Despite budget woes that will force organizers to tone down the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the Vancouver Organizing Committee says it's on schedule to create the most eco-friendly games in history.

At least, that's the game plan as measured in the third annual corporate Vancouver 2010 Sustainability Report released today by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). The report, which covers VANOC’s performance against its sustainability commitments between August 1, 2007 and July 31, 2008, is available online at vancouver2010.com.

“As an organization, we have made sustainability central to everything we do,” VANOC Chief Executive Officer John Furlong expressed in the opening remarks of the report. “In every decision we make in our day-to-day work -- small or large -- sustainability is a value that is top-of-mind for our team, never an exception. This report addresses each of our sustainability performance objectives, our short- and long-term goals and what we’re doing to meet them.”

During this reporting period, VANOC started hosting international Sport Events at Vancouver 2010 venues in Whistler and Vancouver, opened the RONA Vancouver 2010 Fabrication Shop in Vancouver’s inner city and launched the Vancouver 2010 Aboriginal Licensing and Merchandising Program with the Four Host First Nations.

On the environmental side, VANOC continues to develop environmental management plans for operational venues, pursue energy and water conservation initiatives and track the carbon dioxide emissions from Games-based activities.

Fifty per cent of spending by VANOC went to local suppliers in Vancouver and the Sea to Sky corridor, while a further 43 per cent went to companies in British Columbia (BC) and the rest of Canada. Over $8.8 million in contracts went to Aboriginal businesses. VANOC continued to monitor and audit its licensees and their supply chains to ensure they complied with relevant legal requirements, respected the rights of workers and protected the environment.