PNGOC launches sustainability practices

The National Sports

THE Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee (PNGOC) launched its corporate sustainability practices with the creation of a sustainability patch at its PNG Olympic Haus premises in Port Moresby yesterday.
Coinciding with World Earth Day, staff re-used plastic bottles as plant holders to create a garden to grow produce. They also collected rubbish around their street at Boroko.
The commitment is part of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) belief of contributing actively to global sustainability in line with the vision of “building a better world through sports”.
The IOC has already implemented several sustainability measures focused on improved recycling and waste management, saving water, energy efficiency and sustainable sourcing of products.
The Tokyo Olympics have also come up with some creative ways to be sustainable, including creating medal ceremony podiums from plastic waste either donated by the public or recovered from oceans and waterways, and having the official medals produced from precious metal collected by recycling electronic devices collected from donors.
Drawing on a series of practical guides produced by the IOC, PNGOC decided to find better ways of doing things and take the time to make well-informed decisions to maximise positive impact and minimise negative impact in the social, economic and environmental spheres.
PNGOC secretary-general Auvita Rapilla said the ultimate goal was to integrate sustainability principles and practices into day-to-day operations.
“At PNGOC, we have incorporated sustainable practices in an attempt to reduce our use of natural resources,” said Rapilla, who is also a member of the IOC sustainability and legacy commission.
“It is an overall effort aimed at reducing our carbon footprint.
“We identified ways in which PNGOC could commit to being more sustainable in what we do.
“We came up with several practices linked to the six Rs (refuse, reduce, re-use, replace, recycle and remind) that we are implementing in our office, and through our programmes and activities.”
The practices are:

  • Reducing the purchase of plastic water bottles and switching from plastic to metal container water bottles;
  • Transitioning to a paperless office and encouraging national federations and stakeholders to submit electronic documents where possible;
  • Reducing internal printing;
  • Sourcing products that are sustainable and encouraging suppliers to minimise plastic packaging;
  • Encouraging staff and event partners to recycle cans;
  • Practising “Earth Hour” every Friday from 3-4pm during staff wellness sessions by switching off all non-essential power sources;
  • Reporting on the progress of new practices; and,
  • Maintaining a sustainability patch.

The patch was PNGOC programme coordinator and sustainability officer Milton Kisapai’s idea.
“The patch will be a sign of our commitment towards sustainable practices in the office,” he said.
“Its upkeep and maintenance will be the responsibility of all staff, as we work towards our goal of being a sustainable organisation.”