the podium of the most polluting sponsors

It’s an unflattering podium. Four days before the Olympics, a British study awards medals to the most polluting sponsors. A way of denouncing greenwashing.

According to a British study published in July on the biggest sponsors of the Olympic Games, the gold medal for greenhouse gas emissions goes by a long way to Toyota, ahead of Procter & Gamble and the electronics manufacturer Samsung. The Bridgestone brand occupies 4th place and Coca-Cola 6th, with CO2 emissions almost 10 times lower than Toyota. This podium was established by a British think tank that fights against disinformation on the ecological transition.

This ranking is not really marked by ecological prowess, regret the authors of this study. And this contrasts with the very green or progressive marketing messages broadcast by these sponsors. For Toyota, the emphasis is mainly on electric vehicles, for Samsung, it is about innovation and open-mindedness, and Procter & Gamble puts forward the idea of ​​a cleaner world. The Olympic committee has promised sustainable and responsible games, but for the authors of this study, the choice of sponsors has clearly escaped the greening approach of these 2024 Olympic Games.

To achieve this ranking, the study compares the CO2 emissions officially self-declared by these sponsors, and takes into account rank 1, 2, and 3 emissions. So both the carbon emitted in the production activity, and that emitted downstream by the consumer who uses the service sold. This helps to understand why Toyota, which sells both electric and thermal vehicles, is far ahead of the others.

For the future, the authors call on the International Olympic Committee to abandon partnerships with sponsors that are so polluting and contradict the messages of human performance conveyed by the Olympic Games. As happened when sporting events decided to stop funding from the tobacco industry.

However, not everything is negative, far from it. The Olympic organizing committee had promised to halve CO2 emissions compared to previous Olympics: progress has still been made. Efforts have therefore been made in organizing transport, constructing buildings and preparing meals. For the general public and volunteers, the dishes offered should be 80% prepared with foods of French origin, a third of which are organic and 50% vegetarian. An effort has also been made to reduce the use of plastic in the Olympic village, with porcelain plates to serve the athletes and the provision of water bottles and water fountains.