AWARE, a non-profit organization, is changing the name of its proposed Olympic Wildlife Refuge to Our Wildlife Legacy after the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee said it couldn’t use the word “Olympic”, reports Pique News Magazine.
According to the magazine the organization has been working with the provincial government and other stakeholders on the establishment of an “Olympic Wildlife Refuge” in the Soo Valley, the valley next to the Callaghan Valley and the 2010 Nordic venue. It was proposed by AWARE because the organization felt that proponents of the 2010 Games were failing to create an environmental legacy to go with the legacies for sport and culture.
Wendy Horan, president of the Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment said they are worried that this might be the first step in …greenwash. AWARE is worried that without “Olympic” in its name the area may never be established.
VANOC spokeswoman Maureen Douglas told Pique that the organizing committee has no choice but to ask AWARE to remove the word “Olympic” from the name of the proposed wildlife refuge because of brand protection and an obligation to trademark enforcement.
David Chernushenko, president of Green and Gold, an environmental consulting agency, said while he has seen no indication that VANOC is not standing by its environmental commitments it’s wise to be vigilant about the promises made by organizing committees. The problem, he said, is that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does little to enforce environmental promises made by organizing committees.
VANOC has recently posted a position for vice-president in charge of sustainability, which Chernushenko said, was “a promising sign in that it is a very high level to be assigning someone responsible for sustainability”.
