The Greening of the Game campaign included multiple aspects, including; generation of promotional materials, an interactive booth, use of social media, generation of media awareness, content development, publications, a survey, a waste audit, distribution of reusable bags and water bottles and the instillation of water stations.
Generation of Promotional Materials
This report provides information about the promotional materials produced as part of the Greening of the Games (GoG) initiative during the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games. This effort involved the support of the Communications and Outreach team, a local graphic designer and guidance from Waste Management and Pollution Control staff. Media materials were produced with an aim to target across multiple areas, including: the private sector, communities, schools, civil society, intergovernmental, donor and development partners, and governments.
Thousands of reusable bags, of two different types, were distributed to people in all parts of the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games, including athletes, volunteers, spectators and officials which helped reduce the need to dispose of single use plastic bags.
Hundreds of alternative plate ware and cutlery produced using palm leaves was distributed freely at the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games to encourage use of friendlier options when purchasing meals from nearby food carts.
Promotional t-shirts, stickers, temporary tattoos and badges were distributed both before and during the Pacific Games to promote the GoG and spread the positive environmental messaging to visitors and locals.
These were distributed at the three clean up events which were held before the games, and during the games at two different booth locations – one at the Tuanaimato Sports Complex, and the other at the Apia Park Stadium through the information booth established (please refer see the interactive booth report).
4500 Zero Bags and “Choose to Reuse” badges were distributed to the Pacific Games Office for athletes and officials’ packs that were provided by kind donation of Zero Bags company in New Zealand. An additional 250 were distributed to the general public during the games.
Key Outcomes
We helped bring about good environmental behaviours through the distribution of promotional materials that providing environmentally friendly alternatives to single-use plastic options.
The promotional materials produced helped deliver effective, consistent and appropriate messaging regarding good behaviours that individuals could do in the lead up to the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games, during and afterwards when visitors have returned to their countries, or once the games have wrapped up for locals. All those involved have learned positive behaviours they may do to reduce their individual waste.
Best Practices
Where possible we worked with locally based suppliers in Samoa – i.e. the host country. There was strong visibility of the messaging with many people sighted wearing the t-shirts and requests for these were being made to us.
The messages on the badges were clear and very visible. Support from Zero Bags, a New Zealand based company that willingly donated over 4,500 reusable bags made from plastic bottles for free distribution across the Pacific islands was a huge highlight.
Recommendations
Strong relationships with local suppliers that you already work with will help ensure your work is placed as priority. All promotional materials developed had to have a specific reason to ensure we ourselves weren’t contributing to the single use plastics problem. Strong knowledge and understanding of the funding agreements will help ensure that all branding requirements are met when developing promotional materials. It is best this be finalised as part of the planning stage.
The required procurement processes must be adhered to, to avoid delays of the payment processes for suppliers you work with. A finalised budget at least six months beforehand for promotional materials allows for solid planning and work to be underway – this must be taken into consideration given the available suppliers and their capabilities is different within each Pacific island.
Table
Promotional materials include;
|
Number |
Type |
Notes |
|
680 |
T-shirts |
“Choose to Reuse,” in sizes for kids and adults |
|
2000 |
Tattoos |
Beautiful Samoa logo |
|
2000 |
Tattoos |
4R’s symbol and “Choose to Reuse” |
|
4500 |
Badges |
“Choose to Reuse” |
|
200 |
Bags |
United Nations Environmental Programme Bags |
|
4750 |
Zero Bags |
Distributed to athletes, officials, and the public |
|
350 |
Stickers |
Labels for water coolers |
|
1100 |
Palm plates, bowls and spoons |
Purchased from Samoa Green Products and Supplies (SGPS) and distributed at booth |
Interactive Booth
Samoa played host to more than 5,000 athletes and officials from around the Pacific for the Samoa 2019 XVI Pacific Games. The Pacific Games provided an excellent international platform from which to address waste management and sustainability issues within the Pacific island region.
This report provides information about the interactive booth activities performed as part of the Greening of the Games (GoG) initiative during the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games. This effort involved the support of the SPREP (in full) Communications and Outreach team, guidance from Waste Management and Pollution Control staff with the Government of Samoa, and the members of the Knowledge Management team.
Staff involved in the GoG campaign operated a booth during the two weeks of the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games. The first week staff set up and operated a booth adjacent to the canteen/cafeteria at the Tuanaimato Sports Complex. During the second week, the staff set up and operated a booth adjacent to the front gates, and tickets stand, of Apia Park.
New and clean rubbish bins were used to present waste management data accumulated during the Games. Also displayed at the booth were SPREP pullup banners, a “Beautiful Samoa” pullup banner, photo frame “Choose to Reuse” (please see the social media report), whiteboard to make your pledge and camera to take your photo-for commitment, and pamphlet explaining Greening of the Games (please see the publications report).
Because neither location could be secured overnight, every morning staff set up table, chairs, posters, displays, and placed supplies and promotional materials on the tables. Every evening, the staff collected these items, and placed them in vehicles to be transported to a secure location until the next day.
Key Outcomes
The interactive booth activities performed gave the SPREP staff participating in the GoG a physical presence at game event. This provided a useful way to interact with members of the audience, athletes, and others participating in all levels of the games. Personal interactions are hard to ignore, dismiss, or forget, and therefore provide a useful way to disseminate the GoG message.
During the 2019 Pacific Games operating a booth allowed SPREP staff to; (A) engage the public in a discussion of the GoG campaign and its goals, to raise awareness of plastic free games, “Say No To Plastics,” the 4Rs, and Walk the Talk, (B) to distribute reusable bags to the public, which reduced the use of single use plastic bags, (C) distribute palm plates, bowls and spoons, to provide an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic and Styrofoam food containers (please see the promotional report), (D) to successfully conduct a sample survey of public opinion (please see the survey report).
Best Practices
Operating the booth proved to be an invaluable method for interacting with people involved in the games in some capacity, such as members of the audience, competing athletes, volunteers supporting the games, etc.
Booths are valuable for interacting with the public. Location of booth space is important and should be considered and selected for optimum potential for interacting with the public. Plan for the time, manpower, and storage space required for setting up, taking down, and securing materials and supplies used in a booth. Schedule the time and shifts of people operating the booth, and this should include breaks, lunch, and the possibility of watching the games.
Recommendations
Include enough tables, chairs, and display stands, and if the booth space is outside then it will be prudent to include a tent of good size to protect the space from the weather. Ensure that funding is available for booth space. Ensure enough manpower is available to operate a booth. Secure the best location for a booth. Plan for the logistics of getting people, materials and supplies to and from the location. Interaction and positive rewards provide ways to encourage good behaviour, such as green friendly attitudes. It will be useful to plan, in advance, to use a booth to facilitate this kind of interaction.
Use of Social Media
This brief provides information about the social media activities conducted as part of the Greening of the Games (GoG) initiative during the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games. This effort involved the support of the SPREP Communications and Outreach team, a local graphic designer and guidance from the Waste Management and Pollution Control staff.
Social media materials were produced with an aim to target the online community across the Pacific region, active on social media with an interactive activity driven online to help encourage action.
We engaged in three activities, (1) media tiles, (2) broad use of the SPREP social media Facebook page which has close to 70,000 followers, and (3) conducting the #playgreenpacific campaign.
(1) For the media tiles the services of a local graphic designer was contracted to create content to be shared via the official SPREP Social Media channels. This artist produced 2 separate tiles which helped amplify the voice of the GoG committee and campaign.
(2) GoG materials such as stories, photos and tiles were posted consistently to SPREP Facebook Page during the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games. This included photo albums containing images of athletes, spectators and officials at the Pacific Games venue holding a social media frame calling upon people to Choose to Reuse.
(3) The #playgreenchallenge was conducted which involved having people posting photographs of themselves engaging with a green-friendly behaviour, with the #playergreenpacific hashtag for tracking participation. This promoted good behaviours through engaging people. Four prizes were given to participants. The prizes themselves – electronic devices such as speakers and headphones – were donated by a local company.
Key Outcomes
The Social Media Campaign sought to focus regional attention on the objectives of the GoG campaign. The campaign’s key messages of a “Green” Pacific Games encourage athletes, officials and other participants alike to play their part in achieving measurable goals.
Further, through the social media campaign, we encouraged spectators to bring their reusable water bottles to take advantage of the free, cool, filtered water available at all sporting venues, as well as bringing a reusable container for their food.
An interactive activity called the #PlayGreenPacific encouraged people to take photos of themselves undertaking a good environment action for which they would go into the draw to win a prize.
Best Practices
The wide reach of the campaign was a major highlight – over 60,000 people were reached through the SPREP official social media channels alone, this is not including the partners that also on-shared the media tiles.
Using a wide variety of Pacific island faces as the main feature of each social media tile proved to be a draw card. Also, the SPREP is a multi-cultural workspace which gave us access to a wide range of Pacific islander models to be featured on the social media tiles.
Recommendations
Ensuring the partner boiler template is completed in advance will help ensure a smooth process with graphic design. Bringing all partners together to support and coordinate a social media campaign and competition will ensure a stronger and wider reach. It is best to ensure that no other social media competitions are happening or to work together with partners to maximise opportunities.
The ‘Publish timer’ feature on Facebook is very helpful with coordinating release of the memes via social media accounts. Combine the hashtags with that from your campaign, the Pacific Games official hashtag and the country name hashtag
Table
We developed the following:
|
Number of Tiles Developed |
Tile Message |
|
4 |
Media Tiles asking people to bring their own water bottles |
|
4 |
Media Tiles on reusing food and water containers |
|
3 |
Media Tiles on the #playgreenpacific challenge |
|
2 |
Media Tiles on the waste and recycling bins available at game venues |
|
6 |
Media Tiles informing athletes they would be able to plant trees as part of Samoa’s Two Million Tree Campaign 2015 – 2020 to offset their carbon emissions |
|
2 |
Media Tiles on using reusable bags |
|
1 |
Media Tiles on the survey |
|
2 |
Media Tiles on the use of water bottles |
Generation of Media Awareness
This report provides information about the media awareness activities conducted as part of the Greening of the Games (GoG) initiative during the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games. This effort involved the support of the SPREP (in full) Communications and Outreach team and guidance from Waste Management and Pollution Control staff with the Government of Samoa.
We engaged the services of local media stations through paid advertising packages, and local production companies In order to get our message out. These ads featured Samoans, including Samoans who had performed well in past Pacific Games.
We signed agreements for paid advertising packages with the two largest television networks in Samoa, TV1 and TV3 noting that TV3 were the exclusive local broadcasters of the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games, to have our messaging aired on those stations.
We also worked with the national radio broadcasting companies, Samoa Broadcasting Corporation (My FM 89.1) and Radio Polynesia Ltd (Magik FM 98.1 and Talofa FM 88.5) to raise more awareness amongst the general public of the activities that were to take place as part of the GoG campaign.
Further, the SPREP Communication team lead a special team media training awareness exercise prior to the games to help raise the understanding of national media about the GoG activities and why these were underway.
Key Outcomes
The media awareness campaign gained country-wide attention on the objectives of the GoG campaign. The key messages of a “Green” Pacific Games – with no single-use plastic water bottles and food containers – were driven home by the campaign in order to encourage athletes, officials and other participants alike to play their part in achieving these goals.
Through the reach of television, radio and newspaper in Samoa, we managed to engage with support from the public for the campaign, which was most evident in the three river, city and foreshore clean-ups that were held prior to the Games.
With the media campaign also, we were able to encourage spectators who came along to watch the Games to bring their reusable water bottles to take advantage of the free, cool, filtered water that was available at all sporting venues, as well as bringing a reusable container for their food.
There were radio and TV talk-back shows in the weeks leading up to the first GoG clean-up which came about due to the collaboration between members of the Samoa Tourism Authority (STA) and Ministry of Natural Resources (MNRE) and the Environment. While SPREP didn’t coordinate STA of the talkback shows directly, we were given the opportunity to use spots already secured by STA to feature SPREP staff to talk of the initiative.
The local radio stations consistently announced the clean-up to remind the people to come down and lend a hand in the week prior without having to be prompted to.
Also dubbed a highlight was having Samoa’s only Olympic medallist, Ms Ele Opeloge, starring in one of our TVCs, reminding the public to help keep beautiful Samoa clean and plastic-free by not using single-use plastics and reinforcing the Choose to Reuse message.
Another highlight was having SPREP Director General himself, Mr Kosi Latu, starring in two of our TVCs, reminding athletes, officials and spectators to bring their reusable water bottles and reusable food containers with them when coming to the Games.
Recommendations
Featuring local talent and/or people held in high regard really helps to make an impact in your advertising. When reaching the local community, advertisements in the national language play a strong role in reaching your audiences
Ensure that funding is available for media awareness and development. Broadcasting and production is costly, having funds available will help see work start well in advance. Have a good relationship with national media in covering the event and aspects of the event. Ensure that broadcasting of the advertisements will be shown on the official broadcast television station. Help build the capacity of the media where you can, to better report and feature the events.
Table
|
Media Type |
Name |
Notes |
|
Radio |
Good Morning Samoa, My FM 89.1 |
radio talk-back show |
|
TV |
Good Morning Samoa on TV1 |
television talk-back show |
|
Radio |
Breakfast Show on Magik FM 98.1 |
radio talk-back on |
|
Radio |
Malu Taeao on Talofa FM 88.5 and 99.9 |
breakfast show radio talk-back |
|
TV |
Morning Tea with Lupe Lu on TV3 |
television talk-back show |
|
TV |
Lali on TV1 |
television talk-back show, before the first clean-up |
|
TV |
Lali on TV1 |
television talk-back show |
|
TV |
TV1, TV2 |
Samoan language, choose to reuse bags / SPREP GreeningGames |
|
TV |
TV1, TV2 |
English language, choose to reuse bags / SPREP GreeningGames TVC3 |
|
TV |
TV1, TV2 |
Samoan language, choose to reuse water bottles / SPREP GreeningGames |
|
TV |
TV1, TV2 |
English language, choose to reuse water bottles / SPREP GreeningGames |
|
TV |
TV1, TV2 |
English language, choose to reuse water bottles / SPREP GreeningGames |
|
Online |
Samoa Observer |
|
|
Online |
Samoa Observer |
|
|
Online |
Samoa Observer |
|
|
Online |
Talamua Media |
Content Development
This brief provides information about the content developed specifically for the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games Office for official distribution from their sites. These included news items and animated videos produced part the Greening of the Games (GoG) initiative during the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games. This effort involved the support of the Communications and Outreach team.
The online media materials were produced with an aim to target across multiple areas, including: the private sector, communities, schools, civil society, intergovernmental, donor and development partners, and governments.
The concise stories and videos provided a useful way to engage with and inform the public. The stories and videos generated helped disseminate the message of the GoG, strengthening and online presence with a carefully informed message.
For the GoG site, 16 stories were generated on GoG subjects and these were shared specifically on the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games website – www.samoa2019.ws
The 10 animated videos were generated on GoG subjects, these were loaded to the SPREP YouTube channel and shared with the SPREP social media sites and the Pacific Games Office.
Key Outcomes
Through the online content we were able so share key practical information for a better environment for all audiences that were planning to watch the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games. This ranged from encouraging people to carpool to watch the games, to letting people know to bring their own water bottle when attending the games as there will be free, cool, treated water for all.
Best Practices
If the local community is a key audience in your messaging, please ensure that your video products are also developed in the national vernacular. When the approvals process for a multi-partner news item is developed it helps to have an agreed time limit for partner sign off. A strong working partnership with the Pacific Games organising committee is very helpful, if you are able to establish relations with the Marketing and Communications team, they can guide you as to what is best needed.
Recommendations
Work with a recommended translator proficient in the national vernacular for translation of all materials in the local language. Allow for enough planning time to consider the approvals process. Follow up with the Pacific Games Office for the number of hits to your content for your monitoring and evaluation purposes.
Tables
|
Story Subject |
|
Supporting the GoG |
|
Carpooling to the games |
|
Using water bottles to reduce rubbish |
|
Using reusable food containers to reduce rubbish |
|
Properly sorting rubbish into different bins of general waste and recyclables |
|
Asking people to participate in a survey |
|
The results of waste audits during the games |
|
The #playgreenpacific contest |
|
Water stations available at the games |
|
Tree planting of offset carbon waste |
|
Food waste from the games going to Samoan farmers |
|
How people may assist with the GoG |
|
Using the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games as an opportunity for change |
|
Planting trees to offset a carbon footprint |
|
SPREP and Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MNRE) work together to lead the GoG campaign |
|
The audit results from the pre-game clean-up events |
|
Video Subjects |
Publications
This report provides information about the publications produced as part of the Greening of the Games (GoG) initiative during the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games. This effort involved the support of the Communications and Outreach team, a local graphic designer, a printing company contracted for the work, and guidance from Waste Management and Pollution Control staff. Media materials were produced with an aim to target across multiple areas, including: the private sector, communities, schools, civil society, intergovernmental, donor and development partners, and governments.
Published banners, posters, and information cards were distributed both before and during the Pacific Games to promote the GoG and spread the positive environmental messaging to visitors and locals.
These were distributed at the three clean up events which were held before the games, and during the games at two different booth locations – one at the Tuanaimato Sports Complex, and the other at the Apia Park Stadium through the information booth established (please see the interactive booth report).
At the conclusion of the game two booklets were prepared and published, which discussed the GoG efforts and accomplishments.
Key Outcomes
We helped bring about good environmental behaviours through the distribution of publications that providing environmentally friendly alternatives to single-use plastic options.
The publications produced helped deliver effective, consistent and appropriate messaging regarding good behaviours that individuals could do in the lead up to the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games, during and afterwards when visitors have returned to their countries, or once the games have wrapped up for locals. All those involved have learned positive behaviours they may do to reduce their individual waste.
Best Practices
Strong relationships with local suppliers that you already work with will help ensure your work is placed as priority. All publications developed had to have a specific reason to ensure we ourselves were not contributing to excessive waste and rubbish. Where possible we worked with locally based suppliers in Samoa.
Recommendations
Strong knowledge and understanding of the funding agreements will help ensure that all branding requirements are met when developing publications. It is best this be finalised as part of the planning stage. The required procurement processes must be adhered to, to avoid delays of the payment processes for suppliers you work with.
A finalised budget at least six months beforehand for publications allows for solid planning and work to be underway – this must be taken into consideration given the available suppliers and their capabilities is different within each Pacific island. Not all the islands are necessarily home to printing and publishing infrastructure – some of the material may have to contracted and purchased abroad.
Table
Publications include;
|
Number |
Type |
Notes |
|
400 |
Booklet |
Greening of the Game, Beats |
|
400 |
Booklet |
Greening of the Game, 12-page booklet |
|
200 |
Posters |
Choose to Offset |
|
100 |
Posters |
What You Can Do |
|
100 |
Posters |
Water Information Poster |
|
100 |
Posters |
4Rs Poster |
Survey
This report provides information about the survey conducted as part of the Greening of the Games (GoG) initiative during the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games. This effort involved the support of the SPREP Communications and Outreach team and guidance from Waste Management and Pollution Control staff. The survey targeted game participants across multiple areas, including: the private sector, communities, schools, civil society, intergovernmental, donor and development partners, and governments.
A sample survey collected information from 260 people and calculated 254 results (six survey were rejected for various reasons). The collection of survey data came from personal interviews and an on-line survey. The survey included; (A) 17 total questions, (B) four demographic questions, and (C) 13 questions about perceptions of the GoG.
Keeping interviewee and participant interest was a challenge during any survey process – so the survey used here was short, with simple questions.
The margin of error (or the confidence interval) is the plus-or-minus figure reported in opinion poll results. The confidence level tells you how sure you can be. It is expressed as a percentage and represents how often the true percentage of the population who would pick an answer lies within the confidence interval.
According to the formula provided by Creative Research Systems, 253 respondents from a population of 5,000 should produce; about a 6 percent margin of error, and a confidence level of 95 percent.
Key Outcomes
The objective of the survey, with 254 counted respondents, was to gage the perceptions of people at the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games. It was insufficient to take it as a matter of faith that the partners in the Greening of the Games (GoG) campaign were successful. That success needed to be tested and measured.
Most of the game audience (64 percent) across participating countries had some knowledge about the GoG prior to their coming to SPG. A majority (74 percent) of game viewers and participants believed there to be enough rubbish and recycling bins around the venues. Surveyed people further stated that the bins are in good locations, where people can easily throw their rubbish. Many (51 percent) of people surveyed during the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games found the plastic free games campaign highly successful.
Across participating countries and audiences, the GoG of the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games conveyed a clear environmental message.
Best Practices
Conducting the survey in person, as compared to on-line, is a good way for engaging with people. It allows for people supporting the GoG to start a conversation with members of the general public about environmental issues. Much of the survey was conducted at the GoG booth (please see the interactive booth report).
A spelling error appeared in some of the questions, using the word “where” when it should have been “were.” This is a regrettable error; however, it did not compromise anyone’s ability to understand, or answer, the questions. In any case, those involved in a GoG campaign should be able to provide feedback on a survey before people are polled.
Recommendations
A survey is an important useful tool for gaging public perception about a GoG campaign – it can point to strengths and weaknesses. As noted, keeping interviewee and participant interest is a challenge during any survey process – so the survey used should be short, with simple questions. Also, conducting the survey in person allows for people supporting the GoG to start a conversation with members of the general public about environmental issues. All aspects of a survey should be carefully recorded.
Water Stations and Water Bottles
Any event involving athletic competition, no matter how large or small, requires attention to the hydration needs of the competitors. It’s a top priority.
Historically in the Region, the solution was to supply athletes with huge quantities of plastic water bottles. This practice created a variety of challenges for local waste management companies tasked with collection and disposal of the increased waste, particularly plastic that in many cases could not be repurposed or recycled. When the Greening of the Games Committee Co-chairs developed the plan to eliminate single use plastic water bottles, they took a serious look at finding viable alternatives and reliable sources to make certain the hydration needs of each and every athlete, official, volunteer and Games’ employees were met.
Once the decision to procure water stations for all 20 sports venues, three (3) dining halls and athletes / officials’ accommodations was made, a major fund-raising effort was undertaken by the GoG Committee resulting in SAT $400,000 raised for the purchase of 350 water stations.
Multiple stations were then installed at each location. In addition to the sporting community, water stations were free and available to spectators, volunteers and all having any access to the sports venues. Posters were generated and posted next to the water stations messaging the public on the importance of using a refillable water bottle. Included on the posters were the logos of those who provided funds for the purchase of the water stations: Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Government of Australia, Government of New Zealand, United Nations Environment Programme (UNE) and the United Kingdom,
Key Outcomes
• Nine thousand, refillable water bottles were distributed to all athletes, officials & volunteers.
• An innovative and first-time process was developed and delivered for supplying safe, fresh, cool water to Marathon competitors (see case study)
• Measured increase in public exposure for and use of refillable water bottles modelled by athletes competing in the Games and local, high-profiled individuals from sports, government, environment and social societies.
• Increased awareness and positivity for the ‘greening’ message to reduce single-use plastics realized by increased sales of water bottles, school initiates to reduce plastic consumption, local businesses adding more green options to their retail shelves and business owners serving food & beverage in biodegradable cups and containers replacing polystyrene and plastic.
• Following the Games, raised awareness for the use of water stations and the need to reduce the use and cost of single use waste bottles, led to an increase of water station sales and installations in businesses from hospitality to industry.
• More local restaurants and coffee shops serve water in glass from filtered water supply rather than plastic bottles.
• Pacific Pure Water pledged to freely install and provide low-cost service for 150 water stations used during the Games and intended for Samoan government schools.
• Uptick in the number of students receiving refillable water bottles.
Best Practices
• Chef de Mission, Athletes and support staff were guaranteed access to plenty of filtered, cold and secured water both on and off the field-of-play including the Marathon which proved the most challenging to service.
• Multiple water stations were installed to provide continuous, free, filtered, water at every sporting venue, dining hall and housing accommodation for easy and fast fill-up.
• All athletes, officials and volunteers received an official XVI Pacific Games logo, 1.5 litre, long-lasting, aluminum, refillable water bottle to use during and after the competitions.
• Water station vendors were contracted to service machines at all locations daily from 6:00 AM – 9:30 PM.
• Frequent and targeted messages broadcast on TV, in print and on social media featuring high-profiled athletes, local personalities, government and environmentally connected officials alerted the public to bring refillable water bottles and food containers as single use were not available at Games’ venues.
Lessons learned / Recommendations
• Enough funding and access to the money raised needs to be secured early in the process in order to procure and install water alternatives well in advance of the start of the event in anticipation of any challenges or opportunities that could arise.
• Early in the planning stages, schedule meetings with all sports federations, organizing officials and key personnel to discuss all aspects of what is being proposed and planned in order to lock-in agreement for the initiative. This could result in better, advanced and prolonged support for the proposed alternatives and practices as well as a much-needed buy-in from athletes and participants in order to achieve maximum success and residuals.
• Canteens positioned outside the Games’ sports venues selling food & beverage in take-away plastic and polystyrene containers said they were unaware of the Greening of the Games compliances. Including a discussion process of ‘what ifs’ among organizers and committee members will enable identifying possible breaches in the SAP and result in a process to educate and encourage compliance everywhere necessary.
• Proper transparency of the proposed initiative delivered by frequent, targeted, well-placed and engaging messages through traditional and social media outlets, must start early and have the backing of an approved communications plan with enough and available funding.
Food Containers and Bags
Realities had to be taken into consideration such as the unavailability of single use plastic shopping bags and drinking straws. Banned by the Samoan government in January 2019, and unavailable in Apia grocery and convenient stores as well as most Samoan restaurants and hotels, the need to supply athletes and officials with a way to manage their shopping became an issue needing to be addressed.
The needs of the competitors and support staff took precedence. Staff of the Games Operations Office in charge of sponsorships, initiated contact with Game’s sponsors and were successful in obtaining over 6000? reusable sports, backpacks. The backpacks became receptacles for a variety of “welcoming’ gifts given to every athlete and official as they stepped off the plane.
The GoGC task force embarked on a search for alternatives to single use plastic shopping bags including outreaching to local village seamstresses who, in the end, were unable to meet the necessary budget and timelines.
Zero Bag, producer of reusable, ‘stuff’ sack, shopping bags made from recycled plastic bottles, stepped in and donated 6000 repurposed bags. The power of networking was at play and on the side of the GoG when, hearing about the ‘greening’ initiative from members of the waste management staff of SPREP, the owners of Zero Bag eagerly and without hesitation asked to be involved. The Zero Bag donation supplied enough shopping bags to fill all the athletes and officials’ ‘welcoming’ gift bags with left over supplies used as part of special gift bags for key influencers and stakeholders such as the GoG funding partners.
Providing biodegradable alternatives for food & beverage service was a mandate of every vendor’s contract. Vendors did not resist the directive though concern for supplies was evident. Still the practice was embraced, and solutions/ resources found. Many of business providing food & beverage service at the Games have incorporated the use of biodegradable serving and packaging into their daily business practices.
Spurred on by the Greening of the Games Initiative, concern for the environment and love of beautiful Samoa, two local businessmen invested in machinery to manufacture biodegradable plates, bowls and tableware from plant-based materials. Press coverage was heavy and public opinion strong. Freshly made samples of the dinnerware were showcased at all GoG events including the Info Booth set up at sports venues during the Games. The need for and collection of the required palm leaves to make the serving pieces has become a community supported effort with many landowners offering to stock the factory with plant materials from their farms and nurseries.
Key Outcomes
• Over 4500 reusable shopping bags and 4500 reusable back packs were distributed to athletes and officials. Shopping bags were donated by Zero Bag out of New Zealand; Sports bags were donated by the United Nations Environmental Programme.
• Biodegradable food containers and utensils were required of food & beverage tenders and formed part of the meal delivery services.
• Production of plant-based serving plates, bowls and flatware was launched by Samoa Green Products, Ltd. SGPL was heavily promoted in articles in the press and on social media. Displays of the products were showcased at ‘green’ information booths both at the pre-Games ‘clean-up events and during the 2-weeks of competition key locations.
• Increased use by Samoa businesses of biodegradable take away containers for food & beverage.
• Ten Apia grocers agreed to install recycling cages for aluminium/ tin and plastic now being collected for offshore shipping.
Best Practices
• Biodegradable food containers and utensils were required of food & beverage tenders and formed part of the meal delivery services.
• A minimum of 150,000 meals were served to Games’ athletes, officials and volunteers. When possible, meals were served (in dining halls) using proper plates and utensils. More than two thirds or 104,000 meals were served in this manner.
• 46,000 meals were served in takeaway containers with less than 2000 of those meals served in polystyrene containers.
Lessons learned / recommendations
• Start early to stockpile alternatives. Supplies were stretched because of demand.
• Besides contractual inclusion and securing adequate resources, compliance with non- plastic / non-polystyrene product use must be monitored, enforced and reinforced.
• Notification and education regarding a ban on plastic and polystyrene needs to be far reaching to include vendors outside the Games / event purview.
Waste Audits
To monitor and verify the plan to reduce plastics and polystyrene was working, waste audits were conducted during the XVI Pacific Games on trash collected from multiple sports complexes and the athletes / officials’ accommodations. For seven consecutive days, accumulated rubbish was brought to three (3), carefully selected audit zones for sorting, identifying and recording. The entire operation was overseen and managed by a team of local, waste experts including those from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) and Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). The team was ably assisted by 40 student volunteers from the National University of Samoa (NUS). Analysis of the resulting data helped identify the types of rubbish generated during a large sporting event and enable the Greening of the Games Committee draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the pre-games ‘green’ messaging.
Key Outcomes
• Food waste from the cafeteria was collected, stored in 25-40 litre white plastic buckets with lids and used as livestock feed by local farmers
• Recyclables were treated and prepared for export using the Moana Taka Partnership with Swire shipping.
• General waste was transported and properly disposed at Samoa’s landfill.
• Capacity for waste management best practices increased because of the inclusion of NUS student volunteers in the waste audits.
• Waste management messages of refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle were part of the overall communications plan.
Best Practices
• Vendors wanting to contract food and beverage services for the Games were required to replace single use plastic and polystyrene packaging with biodegradable alternatives as part of their tender process. In addition, they were to commit to keeping enough stock on hand to meet compliance needs for the 14 days of competitions.
• Waste collectors were paid employees rather than using a volunteer force.
• Waste collectors were trained on proper bin use, waste separation and disposal practices.
• Conducting waste audits to monitor the success of the initiative can be helpful.
Lessons Learned / Recommendations
• Start early. Conduct a waste assessment of every possible location in your purview that could be affected by waste accumulation and determine the best way to address collection, separation, disposal and messaging.
• Research and secure desired waste bin sizes and quantity per findings from a timely and comprehensive waste assessment.
• Begin installation of waste bins at least one month prior to your event in order to work out any issues that may arise well in advance of the start date.
• The wheelie bin system needs to be marked clearly with high-impact, well-placed labels that clearly indicate recyclables from waste at first glance. Posters to explain bin operation and expectations should be strategically placed for easy public recognition and compliance.
• Waste collector training should start early and repeat often to ensure understanding and compliance with the waste management plan and procedures.
• Place recycle bins next to waste bins in order to differentiate and denote the expected separation process