Tokyo: The 2020 Olympic Games will use metals collected from discarded or obsolete electronic devices in the production of the medals that will be awarded to athletes at the Games in a measure taken towards sustainable Olympic & Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Board of Directors agreed on this at an executive board meeting earlier today. The decision is seen as a direct compliance to recommendation 4 of Olympic Agenda 2020 that states sustainability be integrated into all aspects of the planning and execution of the Games.
The press release sent with the information says that the Partner companies in the venture will be selected by the spring of 2017, following which a process for sourcing the metals will be established and more details will be announced later.
Speaking about the move, the International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said, “These medals will be a permanent reminder to the Olympic champions of 2020 of their achievements. It’s good to see that they will also send a strong message of sustainability around the world in line with Olympic Agenda 2020.”
Speaking about their commitment towards the sustainability clause of Olympic Agenda 2020, Tokyo 2020 spokesperson Hikariko Ono said, “We believe this initiative will contribute to a sustainable Tokyo 2020 Games, and we are looking forward to the active engagement of partner organisations and the general public to help make it a success.”