Munich are looking to stage the first ever carbon-neutral Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2018 which will include the unprecedented step of offsetting all international travel of guests.

Witt claims the high profile conference in the Qatari capital will give the German city the ideal opportunity to present their ideas to key International Olympic Committee (IOC) members, including President Jacques Rogge.

"We are delighted to be attending this prestigious event," said Witt.

"Sustainability has been the cornerstone of our bid concept since the very earliest planning phase.

"We have dedicated an enormous amount of time and resources to it and we are proud of the ecological roadmap we have created.

'In many ways, Germany is already a world-leader in environmental management across a range of fields.

"A Winter Games in Munich would connect the IOC with proven expertise and commitment and we know that Munich 2018 can be a platform for setting new global standards in green mega-event staging across the Olympic Movement."

Munich 2018's primary focus here will be to raise awareness of their "Flagship 18" initiative, a series of 18 pioneering projects addressing the protection of natural resources, climate protection, sustainable sport and regional development and education and sustainable development.

"Our concept is based on the sustainable use of existing world-class venues and infrastructure," said Schwank.

"Exactly 99 per cent of the area for sports venues is already used for sport or will be temporarily converted, meaning minimal construction impact.

"The renaturisation of the land used temporarily has been legally guaranteed by the Free State of Bavaria; and all existing venues will be renovated to make them at least 30 per cent more energy efficient.

"Just one per cent of the total sports facility space will be converted into new permanent sports venues – that equates to less than the size of a football pitch."

Witt and Schwank will be joined here by Michael Vesper, the General Director of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), who also highlighted the strengths of Munich's environmental plans.

"It is very important to the bid that every one of Munich 2018's stakeholders shares our commitment to protecting and enhancing the natural environment," said Vesper, who is also Chairman of the Munich 2018 Supervisory Board.

"For example, the DOSB received the IOC Award for Sport and the Environment at the 2009 edition of this event in Vancouver and BMW Group was this year named the class-leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the 6th consecutive year.

"Together, we are determined to build a greener future for Bavaria, Germany and the entire Olympic Movement."

Munich have also claimed that they are committed to producing 100 per cent of its household electricity through renewable sources by 2015 while the three levels of government have also pledged $145 million (£87 million) towards the non-OCOG budget specifically for launching, implementing and sustaining Munich 2018's ambitious ecological projects.

This includes a $36.7 million (£21.9 million) fund from the Free State of Bavaria that will go towards converting the Mountain Media Centre in Garmisch-Partenkirchen into a state-of-the-art centre for sustainability.

The trip to Qatar is the first engagement in a critical month for Munich 2018 as they step up their plans in battle to secure the 2018 Winter Olympics where they face stiff competition from rivals Annecy in France and Pyeongchang in Korea.

The trio are all preparing for the vital technical presentation to the IOC in Lausanne on May 18 shortly before heading to Durban in South Africa for the final vote on July 6.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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