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The IOC’s climate action

In line with our mission to build a better world through sport, the IOC is taking concrete action to address the global climate crisis. We are working to reduce our own carbon footprint and the carbon footprint of the Games, while supporting the wider Olympic Movement in its efforts to lower emissions.

In October 2021, we committed to reducing our direct and indirect emissions by 30 per cent by 2024 and 50 per cent by 2030, in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. By the end of 2024, we had achieved our first goal, cutting our emissions by over 30 per cent.

In addition, we committed to compensating more than 100 per cent of our residual emissions through our Olympic Forest project, which, in addition to the environmental advantages, is also benefitting local populations both socially and economically.

Finally, we are using our influence and encouraging stakeholders and Olympic fans to join a global team and take action against climate change so that they too can become game-changers.

IOC Corporate carbon footprint

The IOC’s carbon footprint covers the emissions from our daily activities in Lausanne and Madrid and from our corporate events organised in Lausanne and abroad. This includes:

  • Operation of our buildings,
  • Business trips (by IOC staff, consultants, guests and IOC Members),
  • Local transport,
  • Employee commuting,
  • Procurement of various goods and services.

Our carbon footprint is largely dominated by travel, and varies considerably year-on-year depending on the locations of the host countries for the Olympic Games, the Youth Olympic Games and our corporate events. We have therefore decided to measure progress over four-year periods, as they provide a more representative basis to evaluate progress. Our reference period is 2016-2019, as 2016 is the first year for which sufficiently comprehensive and reliable data is available. Progress towards our 30 per cent reduction target was calculated between 2016-2019 and 2021-2024, while progress towards our 50 per cent target will be calculated between 2016-2019 and 2027-2030.

The data presented below represents our best estimate of our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, based on currently available data and in line with the GHG Protocol methodology.

The above data does not include carbon emissions from Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, which are managed and reported separately in Sustainability Post-Games Reports. The latest reports can be found via the links below:

For further information on the IOC’s carbon footprint, please see the IOC Sustainability Progress Report 2021-2024 and the GRI Supplement to the IOC’s Environmental and Social Responsibility Report.

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