"Sports events attract a huge number of people but they also have a long-term impact on the environment. The way the Olympic Games of Turin have been prepared proves that organisations can effectively use the EU environmental tools and guidelines to mitigate such impact and turn a sports event into an opportunity to raise awareness of sustainable development". Today, the EU Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas, acknowledged the efforts made by the organisers of the Turin Olympic Games to respect nature, thus also setting a great example for the future. According to Dimas, who met in Brussels the delegates of the Organising Committee (Toroc, Torino Winter Olympics Organising Committee), the "XX Olympic and Para-Olympic Winter Games that will be held in Turin next February and March will be the first truly ecological great sports event ever held in Europe". Both events "will achieve this goal by making the most of the EU voluntary environmental tools"; the eco-management and audit system (Emas) and the EU Ecological Quality label (Ecolabel).
