The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics -- Innovations in Urban Sustainability*

By Lisa DiCaprio  

The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics (July 26 to August 11) and the Paralympics (August 28 to September 8), provided a new model for reducing the environmental impact of the Olympics and promoting innovations in urban sustainability that have global significance. 

The two previous Olympics in Paris were in 1900 and 1924. [1] (Since television did not exist in 1924, information about the Olympics was broadcast from a radio antenna located on the Eiffel Tower.) This summer, 10,500 Olympic and 4,400 Paralympic athletes from the territories of 205 National Olympic Committees and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Refugee Olympic Team participated in 32 Olympic and 22 Paralympic sports. 

Gender parity between men and women was achieved for the first time in Olympic history. By contrast, 135 women and 2,954 men competed in 1924. (In 1922, Alice Milliat, the founder of the International Women’s Sports Federation, organized an unofficial female Olympic Games in Paris in which 77 women competed in track and field events.) [2] 

The July 26 Opening Ceremony comprised a flotilla of 85 boats that transported 6,500 Olympic competitors six kilometers (3.7 miles) along the Seine River towards the Eiffel Tower. Paintings of ten famous French women, including Alice Milliat, were displayed on large screens installed on both sides of the river. The ceremony, which was the first held outside of a stadium in modern Olympic history, was viewed on-site by over 300,000 spectators.

Mayor Anne Hidalgo, the first female mayor of Paris and a member of the Socialist Party, submitted Paris 2024: Our Legacy and Sustainability Plan, the successful Paris proposal for the Summer 2024 Olympics, to the International Olympics Committee in 2016. The plan, which she describes as an “accelerator of the green transition,” complies with the Olympics Agenda 2020 (40 recommendations adopted by the International Olympics Committee in December 2014) and is the first that is aligned with The Paris Agreement | UNFCCC, the 2015 international climate change treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050. [3]

Since her election in 2014, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has advocated for and implemented initiatives relating to a variety of sustainability issues: light pollution, green spaces and parks, the urban forest, green buildings, renewable energy, affordable housing, transportation, walkable streets and the fifteen-minute city, an expansion of bicycle lanes, urban agriculture, and the revitalization of the Seine River. [4] The most recent Paris Climate Action Plan, which was updated in June 2022, comprises “an action plan for 2030” and “an ambition” to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. [5] 

One, main environmental goal of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee for the Olympics is to limit carbon emissions to 1.75 million tons of C02, which is half the amount of the London 2012 Summer Olympics [6] and Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. 

Here are several examples of the sustainability initiatives relating to the Olympic venues and buildings, transportation, and food. (The fourth category was carbon credits.)

OLYMPIC VENUES & BUILDINGS: 

The Olympics were held in 35 venues in Paris and its suburbs, several cities in France, and Tahiti. (Thirteen of the venues were in central Paris and Tahiti was the site of the surfing competitions.) In compliance with the International Olympics Committee (IOC) Agenda 2020 to reduce new construction, ninety-five percent of the competitions were held either in existing sports venues like the Vélodrome National in Paris; repurposed locations, including iconic buildings such as the Grand Palais; or in temporary stadiums designed for outdoor locations, for example, the Eiffel Tower Stadium on the Parc du Champ-de-Mars. 

The circular economy mandates for the Olympics require all materials and temporary Olympic structures to be repurposed, reused, or recycled. [7]

An extensive engineering project made it possible for the marathon swimming and swimming portion of the Olympic Triathlon (swimming, cycling, and running) to be held in the Seine River. (Seven swimming events were in the Seine during the 1900 Olympics in Paris, but swimming in the river was banned in 1923 because of its pollution.) Following the 2024 Olympics, the public will be allowed to swim in designated areas of the Seine. As rivers flow into an ocean, the revitalization of urban rivers also improves the health of our oceans. [8]  

The new buildings designed for the Olympics, which were limited to the Adidas Arena, the Aquatics Centre, and the Olympic and Paralympic Village, are intended for future use and comprise innovations in green building design that will facilitate the “green transformation” of the construction industry. 

The wood used for these buildings was sustainably sourced from eco-managed forests and all three venues feature green roofs and solar panel installations. Currently, the energy embodied in materials for buildings, which are mainly steel and concrete, accounts for eleven percent of global carbon emissions. The environmental benefits of wood as a construction material that sequesters carbon are related in several recent articles. [9] 

The multi-purpose Adidas Arena located near the Porte de La Chapelle, which opened on February 11, 2024, is the only new building constructed in Paris for the Olympics. The sports arena can be repurposed as a concert venue with two gymnasiums. Its sustainability features include:

• Construction materials, such as low-carbon concrete, mixed wood-concrete for the floors, wood, and recycled aluminum.
• Rooftop solar panels.
• A geo-exchange heating and cooling system that partially relies on the arena’s solar panels for electricity.
• Vegetation covering 80% of the arena’s outdoor surfaces, which includes an approximately 1,700 square meter green roof that is accessible to the public. 
• The panels for the stadium seats were manufactured from recycled plastic by Le Pavé, a company located in Île-de-France, which collects and transforms used plastic into a variety of products. [10] 

The Aquatics Centre, the second new Olympics sports venue, is located in Seine-Saint-Denis, a northeastern suburb of Paris. Following the Olympics, it will serve as a neighborhood multi-sport center open to the public. The sustainability features of the Aquatics Centre include:

• Low-carbon concrete and wood construction materials. 
• The recycling of fifty percent of the water used in the Aquatics Centre. 
• The panels for stadium seats, which can be transformed into a venue for local events, were also manufactured by Le Pavé.
• The use of wood waste from the construction of the Aquatics Centre for the manufacture of furniture. 
• 4,680 square meters of rooftop solar panels designed to generate one-fourth of the electricity required for the Aquatics Centre. 
• 100 trees planted in the vicinity of the Aquatics Centre. 

The Olympic and Paralympic Village for the athletes was constructed on 52 hectares (128 acres) of a former industrial site along the Seine River that borders on three Paris suburbs: Seine-Saint-Denis, Ile Saint-Denis, and Saint-Ouen. It will provide housing for 14,250 athletes and their staff during the Olympic Games and 9,000 athletes and their staff during the Paralympic games. The sustainability features of the Olympic and Paralympic Village include:   

• A geo-exchange cooling and heating system for the buildings in the Olympic Village, which draws water from an aquifer. 
• Buildings constructed with wood, recycled materials, glass, and low-carbon concrete. 
• All buildings less than eight floors are designed with wood and glass.
• Solar panels installed on the rooftops of buildings.  
• Green roofs designed to promote biodiversity.
• A temporary floating solar plant with 400 square meters of solar panels located in the Seine River opposite the Olympic Village to provide electricity for the Village. 

Following the Olympics, the Olympic and Paralympic Village will be transformed into a commercial and residential Eco-Village for approximately 6,000 people, which is designed to ensure compliance with the Paris Climate Action Plan. According to the official website, it will comprise “2,500 new homes, one student residence, one hotel, a three-hectare landscaped park, about seven hectares of gardens and parks, 120,000 sqm of offices and city services, and 3,200 sqm of neighbourhood shops.” The housing will be available to residents at different income levels.

The Eco-Village, which will also include two schools, is intended to revitalize the surrounding neighborhoods. [11] By contrast, the housing for the athletes in the 1924 Olympics was constructed with temporary wooden buildings that were demolished after the Olympics. 

TRANSPORTATION: Ninety-five percent of the 35 Olympic venues were existing locations accessible by walking, bicycling, or mass transit. More than 80 percent of the Olympic venues in Paris and its suburbs were located within about six miles of the Olympic and Paralympic Village. 

Since her election in 2014, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has successfully advocated for the expansion of bicycle paths. The most recent 2021-2026 bicycle plan calls for investment in the infrastructure required to make Paris a “100 percent cyclable” city. [12] As Delger Erdenesanaa wrote in her article, “Three Places Changing Quickly to Fight Climate Change,” New York Times, April 22, 2024, “Currently, there are a total of 1,000 kilometers of bicycle routes in Paris and plans for an additional 500 kilometers; for example, new bicycle lanes will connect the Olympic venues in Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis.” 

Mass transit initiatives include the construction of six new métro stations in the Paris suburbs where the Olympic venues are located. These stations represent a portion of the Grand Paris Express, an ambitious project that began in 2013 to expand the existing 14 métro lines radiating out from central Paris. The Grand Paris Express will add 200 kilometers (120 miles) of métro lines with extensions to two existing lines and four new lines, build 68 new stations, and provide direct connections between Paris suburbs. 

FOOD: The requirements for the thirteen million meals served at the Olympics, which are described on the official Paris 2024 Summer Olympics website, Our Commitment/The Environment/Food Vision, comprise these six, main commitments: 

• “2 X more plant-based food.
• 100% certified food, including 80% French origin products, 25% within 250km of the venues, and 30% organic products.
• Halve the amount of single-use plastic in the consumption phase.
• Limit food waste and recycle 100% of uneaten food.
• Ensure 200% second life for used equipment and infrastructure
• Ensure 100% of the catering staff will be from professional integration programs.”

As the website explains, “These six commitments are then broken down into 69 sub-commitments for each type of product or service.” For example, “The preparation and consumption of food must be based on the concept of a circular economy in which nothing is wasted; therefore, food that is not consumed must be composted.” [13] In May 2023, Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced a ban on single-use plastics at the Olympics. 

THE CONCLUSION OF THE OLYMPICS:

The Olympics concluded with the 26.2 mile marathon, which was held on August 10 for men and August 11 for women. The first half followed the route of the famous Women's March on Versailles on October 5, 1789, a key event during the French Revolution when thousands of women marched from Paris to Versailles to protest the high prices and shortages of bread and demand the return of King Louis XVI to Paris. [14]  

At the closing ceremony for the Olympics on August 11 and the Paralympics on September 8, Mayor Anne Hidalgo passed the Olympic flag to Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, which will host the Summer 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

Mayor Hidalgo has stated that she would like the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower, the paintings of ten famous French women that were displayed during the opening ceremony along the Seine River; and the cauldron holding the new, innovative Olympic flame utilizing 40 LED spotlights, to remain in Paris as a form of memorialization. [15] 

The Olympic rings, which were unveiled at a June 7, 2024 event featuring Mayor Anne Hidalgo and Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024, exemplify two, main aspects of the Paris Olympics: (1) The commitment to sustainability, as they were manufactured by the French company ArcelorMittal from recycled steel and (2) The international spirit of the Olympics, as the interlocked rings represent the interconnection of the five continents of the world, which is especially appropriate because of the global climate crisis. [16] 

NOTES:

1. For a comparison of the three Olympics in Paris, see Virgilio Franceschi, “500 Days to Go: From Paris 1924 to Paris 2024 Facts and Figures,” Paris 2024, March 14, 2023. On the history of the Olympics, see the International Olympic Committee website, Frequently Asked Questions, What is the Origin of the Olympic Games?. Pierre de Coubertin initiated the revival of the Olympics in 1894 and the first modern Olympics were held in 1896. He also designed the five, interlocking Olympic rings, which appeared for the first time in 1913. See also, John Branch, “They Used to Award Olympic Medals for Art?,” New York Times, May 2, 2024. 
2. Although Pierre de Coubertin opposed the inclusion of women in the Olympic games, women’s participation has increased since the nineteenth century. As the International Olympic Committee website, “When did women first compete in the Olympic Games?,” states: “Women competed for the first time at the 1900 Games in Paris. Of a total of 997 athletes, 22 women participated in five sports: tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrianism and golf.” On Alice Milliat’s unofficial female Olympic Games in 1922 see, John Branch, “They Called It ‘Improper’ to Have Women in the Olympics. But She Persisted,” New York Times, July 11, 2024. See also the International Olympic Committee March 8, 2024 International Women’s Day article, “Paris 2024: The first Games to achieve full gender parity.”   
3. The Summer 2024 Paris Olympics were also guided by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) Agenda 2020, Paris 2024 Organizing Committee, Paris 2024 Social Charter comprising 16 initiatives, the social and solidarity economy (SSE), and the Ecological Transformation Committee for the Games. See, for example, Somini Sengupta and Catherine Porter, “In Paris, The Olympics Clean Up Their Act,” New York Times, March 16, 2024; and Quincy Goss, Aurora Solar, “Solar’s role in the 2024 Paris Olympics.” 
4.  In 2023, Mayor Anne Hidalgo received an award from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) for her urban sustainability initiatives. See, Ella Fertitta, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo Named Winner of 2023 ULI Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, ULI Americas, December 14, 2023. See also Sibley Fleming’s December 13, 2023 interview with Mayor Hidalgo that accompanies the ULI article. On her initiatives to promote the 15-Minute City in Paris see, Salome Gongadze and Anne Maassen, Paris’ Vision for a ‘15-Minute City’ Sparks a Global Movement, The City Fix, World Resources Institute, January 26, 2023. Prior to the successful plan for the Olympics submitted by Mayor Anne Hidalgo, three previous proposals by mayors of Paris failed to obtain approval.
5. Mariamne Everett, “How is the city of Paris adapting to climate change?,” France 24, August 27, 2022. 
6. For an overview of the sustainability initiatives of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, see Verity Postlethwaite, Eleni Theodoraki, and Mike Duignan, “London 2012: what the Olympics Games’ legacy of sustainability means for events today,” The Conversation, August 12, 2022 and Ken Belson, “Before Paris, London Showed How Olympics Could Be Sustainable,” New York Times, July 25, 2024. 
7. See my article, Lisa DiCaprio, “The Circular Economy - Educational Resources (Part I),” Sierra Atlantic, Spring 2020 and the website for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation on the circular economy, which she founded in 2010. See also Ellen MacArthur’s 2015 TED Talk, “The surprising thing I learned sailing solo around the world.”
8. On July 17, 2024, Mayor Anne Hidalgo and Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris Olympics Committee and a three-time winner of Olympic gold medals, swam in the Seine to demonstrate its safety prior to the swimming events. However, on some days during the Olympics, swimming in the Seine were postponed because of rainstorms. See, Charlotte Lytton, Can Paris clean up the Seine in time for next year’s Olympics,?” Guardian, October 8, 2023 and Catherine Porter, “After Olympic Triathlons in the Seine, Leaders Hail Dual Wins for France,” New York Times, July 30, 2024.  As Porter notes, “rainstorms can cause spikes in bacterial levels as dirty water runs off the roads into the river and sewage systems are overloaded, dispelling their water into the river.” Consequently, the World Triathlon “canceled familiarization swims in the Seine on two consecutive days, and then postponed the men’s triathlon by a day.”
9. On the sustainability features of the new buildings constructed for the Olympics see, for example, Feargus O’Sullivan and Jenny Che, “Why the Paris Olympics Will be a Modest Showcase of Wood Architecture, Bloomberg Citylab + Green, March 9, 2024; Sophie Rousset-Rouvière, “In France, A New Law Supports Green Roofs on Buidings,” Living Architecture Monitor, Spring 2022; and Keith Schneider, “As Concerns Over Climate Change Rise, More Developers Turn to Wood,” New York Times, September 22, 2020, updated June 28, 2021. 
10. The panels for the spectator seats were manufactured by Le Pavé, a start-up company located in Île-de-France, which manufactures products from recycled plastic collected from a variety of sources. See, Liz Alderman, “Inside the Factory Turning Trash Into Olympic Podiums,” New York Times, July 6, 2024. As Alderman explains: “Le Pavé is part of an increasingly dynamic start-up culture that has been growing in France, seeded by ambitious policies from President Emmanuel Macron’s government to transform the economy with new industries focusing on clean technology and a green transition.” 
11. On the transformation of the Olympic Village into a new, sustainable neighborhood after the Olympics see also, Angelique Chrisafis, Era of gigantism is over': why Paris chose banlieue for its Olympic Village, The Guardian, January 2, 2024. 
12. Paige Bennett, Writer, EcoWatch for World Economic Forum, “Paris Plans to Be Completely Cyclable by 2026,” World Economic Forum, October 28, 2021. See also, Paris, “60 km of bike lanes to link all Olympic and Paralympic venues,” February 7, 2024.  
13. For additional information on the sustainability initiatives relating to food, see: Celebrating the Modern Taste of France. Paris 2024 Food Vision. 
14. On the marathon, see: Scott Cacciola, “Olympic Marathan is Toughest Ever for a `Major Race,” New York Times, August 10, 2024. 
15. Le Monde with AFP, “Paris mayor wants to keep Olympic rings on Eiffel Tower After Games, July 29, 2024 and Cécile de Sortiraparis, “Opening Ceremony Statues: Who Are the Women Honored on the Seine?,” Sortiraparis, July 31, 2024.
16. For a recent, interactive article on climate change, see: Raymond Zhong and Mira Rojanasakul, “How Close Are the Planet's Climate Tipping Points?,” New York Times, August 11, 2024. See also, “Wildfires in 2023 caused massive CO2 emissions, compounding climate change,” France 24 English, August 14, 2024. 

VIDEOS:  

Tomorrow’s Build, “Paris’ Grand Plan to Become Europe's Greenest City,” September 28, 2021

PBS NewsHour, “Is mass timber the building material of the future?,” November 7, 2021 

TODAY, “How Paris Olympics aim to go green, reduce carbon emissions,” June 8, 2023

France 24 English, “From 1924 to 2024, Spotlight on the Olympics, then, and now,” January 23, 2024

Futurology, “Paris’s NEW 2024 Olympic Stadiums,” May 1, 2024 

AFP News Agency, “Olympic rings unveiled on Eiffel Tower for Paris 2024,” June 7, 2024  

AP News, “A look at the Paris 2024 athletes Olympic village,” July 18, 2024 

CBS News, “Paris landmarks like Versailles and the Eiffel Tower will be Olympic venues,” July 23, 2024 

CNBC, “How Paris Pulled Off One Of The Cheapest Olympics,” July 25, 2024

CBC News, “Paris Olympic ‘flame’ actually a light and water display,” July 29, 2024 

Olympics, “Full Opening Ceremony,” August 12, 2024

*A special thanks to 350NYC for the opportunity to give a presentation at the July 24, 2024 general meeting on the sustainability initiatives of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. 

For my previous Sierra Atlantic articles, see: “State Must Pass Divestment Act Targeting NYS Common Retirement Fund” Spring 2016, “High-Rise Passive House in NYC” Fall 2017, “Five Years of Activism: NYC Commits to Fossil Fuel Divestment” Spring 2018, “Initiatives to Reduce Plastic Pollution” Summer 2018, “The Social Cost of Carbon & Why It Matters”  Summer 2018, “Key Resources on Recent Climate Change Reports” Fall/Winter 2018, “Ecological Footprints and One Planet Living” Fall/Winter 2018, “The Drawdown Project to Reverse Global Warming”  Spring, 2019, “Key Resources on Climate Change Reports: Part II” Spring 2019, “NYC’s Green New Deal” Summer 2019, “Carbon Footprints and Life-cycle Assessments - Educational Resources” Summer 2019, “Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature - Educational Resources” Fall/Winter 2020, “The Circular Economy - Educational Resources (Part I)” Spring 2020, “Earth Day 50 and the Coronavirus Pandemic - Educational Resources” Summer 2020, “Educating for American Democracy” Spring 2021, “Passive House Update - Educational Resources” Winter 2021, “NYC Enacts Legislation to Promote All-Electric Buildings” Winter 2022, “Doughnut Economics: A Thriving Economy Within Planetary Boundaries” Spring 2022, “Alice Waters, the Farm-to-Table Movement, and the Edible Schoolyard Project” Spring 2023