Less, better and for longer: Five ways Paris 2024 is delivering more sustainable Games

This summer, the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games will set new standards in environmental sustainability. The Games are being described as the greenest in Olympic history, with Paris 2024 pledging to halve the event’s carbon footprint compared to the average of previous Summer Games.

With 800 Olympic sporting events,15,000 athletes, 45,000 volunteers and 13 million meals, organizers understand the massive scale of their sustainability ambitions. In fact, they describe these ambitions as humanity’s “greatest challenge”.

In addition to avoiding and reducing emissions, the Paris 2024 sustainability strategy will see 95% of all events hosted in existing buildings or temporary infrastructure. The Stade de France, which was originally built for the 1998 football World Cup, will host most events and the only entirely new competition venue, the Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis will be solar-powered, use natural bio-based building materials and will be fitted out with recycled materials.

Paris 2024 has also pledged to double the amount of plant-based food it serves and halve the amount of single-use plastic used, to cut carbon emissions and reduce waste.

The Athletes’ Village will also generate energy from sources like geothermal and solar power.