The Olympic Games symbolize global unity and athletic excellence, but behind the festivities lie a dark reality: the environmental consequences can be significant, leaving lasting impacts on host cities.

Sustainability is a vitally important focus at this year's Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. 

Why the Olympic Games Can't Ignore Sustainability

The Olympic Games are undeniably one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Over the course of just 16 days, tens of thousands of athletes and staff, millions of spectators, and billions of online viewers enjoy the event’s tradition and spectacle: cross-country skiing, ski jumping, biathlon, the luge, skeleton, and more.

In 2024, Paris hosted more than 15,000 athletes, welcomed 11.2 million spectators, and drew in five billion viewers worldwide—nearly 84% of the global population—for the Summer Olympics.

Events of this scale are temporary, but their large environmental footprints are anything but. Host cities are left to manage new infrastructure, displaced communities, and ecological damage long after the flame extinguishes. 

In recent years, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has faced increasing pressure to rethink the planning of the Games.

The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics

In 2024, Paris raised the bar for these large sporting events. By using 95% existing or temporary venues, the city minimized new construction that typically reshapes local landscapes.

The aquatics center in Saint-Denis, one of Paris’ under-invested neighborhoods, was the only new venue created for the Games. According to the IOC, “more than half of 11-year-olds in the area do not know how to swim.” Today, the center has been transformed into a space offering swimming, climbing, and fitness facilities for the local community.

Other focuses included:

• Proposing a plan to convert the Olympic Village, where Olympians lived during the games, into 2,800 new apartment units, addressing regional housing concerns.

• Adding 64 acres of new green space to the city and advancing a river cleanup of the Seine.

• Investing in rental equipment and recycling resources for the community.

From an energy standpoint, the Paris Summer Olympics ran on 100% renewable energy produced in France, reducing dependence on fossil fuels. The aquatics center incorporated a 5,000 m² solar panel roof, while the 5,000 stadium seats were all made from recycled plastic bottle caps. A floating solar farm on the Seine to help power the Olympic village.

Challenges

Despite the amazing innovations, there were still challenges that came along with the scale of the event.

• International spectator travel accounted for the majority of emissions, and as a result, the Summer Olympics still generated an estimated 1.6–2.1 million tons of CO₂, which is equivalent to more than 163 million gallons of gasoline.

• Social sustainability has also proved complex. The Games initially promoted the Olympic Village as a solution for regional housing concerns. However, only about 20% of the village has been set aside for social housing at this time. Local advocates and Saint-Denis residents have argued that this falls short of public expectations and the scale of the area's housing needs. 

Milano Cortina 2026

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy are being positioned as the most sustainable Olympic Games to date. Approximately 85-90% of competition venues already exist or are temporary, many dating back to the Games in 1956. The newly constructed buildings are designed for long-term use as student housing, training centers, and community facilities.

The focus of this year’s Olympics include: 

• Renewable electricity powering most of the competition venues.

• Smart stadium systems that monitor and adjust heating, cooling, and energy use in real time—reducing energy waste by up to 40%.

• Food-waste programs that redistribute surplus food to local charities and non-profit organizations.

• Improving and supporting local rail, hydrogen, biofuel, and electric mobility systems to lower regional transportation emissions. 

• Reusing 20,000+ pieces of equipment from the previous event in Paris.

• Reducing disposable materials and increasing recycling.

To ensure fair and safe competition, Italy will deploy over three million cubic yards of artificial snow through more efficient, upgraded production systems.

Environmental Trade-Offs

Even with these efforts, the environmental costs are notable. 

• Construction of the new bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track required clearing several hundred trees to provide space, triggering a wave of recent criticisms.

• The Cortina region has warmed approximately 3.6°C (6.4°F) since 1956, making natural snow increasingly unpredictable. Approximately 90% of the Italian ski slopes now rely on artificial snow to remain operational which consumes as much water as a city with a population of one million people.

• Some of their key partners, including Italian oil giant Eni, have been accused of greenwashing, raising questions about whether corporate partnerships undermine the Games’ climate commitments. 

Finally, the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic games are expecting to attract an estimated 16% of global travelers, according to GSIQ, and an online viewership of two billion people over the course of the event. 
These contradictions expose the dilemma of these large events: can an event built on global travel, massive infrastructure, and commercial sponsorship ever truly be “green”?

How Can You Help Make a Difference in Your Own Life?

The scale of the Olympic Games can be overwhelming, but the clean energy strategies behind them are like solutions becoming increasingly accessible in our everyday life.

Community solar is one example. It allows households, renters, businesses, and communities to access renewable energy without installing any solar panels on their property or rooftops. Just as the Olympic games rely on diversified renewable sources, community solar projects make clean energy available for households and businesses like you, helping cities and regions reduce emissions year-round.

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are one of their strongest attempts to make sports sustainable, but there is considerable work to be done as the IOC prepares for future games in Los Angeles, France, Australia, and Salt Lake City. 

Sustainability shouldn't live only on the Olympic stage. It becomes most powerful when it's woven into our daily lives. You don't have to just watch sustainability in action but can be part of the movement!