The Commonwealth Games’ Path Towards Sustainability 

Sporting events of the scale of this summer’s Birmingham Commonwealth Games are often put under scrutiny for their inability to meet their own goals in pledges to sustainability and carbon neutrality – but are these really just empty promises or have the organisers actually got it right this time? 

In preparation for 2022’s Commonwealth Games, which took place this summer in Birmingham, the organisers had one big ambition: to create the most sustainable Commonwealth Games yet. A couple of months later, however, the question remains: did they succeed? 

Armed with sustainability pledges detailing their path towards a carbon-neutral legacy, the organisers of this year’s event had a lot to consider: not only is there the matter of environmental sustainability to contend with, but a social legacy that benefitted the region was also a key part of the plan. 

To this effect, the organisers of the Games pledged to reuse and repurpose all the Games’ acquired assets, developed partnerships with public transport companies for free access to all with a valid day ticket, reduced the amount of single-use plastics and proposed an offsetting initiative that would see the creation of 2,022 acres of forest and 72 tennis-court-sized tiny forests to be built in urban areas across the Midlands. 

However beneficial an offsetting program of this nature would be in the future, it doesn’t make up for the massive amounts of carbon released into the atmosphere during the two weeks of the Commonwealth Games – which is precisely why the organisers also focused their efforts on using ecologically-friendly equipment that would minimise the number of emissions. 

To that end, the Commonwealth Games were lit up by Trime’s lighting fleet X-Eco Lithium Hybrid. Powered by advanced lithium battery technology – meaning the set can be fully recharged in less than two hours – the X-Eco Lithium Hybrid illuminates via six energy-saving, long-lasting LED lamps, which deliver an illuminated area of over 3000m². 

In a ten-hour cycle, the X-Eco Lithium Hybrid is powered exclusively by its batteries for 80% of the operation, which leads to both zero noise and zero carbon emissions – the perfect combo. Compact and practical to move around, you can fit twelve of these units in one single truck, making them ideal for delivery to events of this scale which need continuous and reliable illumination. 

With over 50 years of experience in the manufacture, development, and marketing of environmentally sustainable lighting sets for the rail, off-shore, event, construction, and rental markets, the Trime Group also has a range of dust suppression units and advanced wash bays which is distributed worldwide. 

When it comes to lighting solutions, it seems the Commonwealth Games’ organisers couldn’t have picked a more sustainable option that still delivered the power the event demanded. However, measuring the impact of the Games on the region, as well as the success of the sustainability initiatives pledged, is a long-term process that will require assessing a multitude of factors over the next couple of years. 

What do you think of events’ pledges towards sustainability – are they just nice-sounding words or is there real investment behind the promises? Get in touch and let us know in the comments below.