The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) has launched a new sustainability programme to support the construction of the Athletes Village for the sporting spectacle.
The Japanese capital will host the summer Games in 2020 and has committed to making the Olympics as environmentally friendly as possible. Now, as part of this approach, Tokyo 2020 has revealed details of the new ‘BATON’ scheme.
Standing for ‘Building Athletes’ village with Timber Of the Nation’, BATON will focus on building work for the Village Plaza, with a commitment to use timber from the 62 municipalities that have volunteered to take part in the initiative.
Plans for the village Plaza, which will house athletes during the Games, include a media centre, cafes, florists and general shops, as well as various other facilities for athletes, visiting accredited Olympic and Paralympic families, members of the media, and guests of the athletes.
In a statement Tokyo 2020 said: “’Sustainability’ and ‘engaging all of Japan’ are the key driving forces behind this project, which will see communities across Japan lending locally produced timber for use in the construction of the Village Plaza.
“After the Games, the Plaza will be dismantled and the timber returned to the municipalities for them to re-use.”
Image: Andrew Mager
