PyeongChang’s status as a pilot city for the Sustainable Cities Program (SCP) will underpin the bid committee’s plans for an environmentally-friendly Games, if PyeongChang is selected as the host city of the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The Sustainable Cities Program was created jointly by United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and UN-HABITAT in the early 1990s to promote environmental, social and economic sustainability through local participation in decision making.

The initiative, which has a budget of $600,000 USD, will be driven by Gangwon Province and Seoul National University. Key components will include monitoring the city’s environmental conditions and development situation, constructing environmental information management systems, and establishing an executive committee to provide strategies for the city’s development.

The program will enable the PyeongChang 2014 Bid Committee officials to evaluate its various plans and projects in accordance with environmental best practice.

PyeongChang has already established the ‘4 Less, 4 More’ principle for a Green Games. ‘4 Less’ signifies minimizing the production of pollutants globally and in the region, minimizing damage to the environment, and minimizing use of natural resources. ‘4 More’ means maximising the green economy, maximizing the use of renewable energy, optimizing safety and public health, and ensuring biological diversity.

Kim Jin-sun, Governor of Gangwon Province and Executive President of PyeongChang 2014 Bid Committee said: “We are pleased that PyeongChang has been chosen as a pilot city for the Sustainable Cities Program. If PyeongChang is selected to host the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games we aim to set a precedent for the most eco-friendly Games ever. Involvement in the Sustainable Cities Program is an important contribution to our existing environmental plans for a Green Games. Our objective is to showcase Games where humanity and the natural environment co-exist in harmony.”