Team Canada goes carbon neutral for Rio 2016 with Offsetters

Team Canada’s 313 athletes and considerable Olympic mission staff of coaches, physicians and support personnel traveling to Rio 2016 will no doubt have an environmental impact.

In order to mitigate Team Canada’s carbon footprint at South America’s first ever Olympic Games – as it sends not just people, but heavy cargo to Brazil – Offsetters Climate Solutions has stepped in to help reduce and offset the environmental burden.

Offsetters' approximate contribution to fighting greenhouse gases with Team Canada for Rio 2016.

Offsetters’ approximate contribution in mitigating greenhouse gases with Team Canada for Rio 2016.

The partnership with Offsetters, which helped Vancouver 2010 become the first carbon neutral Olympic Games, allows Team Canada to ship its 182 tonnes of cargo and over 700-strong mission team to Rio without additional environmental consequences to the planet.

Offsetters calculated Team Canada will produce approximately 3,008 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from travel to the Olympics in Rio. The Vancouver-based firm will proceed to remove an equivalent volume of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere through investments in high quality offset projects in Canada and on the international stage.

At previous Olympic Games, Offsetters helped Team Canada by investing in projects that reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 2,151 and 1,290 tonnes for London 2012 and Sochi 2014 respectively.