Sustainable cardboard beds for a sustainable 2020 Olympic Games

Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (also known as Tokyo 2020) has shared pictures of the room furnishing that will be used in the athletes’ village plaza this summer. The village plaza consists of 21 lodgings, a total of 3850 houses. Each house will be separated to several rooms.

Approximately 18 thousand beds will be prepared for the Olympics and 8 thousand for the Paralympics. These beds are made of cardboard, which is reusable and environmentally friendly. It is the first time in the history of Olympics to make beds from renewable parts. According to the organizers, the bed frames are actually stronger than those made of wood.

The cardboard beds are one example of a sustainable Olympic Games that Tokyo 2020 tries to achieve. The Committee had launched initiatives in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in several aspects. Following are the key activities and achievements to date: The Tokyo 2020 Medal Project; Podium Project; A Carbon Offset Programme; Reuse and recycling of procured items; Energy-saving measures and renewable energy technology installed to build permanent venues; cooperating with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the UN to discuss supply chain management and human rights due diligence with corporate sponsors; and Operation BATON.

Public engagement for Sustainable 2020 Olympic Games

The Tokyo 2020 Medal Project collected more than 5 million used mobile phones and over 47,488 tons of discarded electronic devices to produce Olympic and Paralympic medals. Recycling discarded devices to manufacture gold, silver and bronze medals had been implemented in the past Olympics, however, this project is noteworthy because it generated public engagement. Many citizens across the country brought unused devices and phones to collection boxes to take part in the sustainable way of manufacturing Olympic and Paralympic medals.

Operation BATON is also a unique measure implemented for the preparation of 2020 Olympics. BATON stands for “Building Athletes’ Village with Timber Of the Nation.” 63 local governments across Japan participate in this project, whereby the athlete’s village plaza of the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be constructed using timber loaned from locations throughout the country. The loaned timber will be returned for reuse by the local communities after the Games. Making benches for public use or using as part of public-school buildings are some examples of utilizing these wood supplies.

Preparation for and clearing up after the Games are both planned from a sustainable point of view for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The huge cost for building stadiums and demolishing it soon after the Games have been criticized in the past Olympic Games, therefore not only the manufacturing but dealing with supplies after the Games is a significant matter that needs to be discussed in advance. Once these sustainable projects in Tokyo show success, they could become role models for the future. And as for Japan, these sustainability efforts are sure to be applied and utilized in different areas and various sectors especially because the whole country got engaged in helping deliver a sustainable Tokyo 2020 Games.