2015 UCI Road World Championships Awarded UCI reCycling Eco-label

Mayor Dwight C. Jones and Richmond 2015 officials marked a historic occasion today when they announced that the 2015 UCI Road World Championships has become the first Road World Championships to receive the official UCI reCycling eco-label.

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) created the reCycling program to help its members organize more environmentally responsible cycling events by addressing practices in transportation, energy and water conservation, recycling and waste management, accommodations, catering and supplies. UCI awards the eco-label to cycling events that have submitted an Environmental Management Plan documenting intended actions that meet the reCycling criteria.

"We’re very grateful to Mayor Jones for his leadership and to Alicia Zatcoff, the City of Richmond Sustainability Manager, for her hard work and commitment in obtaining the reCycling eco-label for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships," said Wilson Flohr, CEO of Richmond 2015, Inc. "The eco-label will generate interest in and benefit the image of our event. It also provides a tangible value to Richmond 2015, our sponsors, and partners to be able to use the eco-label in promotional materials related to Worlds."

"I applaud the City of Richmond and Richmond 2015 officials for their significant achievement. Their approach will encourage future UCI World Championships to become more environmentally responsible," said UCI President Brian Cookson.

During the 2015 UCI Road World Championships, attendees will notice practical efforts to promote sustainability like mobile water-filling stations provided by the City’s Department of Public Utilities in the fan zones to reduce plastic use and a Green Team of volunteers who are focused on carrying out the eco-label initiatives.

"Attaining the official UCI reCycling eco-label for the 2015 Championships will help us enhance the City’s broader sustainability goals," said Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones. "The City is strategically leveraging the World Championships to further community-wide initiatives that are essential for a vibrant and resilient Richmond. These initiatives enhance the quality of life for the entire community and will continue to benefit our residents long after the nine days of racing are over and the visitors have returned home."

During today’s announcement, Mayor Jones issued a progress report on the City’s RVAgreen Sustainability Plan titled Moving Sustainability Forward. The Progress Report tracks progress in achieving the 55 sustainability initiatives established in RVAgreen; develops indicators to measure overall sustainability goals in areas such as green jobs, healthy food access, community energy use, recycling rates, open space access, housing cost burden and alternative modes of transportation; and sets an ambitious goal to reduce city government and the community’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050 which equates to a 1.8 percent reduction every year.

"Receiving the UCI eco-label acknowledges the efforts to date of so many within the community," said Zatcoff. "We want to maximize the opportunities for sustainability that hosting this major international event presents. To that end, we are pursuing the Council for Responsible Sport event certification which is based on the event’s actual performance in key areas of: equity, access, community impact, and legacy in addition to the environmental planning focus of the UCI eco-label."

As a result of work related to the 2015 Championships, the City of Richmond and collaborators are building capacity in the community to enhance the sustainability of future events. In addition to the mobile water filling stations and Green Team of volunteers, improvements include a comprehensive, visible waste diversion system that includes recycling and composting stations; and a green event toolkit to provide free information and resources to help organizers make their events more sustainable.

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