Creating sustainable futures/CSF104/Prioritising/Right direction

Before any action is taken, asking if the action leads us towards the vision is critical.

In 2010, the winter Olympics were held in Whistler in Canada. The community pitched their successful bid on the basis that they would be the most Sustainable Olympics ever. And they were.

They achieved this by creating a community-led process of participation called Whistler 2020. They developed a clear vision then backcast from the four system conditions for a sustainable future.

In the many thousands of decisions that were made leading up to the Olympics, it’s worth considering two case studies. One on purchasing policy, and one on how to provide energy for heat and transport that were sustainable. The purchasing policy was crucial as buildings, transport and energy infrastructure all had to be designed and built. Food and cultural co-operation had to be considered. The Olympics was a one-off opportunity to define what Whistler stood for and believed in.