Rome 2024 pledge to prioritise ecological factors when devising Olympic bid

Preserving cultural sustainability in Rome has been highlighted as key by the environmental groups ©Getty Images

Environmental groups across Italy have tentatively endorsed Rome's 2024 Olympic and Paralympic bid following a meeting with bid officials in which a sustainable approach and transparent plans were put forward.

A coalition of groups, including Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Italia Nostra and Legambiente, participated in two days of discussions with the likes of Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) President Giovanni Malagò and bid leader Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, as well as Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino.

As well as highlighting how the bid must satisfy local people and the requirements of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), it was pledged how Rome, the city which hosted the 1960 Summer Games and withdrew from the contest for the 2020 edition in 2012, are prioritising the "highest environmental sustainability".

They are also focused on listening to citizens and associations and to achieving full participation in the development of a project that will "trace the lines of transformation of the city".

"The major environmental associations in Italy are looking with interest at Rome's Olympic bid in 2024 if the project and its possible realisation will follow really ecological criteria, from energy consumption to the mobility of soil, protection of biodiversity and promotion of the cultural heritage of Rome," a collective statement read.

"[It is an] imperative condition that the Olympic bid in Rome bears the sign of a strong innovation and discontinuity in all environmentally sensitive fields...

"That in all the steps will be guaranteed maximum transparency and legality of the procedures and full public access to information related to the event, and that Rome 2024 becomes an opportunity to design the Rome of the future by deciding in advance for all interventions subsequent use in the interest of the city and on this basis identifying the urban areas involved in the project."

CONI President Giovanni Malago was among those meeting with the environmental groups ©Getty Images

Rome is one of three cities to have confirmed they are bidding for 2024, along with Hamburg in Germany and United States challenger Boston.

Paris is expected to follow suit today, while Budapest is also poised to launch a bid.

This comes as environmental factors are being seriously considered by the IOC when evaluating bidding cities, with shortcomings and challenges therein mentioned in this month's IOC Evaluation Commission report on the bids of both Almaty and Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

Minimising the use of land, ensuring efficient and clean energy, controlling water and waste and the usage of environmentally friendly materials were all highlighted as priorities during the meeting.

Good use of public transport systems and cycle networks, priority commitments to enhance the cultural heritage of the city, and a lack of "derogation or shortcuts" in the decision-making processes were all also cited as key.