Net Zero By 2050? Santiago’s Pan Am Games Go Net Zero By 2023

The Pan American and Parapan American Games, one of the largest multisport events in the world, is a premier meeting of athletes, teams, spectators, sponsors, and organisers from all across the Americas and the Caribbean. The 2023 edition takes place in Santiago, Chile across sixteen days in October and November.

Close to 7,000 athletes are travelling to Santiago to compete in the Games. When you include all of the staff, volunteers, merchants, and fans, that number climbs very quickly. The exact number of spectators is yet to be seen, but the previous edition in Lima, Peru in 2019 attracted 587,000 fans to the Pan American and Parapan American Games.

This massive influx of people, vehicles, merchandise, and equipment will have a significant effect on the Chilean economy, but also on the environment and spaces that play host to the Games.

With that impact in mind, Santiago 2023 developed a comprehensive sustainability strategy to address those potential impacts, mitigate environmental harm, and ensure that the positive impacts of the games will last for years to come.

So much to do, so little time

For most sport organisations, implementing a sustainability strategy is a long-term investment. With the greater goal usually being “net zero by 2050,” resources and capital are invested now with the hopes of incremental improvements over the coming years or decades.

Santiago 2023, however, does not have decades, years, or even months to mitigate the effects of this mega sporting event. With a greater flurry of activity in two weeks than most sport organisations see in two years, the organisers had a mountain to climb, and time was not on their side.

“We only started the sustainability and legacy strategy one year ago,” says Alejandro Bacot, legacy and sustainability deputy director of Santiago 2023. “We’ve been working really fast and have made some mistakes, but we are doing everything we can.”

They managed to do it, though. Santiago 2023 not only has a strategy and goals in place to reduce waste, water use, and other environmental impacts, but it will also be carbon neutral, eliminating emissions where possible and offsetting unavoidable emissions.

“First of all, to be carbon neutral was really important for us,” says Bacot. “In Latin America, it’s not so common for mega events to be carbon neutral. This is something that we are very proud of.”

It makes you wonder, if Santiago 2023 can be “net zero by 2023,” why can’t other organisations do this, and why are most organisations waiting until 2050 to tackle their climate commitments?

Santiago 2023 receives the majority of its funding from national and local governments, providing access to resources that other sport organisations may not enjoy, but perhaps that could be modelled going forward. This event is a great example of what can be achieved with a little help from your stakeholders.

Creating a legacy

One of the ways that Santiago 2023 made its sustainability commitments possible was by looking beyond the sixteen day window of the event and bringing a “legacy” aspect to the sustainability strategy. The event aims to create lasting positive change in the city, country, and continent.

On top of mitigating negative impacts, sustainability initiatives have to make economic sense, or they unfortunately just won’t happen. The legacy component of the sustainability strategy is an innovative way to make sustainability more appealing economically.

The premise is that new ideas, initiatives, technologies, or infrastructure that are created for this event can be integrated into the city of Santiago for years or decades to come, and also create a guideline for future mega sporting events.

For example, installing charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) makes the Games more accessible for EVs and reduces the carbon footprint of the event, but having charging stations at sport venues is something that the city of Santiago benefits from as well.

This idea of legacy extends beyond just infrastructure. Promoting active living, ensuring inclusivity, and engaging youth in sport are amongst some of the legacy commitments for Santiago 2023.

“This is really important for us,” says Bacot. “We are working here in Chile with the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Sport to create a sustainability standard for future sporting events.”

Finding partners and setting the standard

You may already be aware that the Summer Olympics of Paris 2024 aim to be the most sustainable mega sporting event that the world has ever seen. In a lot of ways, Santiago 2023 is a stepping stone towards that goal.

“Paris 2024 and the IOC [International Olympic Committee] have been very helpful,” Bacot explains. “We are working in collaboration with them and using their work as a reference for our sustainability and legacy ideas.”

Complementing the partnership with Paris 2024 and the IOC, Santiago 2023 is also engaging with universities. Twelve different universities are conducting 25 different studies, bringing valuable insight and research to Santiago 2023.

“University partners have been fundamental,” says Bacot. “For example, we want to survey all of the spectators about the social responsibility of the event. We are a small team and that’s just not possible for us, but the universities have the experts and can provide us with that data.”

The partnerships that Santiago 2023 has fostered allow it to pursue the most ambitious sustainability strategy in Pan American Games history. This will be the first edition of the event to report its environmental impacts using the GRI Standards, which is a globally recognized framework for environmental impact reporting. The report will set a true baseline measurement for the Games, something that Barranquilla 2027 can use as a reference.

Santiago 2023 Sustainability Commitments

Santiago 2023 has an entire slate of sustainability goals and objectives. Below is a brief highlight of some of the major sustainability commitments.

• 80% of waste generated from the games to be recycled

• 40% reduction in water use for equestrian arenas

• 100% of energy used in venues will be certified renewable energy

• Complete carbon neutrality by reducing and offsetting emissions

• Reporting environmental impacts with the GRI Standards

• 100% of merchants at the games will have sustainability criteria

It’s been a busy year for Alejandro Bacot and his team, but their work on sustainability has set an inspiring example for all sport organisations to follow. It was a photo finish, but their efforts are worthy of a place on the podium.