Milan-Cortina and LA28 prove that progression is possible – and perhaps, necessary.
Written by: Hannah Riggins
Organizers of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics would make it their goal to deliver 100% renewable energy to all competition venues. They targeted clean energy use as the highest driver of emissions reductions in recent event-planning history. The EU’s “guarantee of origin” certificates crystallize renewable energy portfolio targets and are traded within the market to support energy demand at-scale. Each certificate amounts to 1 gigawatt-hour of energy produced by a carbon-free source, with Italy’s largest electricity generator, Enel, supplying 85 gigawatt-hours in total.
Milan-Cortina is the first of the IOC’s broader paradigm shift towards prioritizing the communities they impact moving forward, and by extension, the sustainability of the Games themselves. At a certain point in time, countries would withdraw their bid in hosting because the economics had proved disadvantageous. Countries would often lose thousands, if not, millions of dollars in erecting stadiums intended to seat tens of thousands and Olympic villages with state-of-the-art recovery facilities. Sure, local economies would be temporarily buoyed by an influx of tourists – with small businesses receiving higher foot traffic and employment rates stabilizing with rapid hiring of Games-associated personnel. Yet, with Japan in an alarming deficit with the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Games due to a global pandemic, the IOC was left asking how to favorably market the prospect of hosting aside from its symbolic appeal.
LA2028 has already laid out its social impact aspirations, which are highly promising. Although it’s proven historically difficult to accurately forecast Olympics costs, LA28 is saving millions of dollars on its no-build policy and radical re-use of existing world-class facilities. According to an August 2025 press-release, LA28 is purchasing 100% renewable energy for event venues and working to make public transit accessible and subsidized for all.
The enhanced emphasis on sustainability will no doubt contribute to the staying power of the Games. As Milan-Cortina athletes have used their platforms to express concern over the warming climate (and need for artificial snow in some of the courses), one can hope that these changes are exactly what the Games needs to chart a course forward in an uncertain future.
Sources:
https://la28.org/en/newsroom/la28-releases-impact-and-sustainability-plan.html
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/organizers-say-tokyo-olympics-cost-1-8-billion-less-than-expected
https://time.com/7373179/winter-olympics-2026-artificial-snow-climate-impact