News21 Apr 2016


Portland goes green at every turn

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Oregon Convention Center, venue of the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 (© AFP / Getty Images)

Already a global leader in producing sustainable multi-day sporting events, TrackTown USA turned the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 into a showcase for ‘green’ events that leave a lasting impact on participants and the community.

The Eugene-based non-profit company delivered on a variety of sustainable initiatives to make the championships not just a four-day meeting, but a community celebration. For the fifth consecutive year, TrackTown USA will participate in the Council for Responsible Sport’s process of certification for social and environmental responsibility at sporting events.

The World Indoor Championships were held at the Oregon Convention Center (OCC), the first of only two convention centres in the USA to be certified as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Building. LEED uses rating systems for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of green buildings to help owners be environmentally responsible and use resources efficiently.

During the World Indoor Championships, TrackTown USA was able to take advantage of the OCC’s existing waste recycling and composting programme by implementing ‘sustainability stations’ staffed with Green Team volunteers for waste sorting and spectator engagement of multiple sustainability initiatives. It also contributed to a successful waste diversion effort via the use of hand dryers over paper towels in rest rooms, providing printed results only upon request in the main media centre, repurposing branded banners, providing reusable water bottles for volunteers and media, asking fans to arrive via public transit or bicycle, and instituting a food drive at the opening ceremonies.

One of the most gratifying outcomes of the championships was the overall success of the many youth initiatives. TrackTown USA estimates that more than 10,000 youngsters participated in at least one of the following programmes: House of Track, Portland Indoor Track Classic, Middle School 60m Dash, Pole Vault Festival, 4x400m relays during the World Indoors, and a professional development programme featuring venue tours for underprivileged students and an elite athlete speaker series at public schools.

In partnership with the City of Portland, thousands of volunteers, community partners, local vendors and staff, TrackTown USA is proud to have made the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 ‘more than a meet’.

As one young participant said: “The only way this could be better is if doughnuts were raining from the ceiling.”

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