The word sustainability can mean many things to many people. For the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), sustainability means managing the social, economic and environmental impacts and opportunities of our Games to produce lasting benefits — locally and globally. By taking responsibility for reducing negative impacts and generating benefits for the natural environment, people and target communities, Aboriginal people, and the economy, we are walking our talk and focusing on raising awareness and promoting sustainable living choices.

Today, VANOC released the second of five public Sustainability Reports detailing its progress on a wide range of sustainability initiatives. This latest report specifies VANOC’s goals, interactions with key stakeholder groups, sustainability performance and highlights some of the challenges the Organizing Committee faced between August 1, 2006 and July 31, 2007. The Report also highlights some of the success stories that have stemmed from the sustainability initiatives of VANOC and its related partners, sponsors and stakeholders.

“The Organizing Committee has taken its sustainability commitments to heart and the report features many of the large and small actions taken. It’s exciting for our team to be able to profile the innovative solutions and developments so many have come together on,” said Ann Duffy, VANOC’s corporate sustainability officer. “We heard from our stakeholders about what they liked and didn’t like about our first report and made changes to better serve their interests.”