The Sustainability of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Photo Credit: Sky Sports, 2025

As the world waits for the Paralympic Winter Games to begin later this month, we can begin to reflect on the promises and shortfalls of sustainability at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games.

Since the “Green Games” in Lillehammer in 1994, The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Winter Games organisers have made significant efforts to reduce environmental impacts and carbon emissions of Olympic events. The 2026 games are partly hosted in Cortina, a UNESCO heritage area . These sites require even greater attention to tourism and infrastructure pressures when planning events.

Italy hopes to lead the way with many innovative ambitions in infrastructure, energy and waste designed to protect its natural and human environment. However, while ‘sustainability’ featured more than 100 times in Italy’s bid for the games, there are still many concerns and hidden factors which hinder progress at global sporting events.

Developments and Positive Action

Milano Contina 2026 is committed to using 85% existing or temporary venues as part of its sustainability legacy. Many of these will be reused and repurposed or decommissioned after the Games.

For example, the Olympic ‘village’ hosting the athletes was built with the intention of being converted  into student accommodation for around 1700 students. New infrastructure has also been developed using largely renewable energy and low-carbon transport. These considerations significantly lowered infrastructure emissions compared to previous Winter Games.

There have also been major advancements in recycling and food waste management. The Follow the Flow initiative tracks recycling and the reuse of single use plastics, with the IOC estimating that 70% of total waste would be sorted and separately recycled.

Concerns and Trade-offs

The Winter Games rely on cold, snowy conditions which are rapidly disappearing due to human induced climate change. This puts the environmental measures of the Winter Games under even more scrutiny.

One environmental concern is the hidden costs of new infrastructure, which often receives less attention in official reporting. The updated Curling rink was built with “sustainability at the heart of the renovation’, according to the Event Manager Giacomo Colli. But less attention was paid to the large area of forest which was removed for building the bobsleigh track.

The local environmental group Mountain Wilderness offered alternative solutions and raised concerns about the unique ecosystem of mountain side forest which was destroyed. 70-year-old Luigi Casanova, leader of the group stated: “Cortina is known as Queen of the Dolomites. But we should rename her the 'Queen of Cement’”.

While the IOC’s plans were in line with global sustainability frameworks especially on climate, their failure to incorporate local environmental knowledge raises concerns about gaps on biodiversity, land use and more broadly the natural environment which is providing so much for the games.

But perhaps the most notable failing lies in the marketing and sponsorship at Milano Cortina 2026. This year’s games have three high-carbon sponsorship deals: an oil and gas giant, a car manufacturer, and an airline. This is hugely contradictory to the principles of the Winter Olympics, whose future venues are reducing every year due to snow and ice loss.

High Carbon Sponsorships

In a recent report from Olympics Torched, new information about the carbon emissions of sponsorship has been calculated. Italy’s initial planning framework estimated 1m tons of carbon emissions from the Games overall. Preliminary figures confirm an estimated 930,000 tons of carbon emissions from the games.

The report utilises a new calculation which combines the value or investment of the sponsor, their revenue, their carbon emissions and their financial return on investment. From this, they estimate that subsequent emissions linked to these three sponsors could reach 1.3m tonnes of carbon. This is more than the footprint of the whole Olympics combined. This illustrates just how influential marketing has become at world events, and it’s power alleviate, or worsen, carbon emissions.

Despite this, athletes and citizens are increasingly pushing back. An open letter has been drafted by competing Olympians with a clear message. “Oil companies don’t belong in the Olympics - these Games honour human strength, not the forces weakening the world we compete on.”

The New Weather Institute also conducted surveys which found huge disagreement with high-emission sponsors. 77% of the population of Italy believes that winter sports should stop advertising emission-intensive companies. The Olympics Torched Report believes that this could drive real change, following in the footsteps of athletes at the Calgary 1998 Games who stood against Tobacco Advertising and led to its subsequent ban.

This echoes a growing number of calls to ban advertising from high-emission companies worldwide. Amsterdam recently banned meat and fossil fuel related adverts as part of its carbon-neutral commitment. This is a powerful retaliation against the influence of high-emitting sponsors while also giving space to advertise more ethical or local businesses.

Where to go from here?

There has been a reassuring decline in high-carbon sponsors in the last 10 years, but the Olympics could take a stronger stance on its partnerships. There is huge public and internal support to ban high-emitting sponsorships at Winter Games. Particularly, France - the host of the 2030 Winter Games - is the country where public opposition is strongest. There are also talks to create a strong partnership for skills sharing and the reuse of materials between Italy and France, giving France a chance to showcase circular and sustainable progress.

We cannot undermine the huge steps Milano Cortina has made in leading the way towards more sustainable winter sports, but high-carbon sponsorships overshadow these gains. Olympic events have global influence in how we interact with corporate powers; this year’s games highlights that environmental impacts are multifaceted, ranging from operational emissions to influenced emissions (via sponsorships).

What can associations do?

The lessons from Milano Cortina 2026 are not limited to global sporting events. Organisations and associations can lead by taking a strong stance on advertising and prioritising low-carbon suppliers and partnerships – which are increasingly being scrutinised via the notions of “serviced emissions”, “influenced emissions” or “advertised emissions” on which we released guidance last year. Building leadership and expertise for your members can send a clear message that climate responsibility is becoming an actionable expectation rather than an abstract side-line thought. Membership bodies and trade associations hold collective power and can drive real change.

If you are a membership body and would like to learn more about your role in the climate transition, CAFA has the resources and tools to help. Learn more and join us here.