Nowadays we hear more and more about climate change, CO2 emissions, environmental protection and sustainability. We wouldn’t even think that meetings, sport events, festivals, conferences all have significant negative effects on the environment. These effects can be minimized and prevented with professional hard working, diligence and care of the organizers.
In 2011 and 2012 the Hungarian National Gliding Championships had been organized as green events. In response to the major challenges of the 21st century and following the trends of our time the two week contests became green events, with the aim of setting example to the competitors, teams and all visitors, and promoting sustainable consumption and lifestyles.
Why should a gliding competition be green event?
First of all, because gliding is one of the sports, that brings people very close to nature. Who can tell besides glider pilots, that they had flown hundreds of kilometers, high speed in full harmony with nature, along with storks and eagles only using the energy of the Sun?
The aim of the two week gliding contest is to achieve the highest average speeds on the largest distances only using the energy of the Sun. This already positions our sport as a “renewable energy based sport”.
From an environmental point of view at a gliding contest not the racing itself has significant negative effects, but the services: moving of the gliders, the needs of the visitors and teams, and the camping activities. Taking care of our environment, conscious behavior is mainly just a matter of attitude change.
Where did the idea come from?
Working as an environmental management consultant and being committed to sustainability I was always seeking to bring something “green” into my free time as well. As a member of the Hungarian National Gliding Team, I competed at several World Gliding Championships and was part of the organizing team at Hungarian contests as well. As in 2011 and 2012 my home club, Őcsény Flying Club got the opportunity to host the Hungarian Nationals I decided to green these events. With the help and support of the club each year the results were better. The people participating the Gliding Green events in the air, on the ground…
Nationals according to our experience were open minded and willing to take actions with us, the state of their environment is important to them, they are sensitive to the topics of sustainability due to the love of gliding and the nature that makes it possible for them to fly. With the gained experience I think that we should go on giving higher publicity to these organizational methods. Pilots, especially glider pilots are a great target group for being ambassadors of sustainable living.
Last but not least, the attention of the media is quite low towards gliding, but with combining it with the “trendy” sustainability topic, we had better PR results.
What made the contests green?
Usually when organizing a green event the following areas should be considered as the sources of negative environmental effects: waste management, water use, energy consumption, transport and procurement. So these were in the focus of greening by the two nationals as well. However it should be highlighted, that green events have awareness raising effects, when the organizers have the opportunity to give information and show solutions to the participants on sustainable lifestyles.
Transport: car sharing service to and from Őcsény, 2 electric cars were provided by a sponsor. One of them was a solar charged prototype and were used for taking the gliders to the grid and from the runway.
Water consumption: due to technical burdens the water consumption was up to the users of the camping facilities. All the showers and taps were equipped with 4 minute sand glasses and funny awareness raising infos. They were one of the most popular tools used.
Waste management: in cooperation with the local waste company, the containers for selective waste collection were placed around the camping, with information boards.
Green procurement: the organizers purchased all the products needed taking into account the environmental aspects, and provided solely ecolabelled goods for use of the participants at the facilities (soap, toilet paper, paper towels) and for the cleaning team as well.
Awareness raising: at the beginning of the contest there was a “green briefing” and a “green bulletin” was issued as well to inform every participants about the things the organizers done (green procurement, information etc. ), and about what they are asked to do (water saving, selective waste collection). After the competitions there was a questionnaire about the quality of the event and about the experiences, which resulted in surprisingly positive feedbacks and constructive suggestions on how to do even better “green nationals”. Green events in the air, on the ground…
What else can be done?
The 2011 and 2012 contests were given no budget at all in terms of greening, they were experimental and sponsored solutions. There is a lot more to be done with smaller and larger investments and putting even more energy into preparations. For example local producers’ products, green office supplies, technical solutions (shower heads, modernizing water heating system, motion sensor lighting systems) and so on. We are constantly looking for grants and financial tools for development of the club infrastructure, and for more feasible green solutions.
In 2012 ISO (International Standard Organization) created a standard on sustainable events (ISO20121) and we are planning to update our activities and guidance materials according to this standard for the upcoming pre European Gliding Championships in 2014 and for the EGC 2015 held in Őcsény. Further on it would be nice to have a standard for FAI competitions, because this can also add some publicity and recognition to our beautiful sport.
The organizers of the events were:
Őcsény Flying Club
SURVIVE ENVIRO Environmental Management Consulting Ltd.
Contact about the Green Gliding Contest Standard
Mrs Orsolya Diófási-Kovács
o.diofasi@zoldbeszerzes.hu