Circular Economy at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
Circular economy is a sustainable concept that we need to apply, as is the case with the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This event is a mega-event that requires a lot of resources, energy and time. In addition, this event also absorbed a lot of public attention. Thus, every policy from the implementing committee will become the concern of many people and ultimately have the potential to have a bigger impact later.
Collaboration on Every Side of the World Cup
The implementation of the circular economy in Qatar is due to extraordinary collaboration and hard work. They collaborate to apply circular economy principles in various sectors such as water utilization, energy, and also construction. Before 2022, Qatar has already started building magnificent and sophisticated international stadiums. But not only that, they also apply the value of sustainability. This makes the stadium they built much more environmentally friendly if we compare it to the previous world cup.
In addition, they also work with sponsors that support the circular economy, such as Coca-cola. In addition, the World Cup committee in collaboration with the Hifz Al Naema institution is committed to reducing food waste during the World Cup. Therefore, it is only natural that the 2022 Qatar World Cup is the first World Cup to receive an ISO 20121 sustainability certificate and ensures the realization of carbon neutrality.
Circular Economy in World Cup at Education City Stadium
One of the stadiums for the FIFA World Cup is the Education City Stadium. For information, this stadium can accommodate 44,667 spectators at one time. A study examines how Education City Stadium applies circular economy principles. They compare circular economy-based construction with conventional construction. As a result, they stated that construction that implements a circular economy turns out to be 32% lower in producing GHG emissions. So, they believe that using circular economy principles in construction can lower production costs, reduce the amount of waste, and have a lower environmental impact.
Circular Economy in World Cup at Ras Abu Aboud stadium
A stadium that is no less extraordinary is the Ras Abu Aboud stadium. This stadium is one of the stadiums for the 2022 Qatar World Cup which can accommodate 40,000 spectators. Interestingly, this stadium uses containers and spectator seats that can be disassembled. There are 974 containers installed. The containers can be reused into various other buildings. For example, as lodging, schools, and cafes. Thus, the material from this stage can reduce GHG emission, material use, and energy use. In addition, from a financial perspective, disassembled stadium materials can also provide financial benefits and cost savings.
Circular Economy in World Cup of the Coca-cola Company
Coca-cola is one of the sponsoring partners of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Interestingly, they provide sustainable beverages bottles during the event. Coca-cola introduces recycled PET (rPET) bottles at all sales locations, both stadiums and fan zones. They use rPET in the brands they offer, such as Coca-cola, Fanta, Sprite, and Arwa water. To be able to convey the spirit of realizing a circular economy, they mobilized more than 20,000 volunteers and more than 1 million fans to express responsible recycling. They hope that what they are doing can be an important step towards realizing World Without Waste.
Circular Economy in World Cup by Reducing Food Waste
In addition, Qatar is also committed to apply circular economy by reducing food waste. As we know that food waste can be bad for the environment. Therefore the World Cup and Hifz Al Naema are committed to reducing food waste. They will ensure that surplus food during the event will be distributed to people in need. They will collect them at 12 different points in the stadium and fan zones to make the distribution process easier. According to Jose Retana as Sustainability Director in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, said that the success of reducing organic waste is very dependent on local civilians and social organizations such as Hifz Al Naema.
Conclusion
Thus, we can find out that many policies from FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 are based on circular economy principles. All of the above is also inseparable from a large-scale collaboration based on awareness of the importance of protecting the environment for the future. Therefore, it is important for us to inspire and take as many lessons as possible so that we can be part of the circular economy and sustainability in the future.