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Energy Efficiency Helps Make Olympic Winter Games of 2002 a Zero Emission Event

The Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002, the Utah Energy Office, and Leonardo Academy's Cleaner and Greenersm program created olympic Cleaner and Greener to make the Salt Lake 2002 Games a zero emissions event. The goals were to provide public education on the emission reduction benefits delivered by energy efficiency, renewable energy, sequestration, and other emissions reduction actions and to offset the emissions caused by the energy use associated with these 2002 Games. O2 Blue, Inc. joined this project to recruit emission reductions from emissions sources. Leonardo Academy quantified the emissions produced by all forms of energy used during the Games, including transportation, operations, and the torch relay. Emission reductions addressed a range of pollutants caused by energy use including greenhouse gases (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulates, and mercury.

Now that the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic and Paralymic Winter Games have been successfully completed, we can take stock of how the net zero emissions goal has been achieved and recognize the organizations that contributed to this achievement," said Diane Conrad Gleason, Director of Environmental Programs for (SLOC).

Donations of emissions reduction credits were solicited from local and national companies to offset the emissions produced by hosting the Games. The donated credits were then permanently retired, so that they cannot be sold or used again. This creates a positive effect on air quality. Emission reduction sources included energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, direct emission source reductions, and tree planting programs.

Donated emission reductions came from many different kinds of positive action that reduce emissions. This demonstrates the broad range of emission reduction actions that can be harnesses for improving the environment through emission credits, said Michael Arny of Leonardo Academy.

Direct emission source reductions played a very important role in offsetting the emissions of the Olympic Winter Games. DuPont, Waste Management, Blue Source, and Kennecott Copper all donated emission reductions from direct emission sources. O2 Blue recruited these donations and the Clean Air Conservancy facilitated the retirement of these reductions.

Aspen Skiing Company, Johnson Controls, Millard School District in central Utah, and the Kansas Corporation Commission donated emission reductions delivered by their energy efficiency projects.

We were very pleased to have energy efficiency help offset the emissions caused by the olympic Winter Games of 2002 because energy efficiency provides multiple benefits including emission reductions, reduced energy bills and increased energy security, said Michael Glenn, Director of the Utah State Energy Office.

Renewable energy projects also helped offset emissions through the Blue Sky Program of Utah Power and Pacificorp. Kinko's copy shops in Utah and retail electric consumers in Utah, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming purchased Blue Sky wind energy to help offset the emissions of the 2002 Games. Several SLOC tree-planting programs also helped to offset emissions.

Environmental education was also an important aspect to the Olympic Cleaner and Greener Program. Schools and colleges across the U.S. contributed to reducing emissions through energy efficiency be incouraging their students to complete the Cleaner and Greenersm Home Energy Savings Checklist with their families. This checklist encourages residential energy saving actions. State energy offices in Utah, Kansas, Maryland, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, Kentucky, Idaho, and Ohio helped by encouraging energy efficiency and renewable energy actions through this program in their states.

Olympic Cleaner and Greener appreciates the support of all the participants who worked to make the zero emissions goal for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games a reality.

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