The importance of a sustainable supply chain for Rio 2016
December 4th, 2014
One of the main challenges of delivering a sustainable Olympic Games relates to the supply chain. This is not just because of the complexity of purchasing 30 million items by 2016, but also because of the characteristics of the Brazilian market.
Why does this happen?
It would be simple and easy if, today, the market were able to meet our sustainability needs with no great effort on our part. However, what is the point of stating, for instance, that we will only buy certificated timber items if there are insufficient suppliers to meet our needs?
For this reason, rather than laying down requirements, we realised that what we really needed to do was develop suppliers. And we also realised that the work of training and qualifying a sustainable supply chain would be a legacy from the Games, even before they begin!
To help develop the supply chain, Rio 2016 has concluded a technical cooperation agreement with Sebrae, intended to qualify potential suppliers for Rio 2016 and expected to extend to some two thousand micro-businesses and small concerns.
Furthermore, in partnership with FSC*, MSC* and ASC*, Rio 2016 is working to engage and train suppliers in obtaining timber (custodial chain), fish and sea foods certification.
If you are interested in becoming a Rio 2016 supplier, keep an eye on our supplies portal at: http://portaldesuprimentos.rio2016.com/. There you will find our purchases plan, open tenders and all our supplier sustainability guides.
* FSC, MSC and ASC are independent, international bodies, responsible respectively for certificating timber, fishing and sea foods.