ESMS supports Qatar’s sustainable development goals and meets the standards of Qatar’s 2030 national vision.
The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) has been awarded with the Event Sustainable Management Certification (ISO20121:2012 ESMS) during a certification ceremony held at the QOC Headquarters on Thursday, attended by the national body’s Secretary General and directors of departments.
The ESMS award ceremony was also attended by Mr Hussam Refaai, CEO of Bureau Veritas (the granting company) and QOC’s employees.
This ESMS will help all organisations and individuals to make their sport events and related- activities more sustainable.
It supports Qatar’s sustainable development objectives and meets the standards of Qatar’s 2030 national vision; in addition to reducing environmental, social, and economic negative impacts that result from organising the events while developing QOC’s relations with key stakeholders.
QOC Secretary General, Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain said, “we are truly grateful and proud to be awarded with this certification. I appreciate the collective contributions of teamwork and everyone that helped QOC to get this certification. Together we push ahead to make our objectives a reality.”
“This certification [is in line] with QOC’s strategic plan which includes [an] annual database as per the international criteria. It also improves our work output and meets customers’ needs as per our upcoming 2023-2027 strategy. Finally, it meets QOC’s vision: To Become a Leading Nation in Bringing The World Together Through Sustainable Sport Development,” added the Secretary General.
Director of Strategy & Projects Department, Fahad Ebrahim Juma said: “It’s a valuable certification [for] QOC and will help our integrated sport system work efficiently and more professionally”.
Sustainability efforts and SDGs
ESMS have committed to creating a framework that will help them achieve sustainable development standards in conformity with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and IOC’s standards that are backed by sustainable development principles such as: Inclusivity, Management, Integrity and Legacy.
Additionally, this system will enhance all event management operations in sequence, starting from concept, planning, implementation and auditing stages to post-events activities. It further reduces impacts on the environment, boosts economic growth and builds up real sustainable communities.
Most notably, sustainability concepts were put into practice during the second edition of 2022 QOC Beach Games held at Katara Cultural Village in March, a legacy inherited from the ANOC World Beach Games Qatar in 2019.
In light of the country’s annual beach events, the Qatar Olympic Committee has boosted its sustainability standards in three fields: community sustainability, environmental sustainability and economic sustainability.
