Rimi Riga Marathon offsets carbon footprint in innovative way by lighting up 22 pedestrian crossings in Riga.
8 February 2023The Rimi Riga Marathon has become the first large-scale sports event in the Baltics to assess its impact on the environment by calculating its CO₂ᵉ emissions, or carbon footprint. With support from sustainability partners Neste Latvia and Vizulo, Rimi Riga Marathon compensated for some of last year’s 152.6 tons of CO₂ᵉ emissions by donating 49 energy-efficient lamps to Riga’s municipal agency Riga Gaisma to light up 22 pedestrian crossings in the city.
By donating the lamps, the Rimi Riga Marathon prevented 93.5 tons of CO₂ᵉ emissions from entering the atmosphere, and also reduced future electricity costs. Prior to this, part of the Rimi Riga Marathon’s emissions were compensated for by planting pine trees in Mežaparks and spruces throughout Latvia, offsetting 118 tons of CO₂ᵉ emissions, thus significantly exceeding last year’s event’s total carbon offset.
We are proud that our efforts to reduce the Rimi Riga Marathon's carbon footprint have resulted not only in sustainable improvements to event organization, but also in an innovative approach to offsetting its footprint by investing in emission-reducing projects in Riga with the help of our partner, Neste. We hope that other large event organizers will follow our example and support the capital's efforts to achieve climate neutrality.
Aigars Nords
Rimi Riga Marathon Race Director
In total, the replacement of 49 sodium lamps with LED lamps made by Vizulo in Latvia takes place at 22 pedestrian crossings: on Krustpils, Prusu, Salaspils, Lomonosova, and Ieriku streets, Visku, Daugavgrivas, and Bullu streets, Anninmuizas Boulevard, Zolitudes Street, Kapteina Street, Jurmala Street, and Zolitudes Street, as well as at several pedestrian crossings on Rostokas Street. The savings provided by these lamps over the course of a year is 34,300 MWh, with an estimated savings of 857.5 MWh over their entire operating cycle. The organizers of the Rimi Riga Marathon thank Vizulo for their cooperation in producing and delivering the lamps.
Riga is one of 100 participants in the European Commission's mission to become carbon-neutral cities. The city's goal is to limit and offset emissions, as well as motivate market participants to work and produce more sustainably. Collaboration with the Rimi Riga Marathon and Neste Latvia demonstrates that important goals for society can be achieved together. Thanks to entrepreneurs who are socially responsible and who not only offset emissions, but also reduce them!
Mārtiņš Staķis
Chairman of Riga City Council
The sustainability program “Run for Future by Neste”, which includes the calculation of the CO₂ᵉ emissions or carbon footprint, aims to minimize the impact of the largest popular sports event in the Baltics on the environment and to encourage a sustainable lifestyle among both the running community and the event industry (and beyond).
Collaboration with the Rimi Riga Marathon in sustainable event organization shows how natural it can be for a three-way relationship with the city to not only reduce the event's impact, but also invest in more energy-efficient city infrastructure for everyone - runners, pedestrians, and drivers.
Armands Beiziķis
Chairman of the Board, Neste Latvia Ltd.
The sustainability audit of the Rimi Riga Marathon in the “Run for Future by Neste” program was carried out in collaboration with Jānis Brizga, a researcher and environmental expert at the University of Latvia, using data available to the organizers and surveys of collaboration partners and Rimi Riga Marathon participants.
For more information on the sustainability audit of the Rimi Riga Marathon and the Run for Future by Neste program, please see the Sustainability section.