Sustainability has become a key tenet in public events and activities, and particularly global sporting events bringing together multiple nations.  
 
This year, Italy played host to the XXV Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which took place from February 6 to 22 and from March 6 to 15 respectively. 

The organization and promotion of the 2026 Winter Games, including the related cultural events, was awarded to Cortina d’Ampezzo-based organizing body Fondazione Cortina.  

The Fondazione was given a mission to deliver the Games with a strong focus on sustainability from an economic, environmental, and social perspective, and also to create a cultural legacy comprising best practices, as well as a sustainable infrastructural legacy for future generations. 

Organisation of the event took inspiration from the 2020 International Olympic Committee (IOC) Agenda, which was updated by the IOC Agenda 2020+5 document, and the IOC New Norms, which represented a new vision for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.  

In practical terms, the Fondazione adopted as operational references the international standards ISO 20121 “Event Sustainability Management Systems” for the development and maintenance of the event sustainability management system. 
In addition, it took ISO 14064-1 as its reference for the development and maintenance of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory over the period 2022–2026.  
This covered both activities under the direct control and outside the direct control of the Games, such as the construction sites and activities related to spectators’ transport and accommodation. 
Both ISO 20121 and ISO 14064-1 were applied across all phases of the event: design, venue installation, event organization and management, as well as the decommissioning and restoration of temporarily occupied sites. 

In this context, RINA performed independent third-party audits and verification/certification tasks to assess the correct application of ISO 20121 and ISO 14064-1 standards throughout all phases of the event, for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 
 
The adoption of the event sustainability management system in accordance with ISO 20121 enabled the Fondazione to: 

• demonstrate a responsible approach towards the environment and the community
• manage environmental, social, and economic risks and opportunities
• strengthen the organization’s position within the community.

Meanwhile, the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with ISO 14064-1 enabled the Fondazione to: 

• continuously monitor GHG emissions associated with current and future activities
• identify potential improvement strategies by determining the most critical elements
• enhance the organization’s commitment to environmental issues
• ensure a more transparent relationship with clients and, more broadly, all stakeholders.

The successful event will stand as a useful blueprint for the next Games due in 2030, as well as other future sporting events where economic, environmental and social sustainability are set to become increasingly important.