The OCEAN project is moving forward with the organization of a 2nd Seminar and the 1st Consortium Call. These two events were designed to bring further knowledge about the Carbon measurement process to the partners, but also to gather their feedback on it. Moreover, the members received additional information about external project binding together sport and environmental issue.
On the 19th of September the 2nd Online Seminar of the Ocean project dedicated to the Carbon Footprint measurement took place. This meeting led by the Öko Institut had the objective to refine and precise the criteria which will be used in the measurement of the NOCs’ carbon footprint and collect feedback on potential difficulties Climate Action Officers are facing during the data collection phase.
The project is now entering a new phase with the full completion of the measurement tool by the NOCs. The Öko Institut presented the tool they are currently designing and collected the partners’ views on potential supplementary criteria to define with precision their carbon consumption.
Additionally, partners received a presentation from the Paris 2024 Organising Committee and CNOSF team. The emphasis was purposefully oriented toward the sustainability axe of the forthcoming games and the reflection which takes place months in advance to organize a sustainable event. With that objective in mind the French Ministry of sport, in collaboration with ADEME (Environmental and Energy Control Agency), the CNOSF and the Organizing Committee Paris 2024, developed an instrument able to easily estimate the carbon footprint of manifestations: The Climate Coach for Events.
Another event punctuated the OCEAN project agenda as on the 20th of September was held the first consortium call. This online meeting was led by the EOC EU office in order to establish a first feedback session on the different actions already initiated and provide an overview of upcoming tasks. The date and speaker of the October sessions was shared. Lina Taylor, a former Olympian and currently Climate Coach will be in charge of this session.
Afterwards, the discussion moved to the expectations and challenges faced by the consortium members in the implementation of the carbon footprint measurement (time required and specific methodology applied). The next step of the OCEAN project is scheduled to take place during the month of October with the beginning of the Module 2.2. Climate Action Officers will now start the complete carbon footprint measurement of their organization.
On 31 May, the first online Seminar on carbon footprint measurement of the OCEAN project was held. Measuring the carbon footprint of all 18 partner NOCs is one of the key objectives of the project. The process will last until 2024 and is accompanied by the Öko-Institut that provides know-how and experience in measuring carbon footprints for sport entities.
The first Seminar focused on the preparation of the measurement. In anticipation of the Seminar, all partner NOCs filled in a questionnaire about the structure of their respective organisations (e.g., number of staff, existence of subsidiary entities). After a short introduction to the basic principles of carbon footprint measurement and the different types of greenhouse gases, the findings of this questionnaire were presented by the Öko-Institut. These findings indicate a high level of heterogeneity between the participating NOCs which is an important factor for the process of measuring the carbon footprint.
For the main part of the Seminar, the experts from Öko-Institut discussed the scope of the carbon footprint, i.e., the different kinds of sources for CO2-equivalent-emissions which are included in the calculation, with the participants. As the process of assessing an organisation’s carbon footprint and collecting data involves a consequent amount of work, the process is divided into smaller parts, namely emissions from headquarters, other locations, organisation of and participation to events and Olympic Games.
The participants engaged in an intensive and productive discussions about elements that should be considered for the measurement. As every NOC is unique, the questions also covered a variety of topics. At the end of the discussion, the project-team got an overview of all the open questions, that need to be clarified to conduct the measurement in the best and most accurate way.
This measurement process was further presented by the Öko-Institut after the first discussion. The spreadsheet for collecting a first portion of data on business travels and energy consumption had been distributed before the Seminar. NOCs used the Seminar to ask for clarifications and give feedback on the contents and the availability of the requested data within their organisations.
Next steps
Eva Rebmann (Project Manager OCEAN-project) concluded the meeting by giving an overview of next steps within the project regarding the carbon footprint measurement as well as the training course for Climate Action Officers.
The training course will continue online in October 2023, before Module 3 of the Training Course for Climate Action Officers takes place at the IOC and ANOC Headquarters in Lausanne in Spring 2024.
In the meantime, the data collection for the 18 partner NOCs’ carbon footprint measurement will continue before the first results can be analysed in 2024.
The OCEAN Management Team congratulates all 18 Climate Action Officers for their commitment to making our sport more sustainable!
On 22 February, 18 National Olympic Committees, the European Olympic Committees EU Office (EOC EU Office), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) gathered in Brussels for the Kick-Off Meeting of the OCEAN Project.
OCEAN, which stands for “Olympic Committees of Europe Approaching Carbon Neutrality”, aims to empower National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to measure and reduce their carbon footprint and enhance good governance in the field of climate action within their NOCs. In order to assist NOCs in getting as near to carbon neutral as possible, the project seeks to create and offer training for "Climate Action Officers." Subsequently, the project's main objective is to assist partner NOCs in creating a customised strategy for carbon reduction following an assessment of their carbon footprint with the support of the German environmental research institute Öko-Institut.
The Kick-Off Meeting, on 22 February, was opened by EOC President Spyros Capralos, who highlighted the relevance of the OCEAN Project and the responsibility of the sports organisations to reduce their impact on the environment and take up the sport world’s responsibility to lead by example in the field of climate action.
A key theme throughout the newly-adopted EOC Strategic Agenda 2030 is sustainability. In his opening speech, President Capralos praised the project’s partners for showing that Europe as a continent is serious about taking climate action.
He said: “It is incredibly pleasing to see the attendance here today. It is a sign that we are all taking climate change seriously. It is a sign that we are all committed to tackling the issue.
“We must adapt to the new realities we are facing. We must make sure that as a movement our organisations and events are agile enough to respond to the challenges that come our way.”
“The mission of the Olympic Movement is ‘to make the world a better place through sport‘. So as well as being able to manage the risks and adapt, we also have a responsibility to help solve the world’s biggest challenges. There is no doubt that climate change is definitely one of them.”
“And there are two ways in which we can have a big impact on the environment. We must reduce the negative impact of the European Olympic Movement’s activities on climate and we must also use the power of the Olympic Movement to inspire others into taking positive action.”
Folker Hellmund, Director of the EOC EU Office, stated: “This project funded by the European Union will empower European NOCs by providing the necessary tools and skills to embark on the climate action journey. But the impact of the project will be global and eventually strengthen good governance in the field of climate action for sport organisations”.
