Team Canada 2022 to be carbon neutral at the upcoming 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, a Games set to be the most sustainable Commonwealth Games to date.

Ottawa, On. – (2022 – 04 – 06) – Commonwealth Sport Canada (CSC), has announced a plan for its Team to the 2022 Commonwealth Games to be carbon neutral. The plan includes employing reduction strategies, team member training, and supporting Canadian carbon offset projects.

“These proactive steps will reduce and offset Team Canada’s carbon footprint at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, which is estimated to be between 750 thousand and 900 thousand tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions,” says Scott Stevenson, Executive Director, Team Canada 2022 (Birmingham). “This demonstrates Commonwealth Sport Canada (CSC) is committed to climate action and reducing emissions.”

CSC’s Team Canada 2022 program is employing reduction measures where available, including holding conferences and video calls rather than in-person meetings to limit travel-related gas emissions. The program uses e-documents as the source of communication instead of paper documents. Staying in low-energy and low-water hotels helps reduce their footprint as well as limiting packaging on all supplies and equipment ordered or shipped to Birmingham. Finally, like Birmingham, Team Canada 2022 is encouraging active transit for athletes and mission staff in Birmingham.

In addition, CSC has introduced an online training resource to educate Team Canada 2022 members (athletes, coaches, officials and mission staff) on awareness and engagement in environmentally-friendly efforts and actions. Dr. Madeleine Orr, co-director of the Sport Ecology Group and lead consultant for Team Canada’s carbon neutral effort, will offer this team member training digitally.

“These 90-minute sessions occur leading up to the 2022 Commonwealth Games and suit all athletes and their varied training schedules,” says Dr. Madeleine Orr, co-founder of The Sport Ecology Group. “The sessions will be purpose-made and will be delivered to specific sports and additional stakeholders, such as coaches, mission staff and volunteers.”

CSC will also invest in high-quality carbon offset projects based in Canada to combat team emissions leading up to and during the Games and remove the equivalent volume of these gases from the atmosphere.

Birmingham 2022 has embraced the need for the Commonwealth Games to be environmentally sustainable and plans to deliver the most sustainable Games to date in addition to being the first carbon-neutral Commonwealth Games ever. Birmingham is implementing measures including accessible water bottle refill points, minimizing single-use plastic, renting instead of buying equipment, and ensuring assets can be repurposed and reused in the future. Another way they want to reduce their carbon footprint is by promoting low emission travel options, including shifting away from single-occupancy vehicles and encouraging active travel such as cycling and walking.

ABOUT TEAM CANADA 2022

The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be host to 71 participating nations and territories taking part in the Games. The Commonwealth Games are a valuable opportunity as a steppingstone and development opportunity for Canadian athletes, coaches, and managers working towards Olympic and Paralympic success. Canada’s performance projection in 2022 is a top 3 ranking, in total medals, amongst all nations and territories competing. Commonwealth athletes won 80%+ of Canada’s medals at the 2020 Olympic Games

Team Canada’s dedicated mission team will provide an optimal environment by celebrating equality, diversity, and non-discrimination. This is in support of our goals needed to enable a best ever performance by Canadian athletes at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

ABOUT COMMONWEALTH SPORT CANADA

Commonwealth Sport Canada (CSC) is the franchise holder for the Commonwealth Games and the Commonwealth sport movement in Canada. CSC is an active, contributing member of the Canadian sport community and supports Canada’s athletes to achieve excellence at Olympic, Paralympic Games, and world championships. The mission of CSC is to enrich the lives of youth across the Commonwealth and host the Commonwealth Games. CSC is responsible for all aspects of Canada’s participation in the XXII Commonwealth Games and will be sending a team of almost 400 of Canada’s best athletes and coaches to compete for Canada. The upcoming Games will occur in Birmingham, England from July 28 through to August 8, 2022. For additional information go to: www.commonwealthsport.ca.