Sustainability Accomplishments from the UCI Worlds Highlighted
The Council for Responsible Sport presented Mayor Dwight C. Jones, City officials, and partners with the Gold Level Certification today for their sustainability efforts for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships.
The Council for Responsible Sport event certification is based on an objective verification of the event’s actual performance in key areas of social and environmental responsibility. Gold certification is the second highest level of certification available. The City of Richmond and partners met or exceeded all of their sustainability goals for the event, passed an on-site validation process and submitted documentation to receive a total of 48 out of 61 available credits in the areas of planning, procurement, resource management, access and equity and community legacy.
“I commend Mayor Jones, the City of Richmond, the event management team and partners for their significant achievement. Hosting such a large event and doing so in a socially and environmentally responsible way required a huge amount of sustained effort,” said Keith Peters, Executive Director for the Council for Responsible Sport.
“The Gold Certification recognizes the tremendous effort our dedicated City employees and partners put forth to make the 2015 Road World Cycling Championships a sustainable event,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. “I especially want to acknowledge Alicia Zatcoff, the City of Richmond Sustainability Manager, and Tom Griffin, Executive Director of Virginia Green Travel Alliance for their leadership and commitment in this undertaking.”
Sustainability was a key factor in the success of the Worlds and in giving athletes and spectators an immensely positive experience. In making the 2015 Road World Championships a sustainable event, the city also moved its broader RVAgreen sustainability initiatives forward.
Initiatives include making the city more bike friendly with over 23 miles of new bike infrastructure and 450 new bike racks, this event also set a new standard for sustainable events and festivals in the city. These actions will enhance the quality of life for the entire community and continue to benefit residents well into the future.
During today’s press event, which was held at the corner of Broad and 5th streets, Mayor Jones and City officials also announced a project designed to memorialize Richmond, Virginia hosting the 2015 Worlds – the first time the event had been held in the United States in nearly 30 years, and only the second time the event had been held in the United States in its 88 year history.
“The event brought international attention to our City and the region,” noted Mayor Jones. “Right here at 5th and Broad is where the Finish line was created, and right here is where we will memorialize the City of Richmond hosting the event.”
The Mayor announced plans to stripe the pavement across Broad Street with the UCI rainbow stripe colors to mark the spot of the official Finish Line of the 2015 Road World Cycling Championships.
“This project will be a part of our downtown corridor improvement project that will take place over the spring and summer months and will be part of our restoration effort for this corridor, post-event,” said Jones.
About City of Richmond RVAgreen
RVAgreen is the City’s sustainability program. It includes the RVAgreen Sustainability Plan to further the City’s sustainability goals: improve the quality of life for residents, create a healthy environment and enhance economic opportunity in the city of Richmond. For more information about RVAgreen including a copy of the RVAgreen Progress Report called Moving Sustainability Forward visit www.richmondgov.com/sustainability
About the Council for Responsible Sport
The mission of the Council for Responsible Sport is to provide objective, independent verification of the socially and environmentally responsible work event organizers are doing, and to actively support event organizers who strive to make a difference in their communities. The Council for Responsible Sport is an Oregon-based 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. www.councilforresponsiblesport.org
2015 Road World Championships Sustainability Highlights
For more information about the sustainability effort for the 2015 Worlds including a copy of the Sustainability Report visit www.richmondgov.com/sustainability or visit http://www.richmondgov.com/PressSecretaryMayor/documents/CityOfRichmondUCI2015SustainabilityReport11102015.pdf
Achievements to Reduce Waste
- 76% of event waste diverted from landfill
- Comprehensive Waste Management Plan that includes compost and commingled recycling
- All food vendors and caterers required to use compostable serve ware
- New bulk purchase system developed to lower price of compostable serve ware for event
- All food vendors and caterers composting/diverting as much pre-consumer food scraps as possible
- Recycling of traditionally difficult materials including pallets, plastic bags and cooking grease
- Food recovery program to donate unused food from event to local charities
- City, VGTA and HandsOn Greater Richmond created the new RVA Green Team Volunteer Network to recruit and train sustainability volunteers for the UCI Worlds
- City, HandsOn Greater Richmond and Virginia Green Travel Alliance received a grant for six AmeriCorps NCCC volunteers to serve as green team leaders during event
- Volunteer training included pre-event e-mails, a video on compost and recycling during the event, a short pre-shift training session and on the scene training from a team leader
- RVA Green Team volunteers encourage, educate and involve attendees in separating items into proper bins
- Nine water refill stations located throughout the event area provided by the City of Richmond
- Reusable beer cups in beer gardens
- Public eco-stations: three bin stations with 96 gallon commingled recycling, 96 gallon compost, and 96 gallon trash (landfill) bin. Located throughout key event areas and marked w/color coded and coordinated system of flags, symbols and signage for high visibility.
- Vendor Eco-stations: three bin stations with 96 gallon commingled recycling, 96 gallon compost, and 96 gallon trash (landfill) bin. Located conveniently near caterers and food vendors. Also includes collection of: cardboard, plastic bags and cooking grease.
- Staging Areas placed in strategic locations where recycling, compost and trash from eco-stations as well as cardboard, pallets, plastic bags and cooking grease is placed temporarily until picked up and taken off-site
- Eco-station banners and signage created to educate attendees and encourage waste reduction efforts
- Developed detailed maps showing locations of eco-stations and staging areas and shared with caterers and vendors
- Conducted pre-event meetings and daily check-ins with caterers and food vendors
- Caterers monitored attendance numbers to ensure supply tailored accordingly to avoid waste
- Recycle packaging material from event
- Event app that provides event details and information to reduce the need for printing
- 100% online registration for athletes and volunteers
- Event communications and marketing conducted electronically to minimize printed material
- Encourage reduction of give-away items at event
- Rent, borrow, or reuse a majority of event equipment
- Navigate.richmond2015.com created to clearly convey day by day event information related to: traffic and commuting, transit, Amtrak and parking, pedestrian/cyclist guide
- “RVA Green the Scene” campaign and signage to encourage people to use public transport, walk or ride to the event
- Multiple temporary bike share stations to provide rental bikes for use during the event
- Bike valets available to encourage people to ride to the event
- Shuttle buses to and from event are available where people can park/ride from two convenient locations
- Event venues can be conveniently accessed by public transport
- Event partner GRTC offering a special $35 unlimited ride pass during entire event
- Event partner RideFinders providing carpooling and other alternative mode resources
- Amtrak to offer enhanced walk-up checked bike service on select trains and at select stations
- The event courses and schedules were developed to take into account morning and afternoon travel patterns and peak travel times
- Using local caterers and food vendors that are serving healthy food options
- Encouraging healthy activities by engaging the community in events like “Conquer the Cobbles” which gives the public a chance to ride the race course
- Car Max Kid Zone with interactive and educational activities on being healthy and bike safety
- Partnered with DRIVE SMART Virginia on a “Be Aware. Be Safe. Share the Road” campaign
- Promoting September is Virginia Bicyclist and Pedestrian Awareness Month with partner DRIVE SMART Virginia
- “UCI World Sustainability Champion” community focused campaign to engage attendees in sustainability activations during event and educate them on broader city sustainability initiatives
- Main event site is the Greater Richmond Convention Center (GRCC) which is a Virginia Green Certified facility
- Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to offset 100% carbon footprint of event operations
- A green event toolkit provided by the City of Richmond and VGTA with information and resources to help more events adopt sustainable practices
- RVA Green Team Volunteer Network continues to serve as a resource to help events and festivals in the community become more sustainable
- 200 eco-stations provided by the City of Richmond for free to help organizers in the community make their events more sustainable
- 10 water refill stations available from the City of Richmond to help organizers in the community make their events more sustainable
- Bulk purchase system to lower the price of compostable serve ware for event organizers, caterers and food vendors
- “RVA Green the Scene” campaign and signage to inform attendees about sustainability initiatives and encourage adoption at future events
- Green team volunteer video, eco-station banners, signage, and flags are available for use at future events
- A new category for the Virginia Green Program that enables food trucks and mobile food vendors to apply for certification