BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (April 22, 2021) – The World Games 2022 (TWG2022), an international multi-sport event that will take place in Birmingham from July 7-17, 2022 and feature an anticipated 3,600 athletes participating in more than 30 different sports, today announced its sustainability program. The program has been designed to ensure The Games have a lasting positive environmental impact on the host city of Birmingham, Ala.
The World Games 2022 is proud to announce that Vulcan Materials Company is joining The World Games 2022 as the official Sustainability Sponsor. Vulcan joins more than 40 other companies in support of The World Games 2022.
“Vulcan is pleased to be the Sustainability Sponsor of The World Games 2022,” said Vulcan Materials Company’s Senior Vice President and General Council, Denson Franklin III. “In addition to helping support bringing the world to Birmingham, Alabama in 2022, we are furthering our longstanding commitment to sustainability in our operating areas across the country. We continue to live The Vulcan Way: doing the right thing, the right way at the right time.”
The International World Games Association is extending this commitment to sustainability and will work alongside the Birmingham Organizing Committee to ensure a positive global environmental impact.
“Sustainability has always been one of the core values of The World Games and, for example, we have never required the host cities to build new venues for The Games,” said IWGA CEO Joachim Gassow. “To further strengthen our commitment, the IWGA joined in 2019 the Sport for Climate Action Framework to support the goals of the Paris Agreement. Now more than ever it is time to act for the environment, and of course we at The World Games want to be doing our share. We always encourage our local organisers to work for sustainability, and we are happy to see the initiatives of the Birmingham Organising Committee.”
Initiatives announced by the Birmingham Organizing Committee include:
- Tree planting to beautify the city, cool Birmingham streets and positively impact air quality.
- Installation of Solar Energy Stations around The Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The Solar Energy Stations will be created by local solar developer EnPower Solutions.
- Repurposing of signage as either garden compost or in the creation of totes or art pieces
- Food rescue which will allow partner Grace Klein to provide more food to Birmingham’s hungry and prevent food waste.
- Creation of Birmingham’s first zero-waste venue.
The World Games 2022 is partnering with Trees Birmingham, an initiative with plans to plant trees across the city.
Trees Birmingham aims to offer education about the public health and environmental benefits of urban trees and to offer support/expertise across Birmingham metro organizations and municipalities for tree planting, maintenance, and conservation.
Signage for The World Games 2022 is already being seen throughout the Birmingham area, and the Birmingham Organizing Committee has taken steps to determine what signage material can be recycled. Signage developed from non-recyclable plastics will be repurposed into memorabilia, such as notebooks, tote bags and art pieces which will be made available for purchase or donated to local school systems.
As with any event of this size, there will likely be uneaten, untouched food from some of The Games facilities. The World Games 2022 is working with food service providers and Grace Klein Community, a local non-profit who in 2020 rescued food valued at $2,092,916, to rescue good food and put it into the hands of Birmingham’s hungry.
Another key component is to ensure the responsible disposable of waste. The World Games 2022 has joined forces with Field Culture Compost, a local startup that won last year’s Alabama launchpad and is now part of the Velocity Accelerator at Innovation Depot, to provide a place to take compostable materials from The Games, providing the first ever no-waste venue event in Alabama history.
Multiple Solar Energy Stations will be installed in the area around The Opening and Closing Ceremonies, representing a lasting gift from The World Games 2022 to the city. The stations will include LED lights and will have the capability to charge cell phones and additional small electronic devices, as well as provide much needed shade.
“Each of these initiatives will be a legacy of The Games,” said Nick Sellers, CEO of The World Games 2022. “One of our goals from the beginning has been to leave Birmingham a better place than it was before The Games. All of these initiatives will help us accomplish that goal.”