04. The Syllabus: C. Sport and Sustainable Infrastructure
Fields Of Change: A Sustainability Handbook
C. SPORT AND SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE
The environmental cost of infrastructure in sport Infrastructure - such as stadia, training facilities, and other physical construction projects - is a major area of environmental impact by sport. The construction sector is responsible for approximately 39% of global carbon emissions. It uses 50% of the world’s steel, 25% of the world’s wood, and 40% of the world’s energy 35 . It is In the sporting context, stadiums and facilities generate carbon emissions and use water through their construction and operations. The construction and operations of new venues was responsible for almost a quarter of carbon emissions of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, for example 37 . Clearly then, any building project that is undertaken for sport will have a sizeable environmental impact. estimated that 30% of global deforestation is a result of infrastructure projects 36 . Types of environmental impact of infrastructure development: • Carbon emissions. • Energy consumption. • Water usage. • Waste generation. • Biodiversity impact/habitat loss.
Case study: Rio 2016 Olympics Let’s take a closer look at an example - the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With the construction of large-scale facilities such as a new Olympic stadium, a velodrome, an aquatics centre, and an athletes village, immense quantities of steel and concrete were used with significant habitat loss in places. In Guanabara Bay, where several water sport events were scheduled to take place, water quality was a major problem. Raw sewage and water pollution in the bay posed health risks to athletes and impacted marine life, demonstrating the link between water pollution, waste management, and sporting events. Air pollution was also a major issue. With more than 6 million spectator tickets sold and the arrival of 11,000 athletes, local airports were operating at full capacity for a month, and the 2.7 million cars on Rio’s roads made the city more congested than ever 38 . Six months after hosting South America’s first-ever Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Rio de Janeiro venues – some of which were looted – sat mainly idle and already in disrepair, raising questions about a legacy that organisers promised would benefit the Brazilian city and its residents.
• Noise pollution. • Water pollution. • Land use.
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