.

As we did previously for Tokyo 2020, where we talked about climate change, resource management and biodiversity, let’s have a look on how sustainability is envisaged for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. The starting point is always the same: the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which also form the basis of the IOC’s priorities for 2021-2024.

President Xi Jinping had declared his intention to “organize an extraordinary and excellent edition of the Games that is green, inclusive and clean“. As such, the Beijing 2022 Games represent an opportunity for the Chinese government to incorporate sustainability into a new development model. This concept is reiterated, almost redundantly, when the vision for the Games is outlined: Sustainability for the Future. The fundamental objective then becomes ‘to create a new example for staging events and regional sustainability‘. Already in the bidding process, the organizing committee focused on the catalyst action of the Olympic Games for the sustainable development of the Beijing region. In the following articles, we will analyze the three main themes: a positive environmental impact, new development for the region and a better life for the people.

Beyond the environmental aspect, which is itself very important, the Beijing Games also have the ambition to foster the development of winter sports in the region. The four objectives linked to this are

– to inspire the youth with the Olympic spirit;

– to encourage millions of people to embrace winter sports;

– to promote social progress through the Winter Games;

– to create a harmonious world of better mutual understanding.