Background to hosting a responsible 2010 FIFA World Cup™ event

Host City Cape Town has proudly committed to building the partnerships and coordinating the networks of action necessary to ensure that Team Cape Town and the Western Cape Scores green in 2010. Branded as ‘Green Goal 2010’, Host City Cape Town’s 2010 greening programme will contribute to raising awareness, minimising waste, diversifying and using energy efficiently, consuming water sparingly, compensating for the event’s carbon footprint, practicing responsible tourism, and constructing infrastructure with future generations in mind.

These greening initiatives look beyond the actual time frame of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, and include concerns for post-event environmental, social and economic impacts on the immediate and extended environment. Host City Cape Town is not only committed to being environmentally responsible, but must ensure that social concerns are addressed at the same time, and that the Green Goal 2010 programme leaves a positive legacy for all the people of this region.

The approach followed by Host City Cape Town Green Goal 2010 is significantly different from that of Germany 2006. In Germany, the Öko Institute, an independent environmental consulting firm appointed by the government, played a leading role in the greening of 2006. In South Africa, the host cities play a far greater role, with the Local Organising Committee being responsible for the coordination of greening efforts, supported by the Department of Environmental Affairs.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup™ offers the Host City Cape Town a unique opportunity to demonstrate to the world its commitment to responsible environmental management, whilst improving the living environment and livelihoods of its people. It is also an opportunity to sensitise the local and international football community and fans to environmental issues.

Host City Cape Town launched its Green Goal 2010 Action Plan on 17 October 2008. The Action Plan was informed by a series of workshops sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) between August 2007 and April 2008, bringing together a range of stakeholders, non-governmental organisations, business, civil society, the media, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, the 2010 Local Organising Committee, the City of Cape Town and the Provincial Government. A further three workshops were held in the first half of 2009 to discuss issues relating to the implementation of the projects.

View Green Goal promotional video (WMV, 5min, 320x240, 5.6mb)