Olympic Energy Efficiency

Ambition for a sustainable sports event

Sustainability is in focus in Paris once again. Back in 2015, the city united 196 countries of the United Nations in the legally binding international treaty on climate change: the Paris Agreement. Now, that legacy continues, with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games following a “cutting-edge plan to halve the Games-related carbon footprint compared to previous Games, with innovative solutions for energy, food, venues, transport and digital services”[1].

Urban planning has been an important tool utilized by the organizers of Paris 2024, to minimize the need to build new infrastructure. The success of this approach is reflected in International Olympic Committee (IOC) reports that 95 percent of the competition venues are pre-existing or temporary, and 80 percent of the venues are located within 10 km of the Olympic Village which houses athletes. Public transport services have increased capacity by 15 percent during the Games, and 400 km of new bike lanes have been built to enable easy access to the venues for both athletes and spectators¹.

Examples of energy efficiency

The building infrastructure of the Paris Olympics stadiums is designed to be energy-efficient and sustainable. A solution company which has been a key provider of energy-efficiency solutions to these is Johnson Controls, a global pioneer in smart buildings and sustainable spaces, which operates in 150 countries worldwide. The firm has the world’s largest portfolio of technology, software and services for buildings and focuses on energy efficient, safe and healthy constructions. Energy efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) solutions have been instrumental to reduce the carbon footprint of the Olympics. Cooling equipment requires large amounts of energy, and increasingly so with rising temperatures year-on-year and heatwaves becoming the new norm.

According to Bloomberg, Johnson Controls has enhanced energy efficiency and sustainability of eight Paris 2024 Olympic venues. Most notably, the flagship stadium Adidas Arena is a showcase for Johnson Control’s 3.3 MW chillers that cool the arena and the surrounding area. Furthermore, the major tennis stadium at this event features the firm’s Metasys building automation system, which optimizes HVAC, lighting and energy management control systems[2].

Johnson Controls is a holding of two funds managed by team Solutions, namely Storebrand Global Solutions and Storebrand Smart Cities. The firm is included in the solutions theme “Smart Cities”, under the sub-theme “urban planning”, and the category “heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC)”. 

Cleaning up the River Seine

Water management is another hot topic in the prelude to Paris 2024. The River Seine, France’s blue artery, runs through the heart of Paris and will serve as the venue for the opening ceremony as well as competitions such as the triathlon and marathon swimming.

Remarkably, swimming in the river was officially forbidden, for more than a century, due to heavy pollution, but it has recently been cleaned for the Olympics. Widespread concerns over the water quality in the River Seine have prompted several politicians to hold several public events where they swam in the river to demonstrate the satisfactory experience. A solution to reduce flash flood overflows, which lead untreated water directly into the Seine, is rainwater storage tanks that fend off stormwater from the sewage systems.

The business magazine Fortune reports that USD 1.5 billion has been spent on the river clean-up efforts so far[3]. The improved water quality of the Seine has hit the headlines worldwide, a dramatic change that will benefit both the top athletes at Paris 2024 and generations of Parisians to come.