The Games of the XXXI Olympiad, also known as Rio 2016, bring a series of characteristics that make them go down in history even before the Opening Ceremony. These are the first Olympic Games held in South America, the second edition in Latin America and only the third to be held below the Equator.

More than 10,000 athletes and around 500,000 spectators will “invade” Rio de Janeiro to give life to the biggest sporting event on the planet, which brings together 42 world championships over a period of 17 days. All this in one city.

The legacy of the Rio 2016 Games

A word that frequently accompanies discussions about the Olympic Games in Brazil and its real importance is “legacy”. After all, what will the Games leave for Brazil after the closing ceremony? The discussion is, in fact, relevant and opinions are diverse about the real value of an event of such magnitude.

Perhaps the most visible answer to the question of legacy lies in the infrastructure built or renewed in the city of Rio de Janeiro, mainly considering sports equipment and developments in the area of urban mobility.

But one of the biggest and most innovative advances achieved thanks to this mega-event happens silently, and not only in the Host City. This is how the Olympic Games are mobilizing various links in the value chain to address one of the greatest challenges of the modern world: greenhouse gas emissions and consequent global warming.

Olympics and Sustainability: project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

An extensive mapping and measurement work carried out by the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee concluded that direct emissions (related to the organization of the event) and indirect emissions (such as the impact of visitors who will come to Rio during the Games) represent an additional month in terms of emissions for the city. In other words: 2016 will be “a year of 13 months” in terms of Rio's carbon footprint.   

The answer to the challenge of delivering a balanced Olympic Games in its carbon footprint came through two fundamental concepts: collaboration and technology. And the two concepts bring a very strong legacy component, capable of changing the way fundamental sectors for our economy operate and produce.

Based on the reality and opportunities of the economy in Brazil and Latin America, Dow assumed the role of Official Carbon Partner of the Rio 2016 Committee and designed an exclusive program to mitigate emissions through technological innovations with low carbon impact for the industry, agriculture and infrastructure sectors.

In initiatives such as replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, optimizing resources in Brazilian agriculture and disseminating energy-efficient technologies for civil construction, the program to mitigate the carbon footprint of the Rio 2016 Games is reducing emissions across the continent. and engaging important sectors in favor of a future where more is produced with less impact on the environment.

The “momentum” catalyzed by the Olympics and embraced by companies from Mexico to Argentina shows that, yes, the Rio 2016 Games will leave a legacy of new ideas and best practices in the area of carbon that goes far beyond the Marvelous City.

Because sustainability is a marathon, not a 100m sprint.