10 Steps to the Worlds Greenest Marathon (again) in 2016

2016 Banff Marathon Environmental Plan

The 2015 Banff Marathon was the #worldsgreenestmarathon and is on track to do so again in 2016.  The 2015 accomplishments can be found here.

The 2016 Marathon is taking the most successful aspects of the 2015 event and using this as a foundation to improve performance. The “mantra” for 2016 is “100% waste diversion.

The strategies employed for race weekend are:

Green Energy

We will utilize grid energy that is certified as from renewable sources. Our partner with this is Bow Valley Power.

 

GHG offsets (Global Greenhouse Gasses) 

We will calculate the total greenhouse gas generation for the event. This includes Race operations, home and remote office operations, all travel from point of origin including all competitors.   Our partner is Walker Industries and Brightspot.

 

Towards Zero Waste

In 2015, we piloted the BVWC Toward Zero Waste certification Program and achieved a “gold” standard. In 2016, we are targeting 100% waste diversion from our activities.

 

Purchasing and Procurement

The Banff Marathon will utilize the purchasing and procurement-guiding document within the internal and external operations and partners.

 

Education and Engagement 

Almost all the sponsors and many of the funding partners view education and knowledge transfer as a critical element of their participation. The participants of the race, their friends and families, the various staff and volunteers for the race, the media, and Albertan’s will all be targeted with messages encouraging their engagement to accomplish the “Worlds Greenest Marathon” and within this the specific target of 100% waste diversion.

 

Environmental and Wildlife Mitigation

All special events held in the Banff Park must utilize a Parks Canada Wildlife Resource Management Officer along with a subcontracted Environmental Monitor to monitor and follow the strategies outlined in the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) that is mandatory for all public events in the national park.

 

Roam Transit 

In 2015, we piloted a perimeter parking plan and use the Roam Transit bus program. We targeted 100 riders and surpassed this goal. Participants simply have to show their race bib and were offered free Roam Transit for the race weekend. In 2016, we are again running this program with a target of 250 utilizations. Exhibitors will get a Roam Transit pass for the weekend.

 

Virtual Event Bag

Once again we will employ the Virtual Event Bag. This software eliminates the need for a physical Swag Bag for each participant and the resulting waste.

 

Bio Digestible Water Cups

On a hot day, the Marathon can utilize up to 20,000 disposable cups. Bio-digestible cups are better than recyclable, compostable or worst cases “coated” that are simply garbage. Our cups would completely melt if placed in a dishwasher. They are easy to compost and this is what we do.

 

Education

A substantial education program will be conducted again. While the various elements required to achieve the World Greenest status is commendable we found the guests were overwhelmed with the “shopping list” of initiatives. For 2016, we will focus our message on our goal of 100% waste diversion. 

 

Please contact s.obrien@banffmarathon.com for further information on any of these initiatives.