Seoul, Korea, April 4, 2024: The OCA Sports and Environment Committee held an online meeting on Thursday, April 4 under the chairmanship of Mr. Yu Kyung-sun of Korea.
Various important topics were discussed, such as the carbon-neutral Hangzhou Asian Games, the sharing of initiatives of Asian National Olympic Committees to promote sustainability in the region, and the issue of Sports and Water proposed by the Chair with the aim of engaging athletes and stakeholders of Asian sporting events in water-saving and water-cleaning issues.
The OCA’s Deputy Director General, Mr. Vinod Kumar Tiwari, gave a presentation on the carbon-neutral Hangzhou Asian Games and highlighted 10 “firsts” in this operation.
These included the use of digital fireworks at the opening and closing ceremony, the use of methanol as the cauldron fuel, a Guinness World Records certification for the participation of 107 million people in the “Going Green for a Carbon-neutral Asian Games Campaign”, and a new Guinness World Record of 100 million digital torchbearers lighting the cauldron at the opening ceremony.
Another interesting point was that the toothbrush cups and hangars in the rooms of the Asian Games Village were made of biodegradable wheat straw. Also, the Asian Games Village collected 57 tonnes of paper lunch and milk boxes and 92 tonnes of other low-value waste, which were processed into 89.34 tonnes of raw paper to make things like paper bags and fans.
“The Hangzhou Asian Games was very impressive and environment-friendly. It was a good model,” said Mr. Yu.
The committee member from Iran, Dr Mehrafza Manouchehri, presented an update to members regarding the 18 meetings of the Sports and Environment Commission which produced 14 programmes.
These include the protection of mountain environments, a workshop on environmental considerations for athletes in air pollution conditions, the third ceremony honouring sports and environment activists, holding a scientific conference on sports and clean air, and the construction of Olympic Park in “Natural Resources Week” in association with Tehran municipality, university professors and students.
Mr. Yu said Sports and Water would be a major focus in the committee’s work in the future.