Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games
The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games are embracing the opportunity to create legacy.
Over the last four years we have enjoyed sharing sustainability journey of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018). The organizing committee of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) has displayed ongoing commitment, collaboration and innovation with regard to sustainability. It is something every event professional can learn from. Following the global frameworks of ISO 20121, the Global Reporting Event Organizers Sector Supplement, and in recent years the UN Sustainable Development goals, GC2018 sets an example which can be replicated. It is our intention that sharing the sustainability journey of GC2018 will inspire the sustainable events industry, and sustainable events will become a global norm.
Find out more about the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games sustainability strategy and learn how the Embracing 2018 team have taken steps to create materials that will create legacy from this leadership.
The Gold Coast events community created a roadmap to communicate their shared commitment to being a sustainable event destination.This unique collaboration demonstrates real legacy because after the influence of the mega sport event which is the Commonwealth Games has left, the Gold Coast the community will continue to further their journey as a sustainable event destination.
Positive Impact is on location at the games, gathering examples of best sustainability practices and working to tell the story of the power of events.
In our Humans of the Games section we take a look at the fantastic people who engage with this event, and are making it possible.
The coaches and support staff for the athletes
“I have learnt how hospitable the Australians are, we have had a wonderful welcome”
-Team Nigeria
Mayor of Gold Coast
'I'm proud of our Gold Coasters who have come together to create these games.'
-Tom Tate Mayor of Gold Coast
Game Shapers
Beverly and Anika are thrilled to be promoting the place that they love
and have lived in all their lives. They love being game shapers and
being able to tell the world how great the Gold Coast is.
-Beverly and Anika
Matt from Pride House
Matt is enjoying learning about LGBTI human rights across the Commonwealth, and thinks it is important to raise awareness of every human's rights.
Georgina and Emily from Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
They are enjoying running a merchandise stall near the games, where proceeds are going to the sanctuary to support koalas, kangaroos, and other Australian animals.
Greg and Barbara
They are enjoying meeting everyone, the enthusiastic vibes, and gather coffee beans to compost as they refresh the crowds at Currumbin Beach Front.
There are some brilliant products being sold, which reflect the values of the games. These can be used as a storytelling opportunity, emphasizing tradition and a link to the land and its people.
Did you know?
Borobi is the cute and cuddly mascot of the games. While a koala can be seen as an emblem of Australia, Borobi is unique to the Gold Coast. Its colours represent the natural landscape, with blue fur symbolising the beautiful sea, and yellow reminding us of the golden sandy beaches there. Follow Borobi's twitter for fun updates about the games and everything happening there. @borobi2018
We applaud the games for implementing some forward-looking sustainable initiatives. By encouraging visitors to reduce their impact and supplying re-usable and biodegradable bags made from corn starch, they are promoting a more sustainable approach to event-planning. Real plants used as decoration are great alternatives to plastic ones, again reducing waste.
These can be seen in alignment with the GRI EO indicators. The Global Reporting Initiative is an international independent standards organization that helps businesses, governments, and other organizations understand and communicate their impact on issues such as climate change and humans rights. EO relates to the event organizers sphere. These products and initiatives relate more specifically to EO11, which measures the impact of sustainability initiatives designed to raise awareness, share knowledge, and impact behaviour change.
In 2014, Positive Impact supported the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games with capturing films and examples of reporting using the Global Reporting Initiative Framework with the aim of sharing this learning to inspire the creation of a sustainable event industry.
Heather Donald, Sustainability Co-ordinator for Glasgow 2014, also put together a sustainability report based on the Games' progress in relation to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Event Organizers Sector Supplement.