The City of Cape Town Launches the Green Goal Legacy Report:
A Report on the Host City’s Award-Winning Environmental Programme of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™

2011/07/12

The Mayor of the City of Cape Town in South Africa, and the Premier of the Western Cape Province yesterday (11 July 2011) launched the 2010 FIFA World Cup™: Green Goal Legacy Report.

Cape Town, a 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Host City, succeeded in reducing the environmental impact of the international event through the implementation of the Green Goal programme.

Under Green Goal, 42 sustainability projects were actioned over a period of four years tackling various environmental themes including carbon mitigation, energy-efficiency, water conservation, biodiversity, communication and awareness, green building and responsible tourism.

At the event, held in the City of Cape Town’s Council Chambers, Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Alderman Patricia De Lille, said 17 of these projects were legacy projects which meant that their contribution to residents and visitors would be felt long after the completion of the event.

Mayor de Lille said: “Cape Town is playing a leading role in embracing several Green Goal projects, especially Climate Change and Biodiversity. The significant investment in clean and green technologies to minimise the carbon footprint of our 2010 stadiums and other operational areas of the World Cup, demonstrates Cape Town’s strong commitment to climate change issues.”

Mayor de Lille said the city’s Green Point Park, a biodiversity showcase garden constructed alongside the Cape Town Stadium, had succeeded in drawing residents’ and visitors’ attention to the floral diversity in the city. 

“Major events can bring significant economic, social and environmental benefits if planned in responsible and innovative ways, such as with the Green Goal Campaign. These events strengthen our economy, leading to the creation of jobs and an improvement in the delivery of essential services,” she said.

Western Cape Provincial Premier, Helen Zille, spoke about the environmental benefits of the location of the Cape Town Stadium, which had brought some criticism when the site was announced.

 
 “The location of the Cape Town Stadium allowed for the city to introduce the concept of integrated transport - walking, cycling and public transport – in a way that allowed a change in Cape Town resident’s perceptions of public transport forever... a legacy that will live on,” said Premier Zille.

The Premier stressed the importance of the Legacy Report in order to “retain the lessons learnt so they can be passed from city to city and generation to generation”.

According to the Green Goal Legacy Report the Cape Town Stadium achieved the following:

• An estimated 15% saving in electricity

• An estimated 27% reduction in water use

• 58% of waste was diverted away from landfill to recycling – National Government’s waste to landfill reduction target was 20%

• 40% of fans used public transport to attend matches, while 13% walked – this is higher than the national target of 50% for the use of public or non-motorised transport to the stadiums

• Carbon Mitigation projects compensated for 95% of the event carbon footprint

The 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Green Goal contributors included: the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), Sustainable Energy Africa (SEA) and Sappi Refibre.