British Cycling on track to delivering a sustainable world championships
Bringing cyclists from around the word to compete in an event such as the Para-cycling World Championships has an inevitable environmental impact. However, the organisational team behind the event in Manchester are taking every step possible to minimise the event impact through measures such as recycling, responsible sourcing and the encouragement of sustainable forms of transport for spectators. There are three key areas in which the organisational team is working in order to do this:
Travel: Spectators at all the events promoted at Manchester Velodrome have a number of options when it comes to greener ways to get here. The velodrome is well served by both buses and trains with a number of services from Piccadilly Gardens serving the Sport City complex. Piccadilly gardens is just a short walk from both of Manchester's mainline stations at Victoria and Piccadilly. Those wishing to arrive at the velodrome under their own steam can park bikes at the stadium and for major events a dedicated secure bike park is created to ensure people can leave their bikes in total safety.
Lastly, for those who still need to travel by car to get to the velodrome, there are a number of options available to reduce the environmental impact of your travel. One of the best ways to do this is to consider car sharing to get to the stadium and there are a number of websites available to help you meet people with whom you can buddy up, head to carsharegm.com or isanyonegoingto.com for more info.
Recycling: All waste from the velodrome is recycled throughout the year with the contents of all bins being sorted at the depot rather than through dedicated bins on site. However, during major championships such as the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics and the Para-cycling World Championships there are additional opportunities to recycle and in some cases even re-use some of the items that would otherwise normally be thrown away.
As you move around the velodrome you may notice that there are separate bins in some locations for plastics and behind the scenes we will be recycling all of the paper that the events consume in delivering results and information to staff and competitors. In addition we will be encouraging guests and staff to leave behind their accreditation lanyards, enabling us to re-use these items in the future.
Sustainable Sourcing: One of the most important ways in which British Cycling is helping to minimise the impact of its events is by sourcing as much of the materials and resources it uses from suppliers based close to the velodrome. From the printers who produce the advertising boards on display at the track through to the volunteer stewards, all are recruited from as close to the velodrome as possible in order to reduce the emissions caused by the travel of these people and goods to and from the velodrome.
Economic Sustainability: As well as monitoring the effect of the events at the velodrome on the environment, the organisational team and the funding partners of events such as the Para-cycling World Championships also work hard to ensure these events generate measurable impact on the regional economy. So by sourcing goods and services locally and encouraging spectators to come into the region to watch the racing, events at Manchester Velodrome are good for everyone here in the north west region.
