Paris 2012’s Agenda 21 was one of the key topics the Paris 2012 Bid Committee discussed this week with the IOC Evaluation Commission, headed by Nawal El Moutawakel. The document outlines the top priority of the Paris bid: To host the Games that serve as a catalyst for France’s sustainable development.

 

This "road map" is at the heart of Paris’s promise: To organize the first-ever ecological and sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Agenda 21 document details every aspect of Paris 2012’s ecological and sustainable development programme, which guarantees a positive social and environmental legacy to Parisians after the Games.

 

The role of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in France’s programmes for ecology and sustainable development is a centerpiece of the Paris 2012 concept. Paris 2012’s decision to develop an Agenda 21 thus comes within the framework of the International Olympic Committee’s Agenda 21 and of the French National Olympic Committee’s (NOC) Agenda 21.

The French NOC was the first National Olympic Committee to adopt this document. Developed by the Paris 2012 Founding Committee, Agenda 21 consists of three pillars of
sustainable development:
- Protection of the environment and natural resources;
- Promotion of harmonious individual and social development;
- Promotion of sustainable economy.

 

These three pillars constitute the three chapters of Paris 2012’s Agenda 21, which cover twelve themes, from Sustainable Consumption to Eco-mobility. Each of these twelve themes outlines specific orientations Paris has adopted for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the actions that will be developed to support these orientations.

 

Twelve groups comprising representatives of the State, the City of Paris, the Region Ile-de-France and Paris 2012, as well as experts and associations, have examined each of these twelve themes and have established the 60 actions to develop in order to support the implementation of Agenda 21 in its entirety. A total of 157 contributors from 50 institutions have participated in Paris 2012’s Agenda 21’s development. A round table was organized at the French National Olympic Committee under the Presidency of Henri Sérandour, in order to synthesize all of the project’s collaborations.

Paris 2012’s commitment to sustainable development has been hailed by a number of international experts in the fields of ecology and sustainable development and, notably, by the Comité 21, the French Committee for Environment and Sustainable Development, which gathers together more than 300 members, including companies, local collectivities, associations, personalities from the field of environmental protection, fair trade, education, sustainable development, international solidarity, public institutions and media.

 

In a letter sent to Paris 2012, Eric Guillon, President of the Comité 21, said: "The commitment of Paris and its partners to ecologically-sound policies and technologies, accessibility of Olympic venues, and the revitalization of Paris's ‘La Grande Couronne’ has convinced us of the quality of the Paris Bid and of the concrete advances towards sustainable development that the Games could bring to all the French people."

Maurice Strong, former advisor to the United Nations on Sustainable Development and a collaborator for Green and Gold, said: "The Paris 2012 Olympic Bid team has done a remarkable job of developing an Olympic plan that would promote sustainable development both at and through the Olympic Games, in partnership with all key players in government, business, sport and civil society. We have no hesitation in giving the highest marks to most of
what we have seen and heard.

"It is clear to us that [Paris 2012] has a thorough understanding of the issues, the challenges and the opportunities that will arise from preparing for and hosting this major event", added Mr. Strong.

 

Under Agenda 21 and the Charter for Environment and Sustainable Development, a 2012 Olympic Games in Paris will assist in the much needed delivery of:
- policies to improve the integration of persons with a disability into society;
- increased International solidarity;
- adoption of new eco-technologies;
- social integration and culture; and
- increased public awareness of healthy lifestyle and participation in sport.