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Games' environmental rating falls
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Environmental lobby Greenpeace has downgraded the "Green Games" rating for Sydney 2000 organizers to six out of 10. Sydney organizers had campaigned heavily on Australia's clean environment image before the winning bid was announced in 1993, but had failed to meet key promises, Greenpeace Olympics campaigner Blair Palese said. "It's a bronze medal performance," Palese said. "While these games will be green, they have only just crossed the line." Announcing the result Tuesday of the third and final Olympic environment report card, Palese said Sydney organizers had slipped from a seven out of 10, or a B grade, in last September's ratings to a C grade one month out from the Sept. 15 opening ceremony. "The past year has seen a number of appalling failures," she said. "Solutions to environmental problems do exist -- the Sydney Olympics could have been a world class showcase for these solutions, instead they just managed to scrape in under the title, Green Games." Greenpeace, which worked with bidders before Sydney won the right to host the games, spent the past eight months studying all key promises in the bid document, finding a number of serious breaches including: -Failure by the New South Wales state government, underwriters of the Sept. 15-Oct. 1 Olympics, to clean-up toxic waste from Homebush Bay and the Rhodes Peninsula, adjoining the hub of venues at Olympic Park. -Failure to produce a plan to clean-up or manage toxic waste near the site after the Games. -Use of ozone depleting and greenhouse polluting gases in air conditioning and refrigeration at all venues. -Failure by official vehicle supplier, General Motors Holden, to provide alternative fuel cars in the 3,000 vehicle fleet for International Olympic Committee members and officials. -A lack of transparency by organizers and failure to keep accurate environmental records. Palese said Olympics Minister Michael Knight had never attended a review meeting with the environmental watchdog, adding that future bid cities should appoint a high-ranking official to deal specifically with environmental concerns. Michael Bland, the Sydney 200 environmental communications chief, said Greenpeace was the "harshest critic in town" and the fact that organizers scored six out of 10 meant, "we are doing the majority of things right." He said the toxic clean-up of Homebush Bay was a whole-of-government issue and wasn't completely Olympics-related. Despite the criticism, Palese said Sydney organizers should be congratulated for pioneering the "Green Games" concept. "Sydney has set a benchmark for future bidding cities ... a legacy that will be hard to beat," she said. "I don't think any potential bid city will ever go to the IOC before it has thoroughly considered environmental issues." The report card highlight key environmental successes including: -Wide-ranging use of renewable energy, including solar power and water recycling, at Olympic venues and the athlete's village. -Establishment of environmental guidelines as a firm set of progressive goals. -New clean-up technology for dioxin waste at the Olympic site. -The first car-free modern Olympics for spectators, with emphasis on public transport. Bland said Sydney organizers had earned Australia's leading environment award for its effort to save an endangered species of frogs on the Olympic Park site. He said the Sydney games aimed to compost or recycle 80 percent of waste, while most plates, cutlery and bin liners used at venues would be biodegradable.
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