CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 24,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Pursuing decarbonization
goals is a long, time-consuming journey. Many organizations
struggle to identify where to start and how to scale their
decarbonization efforts. New insights released from MIT Sloan
Management Review look to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games where
officials committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by
about half (compared to the average emitted in the preparation for
and operation of the London 2012
and Rio 2016 Games) for key strategies used to achieve this goal in
just seven years.
The Paris
2024 team is hitting large sustainability goals by engaging
stakeholders with facts and data, breaking silos, making allies,
and creating a network of partners.
In "How the 2024 Paris Olympics Fast-Tracked
Decarbonization," authors Atalay Atasu and Luk N. Van Wassenhove, cofounders and directors
of INSEAD's Sustainable Business Initiative, detail how the team
created and executed a strict carbon budget.
From reusable bottles to a three-layered energy grid, resalable
furniture, and bicycle transport, Paris 2024 made an ambitious commitment,
deployed in a learn-as-you-go type of decarbonization process. The
time-compressed decarbonization journey of Paris 2024 provides a good example of the
must-haves for success, including a top-level commitment, strong
execution levers (e.g., strict carbon budgets), new tools (e.g.,
material footprints), fearless and motivated leadership ready to
break a few walls (e.g., rethinking sourcing and performance), and
aligned partners.
"Large organizations can learn a lot from their actions," said
Van Wassenhove. "By looking outside
of internal resources and building an entire ecosystem, the
Paris 2024 team is hitting large
sustainability goals by engaging stakeholders with facts and data,
breaking silos, making allies, and creating a network of suppliers,
partners, local authorities, and clients to create a focused
decarbonization process."
Four lessons learned while sprinting toward decarbonization:
- Do the prep work necessary to set well-defined
goals: Draw up baseline budgets, collect data, determine a
detailed material footprint, and define sourcing.
- Break a few walls: Use local sourcing, substitute
lower-emission materials, change distribution models, and actively
manage and recycle waste.
- Find creative partners and prioritize ecosystem
thinking: Look beyond internal resources and develop
partnerships and ecosystem thinking for sourcing models.
- Turn lemons into lemonade and think local: Cut
travel and emissions with creative nearer locations, transport, and
hybrid or hydrogen-operated vehicles.
"As a result, what has been built is a lasting sustainability
ecosystem, not just for future games and other events but also for
business and society as a whole," concludes Atasu. "Engaging in
decarbonization requires stamina and the long-term view that
sustainability is larger than any one company. It is about a sense
of purpose that engages employees and broader stakeholders. And it
takes more than just inspiration to get there — and the team of
Paris 2024 is a prime working
example."
The MIT Sloan Management Review article "How the 2024
Paris Olympics Fast-Tracked Decarbonization" publishes at
8 a.m. ET on June 24, 2024.
About the Authors
Atalay Atasu is a professor of
technology and operations management at Insead, where he holds the
Bianca and James Pitt Endowed Chair in Environmental
Sustainability. Luk N. Van
Wassenhove is an emeritus professor of technology and
operations management at Insead. His major work is in
sustainability and humanitarian operations. They cofounded and
direct the INSEAD Sustainable Business Initiative.
About MIT Sloan Management Review
MIT Sloan
Management Review is an independent, research-based
magazine and digital platform for business leaders published at the
MIT Sloan School of Management. MIT
SMR explores how leadership and management are transforming in
a disruptive world. We help thoughtful leaders capture the exciting
opportunities — and face down the challenges — created as
technological, societal, and environmental forces reshape how
organizations operate, compete, and create value.
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Tess Woods
Tess@TessWoodsPR.com
617-942-0336
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