Tokyo 2020 obtains international sustainability certification ISO 20121
The Tokyo Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) today announced that it has obtained ISO 20121 certification, an international standard governing sustainable event management created by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).
Tokyo 2020 has been working towards the implementation of the ISO 20121 standard with the goal of ensuring more consistent sustainability efforts at all stages of the Games, from the preparation phase up until after the Games have ended. From May through August 2019, all relevant Tokyo 2020 activities were assessed by the British Standards Institution (BSI), an ISO certification body, resulting in the certification announced today. The certification covers all operations of Tokyo 2020.
Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto commented, “Sustainability has always been an important concept for Tokyo 2020, and this acquisition of ISO 20121 certification proves that sustainability is embedded in all of our management processes. This will help us achieve our goal of truly sustainable Games, and we hope it will provide greater opportunity for the implementation of ISO 20121 at other future large-scale events.”
Going forward, the ISO 20121 certification will provide Tokyo 2020 with a recognised framework to be respected as it continues to ensure the sustainability of the Tokyo 2020 Games.
ISO 20121 addresses the environmental, social and economic impact of events. It was pioneered by the Olympic Games London 2012, which were a catalyst for its development. Among previous Olympic Summer and Winter Games, London 2012, Rio 2016 and PyeongChang 2018 all obtained ISO 20121 certification. It has also recently been acquired by Beijing 2022.
In line with Olympic Agenda 2020, the Host City Contract – Operational Requirements has required every Organising Committee for the Olympic Games to obtain ISO 20121 certification, starting from the 2018 Games edition.