Casual Talk on Sustainability:
Sustainable Olympics

Even the “Tokyo Olympic 2020” is committed to “sustainability”

The “Tokyo Olympic 2020” in Japan has readied its designs and operations, firmly sticking to the principle of minimal environmental impact. Every design aspect emphasizes being “eco-friendly.”

From the logo, mascot, torch, medal podiums, medals, athlete uniforms, to the athletes’ village and various equipment.

Many aspects showcase the New Normal lifestyle. For instance, the decision for this Olympics’ mascot was made by a committee of “children,” based on the idea that these children will be the adults using natural resources in the future.

The medal podiums were also made from hundreds of thousands of recycled laundry detergent bottles.

The “torch” was crafted from recycled aluminium, with the top part (the flame) designed as a five-petaled cherry blossom.

The torchbearers’ uniforms were made from recycled plastic bottles.

The gold, silver, and bronze medals were made from over 6 million old mobile phones and computers collected for melting and recycling. Even the medal ribbons came from recycled fibers.

The most astonishing part is the “Athletes’ Village,” spanning approximately 5,300 square meters, built using over 4,000 wooden beams collected from 63 cities across Japan. Each beam was stamped with its city of origin to be correctly returned after the Olympics for local reuse.

All the beds in the athletes’ village were made from recycled lightweight hardboard that can be easily dismantled and reassembled.

This concept even extended to the “national kimonos” worn by dozens of beauty queens, with each kimono fabric featuring drawings of icons and symbols representing the countries participating in the sports, making the kimonos even more elegant.