World Environment Day, held annually on June 5, is the United Nations (UN) day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment.

To celebrate, the IOC "reaffirmed its commitment to minimising its ecological footprint, protecting the environment and raising awareness about its importance," with an emphasis on doing so during the current coronavirus pandemic. 

Sustainability is a key element of Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC’s reform programme introduced in 2014.

Since 2014, the IOC has also committed to be climate positive, defined as an activity which goes beyond achieving net zero carbon emissions to create an environmental benefit by removing additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

This will include planting an Olympic Forest in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme and ensuring that all Olympic and Paralympic Games from 2030 are climate positive. 

Current host cities are still being provided with guidance on sustainable sourcing and carbon management, and the bidding process aims to ensure that Games are organised in a less complex and more sustainable way. 

Tokyo 2020 is expected to achieve carbon neutrality through a range of measures, including renewable energy and zero-emission vehicles provided by Olympic Partner Toyota. 

Beijing 2022 plans to power all its venues with renewable energy, while Paris 2024 has tried to make sustainability the centre-point of its Games. 

The IOC also claims that its new headquarters, Olympic House in Lausanne, was one of the most sustainable buildings in the world when it opened last year. 

Rooftop solar panels produce electricity, while heating and cooling are generated using water from Lake Geneva. 

"Sport needs its athletes to be fit, but it also needs a fit and healthy planet in order to survive," IOC director for sustainability Marie Sallois said.

"By inspiring innovative solutions, raising awareness and uniting people, sport has the unique power to make the world a better and more sustainable place."