The 110th edition of the Tour de France starts this Saturday July 1st. What is the ecological impact of this unmissable event for French and international sport? Answer in the column “A planet, solutions”, produced by NOWU in partnership with franceinfo.
Although a carbon-free mode of transport, the bicycle, is at the heart of the competition, the Tour de France obviously generates pollution at the same level as other international sporting events.
The 2021 edition thus emitted 216,000 tonnes of CO2. A figure down 40% compared to 2013, to be compared with the results of other competitions, such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup (3.6 million tons of CO2 according to the organizers, or even more according to NGOs) or the Summer Olympic Games (3.5 million tons of CO2 on average over the last editions).
94% of the carbon footprint comes from the public
The Tour attracts between 10 and 12 million spectators every year. About half of them travel by car to the place of the event, which generates additional indirect pollution: the public thus represents 94% of the overall carbon footprint of the Tour de France according to the newspaper La Croix.
Another point to keep in mind: waste. The famous advertising caravan distributes 18 million goodies every year on its way. So many expensive objects to manufacture in terms of natural resources, and whose lifespan remains quite short.
Difficult to give precise figures, but, according to France Bleu, 3 tons of waste would be collected in each of the 40 stage cities of the competition. Only half of this waste is then recycled.
The first “zero goodies” caravan of the Tour de France
Amaury Sport Organisation, which organizes the race, has implemented several measures in recent years to reduce its carbon footprint.
1/3 of the organization fleet was made up of electric or hybrid vehicles during the 2022 edition. New this year: 100% of the trucks linked to the organization of the race should run at biofuel.
ASO also encourages the public to travel other than by car, by offering bicycle parking on each stage, by organizing carpooling or by reducing the price of TER tickets to reach the stage towns.
As for the famous goodies, ASO plans to reduce their figure from 18 million to 10 million for the 2023 edition. Sponsors must also comply with several rules, such as offering more useful and more durable gadgets, or eliminating plastic packaging to these promotional items.
Another interesting avenue tested by the Béarn region this year: why not replace these goodies with intangible gifts? The region thus wants to become the first “zero goodies” caravan by winning local trips throughout the Tour.
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