The Championships Have Led to Change: – Creating a Sustainability Legacy

Published: 03. March 2025

By: Jørgen Ryggvik Karlsen

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Trondheim 2025 takes responsibility for reducing its climate footprint and promotes circular resource use.

– The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships are a two-week celebration, but those 14 days can leave a significant environmental footprint in the surrounding areas.

These are the words of Ola Rønning, Head of Sustainability in Trondheim 2025.

He is concerned about the large waste and the significant climate footprint associated with hosting the World Championships in Trondheim.

That’s why Trondheim 2025 prioritizes reuse and strongly emphasizes circular resource use to help reduce waste and minimize its climate impact.

Nordic Collaboration

One of the most critical steps is ensuring recyclable packaging at Granåsen and Medal Plaza.

Together with partners Retura, Norengros, and Stora Enso, Trondheim 2025 has carefully selected packaging based on production processes and studies that confirm its recyclability.

This initiative systematically eliminates single-use plastics, identifies materials that can generate energy, determines what can be composted, and evaluates what can create value even after the World Championship.

The packaging has been sent for pre-analysis at Retura, which was involved early in the process to assess which materials are most suitable for material recycling. As a result, all food and beverage vendors at the World Championships must use the same quality-assured packaging.

Faktaboks tittel

  • Single-Use Packaging

We will serve hundreds of thousands of meals in connection with the Ski World Championship. Therefore, the choice of packaging is crucial. Together with Retura, NorEngros, and Stora Enso, we have selected packaging based on production processes and research to ensure it can be recycled. Single-use plastic at the arena is not allowed.

  • Recycling Disposable Cups

We will recycle all our disposable coffee cups. We have dedicated waste bins for disposable cups in our arenas, ensuring the cups’ material can be reused multiple times.

  • Food Rescue and MAThilde

We will not throw away edible food. We will donate edible food and place waste in Mathilde’s composting machine. Mathilde reduces food waste into soil improvement products within 24 hours.

  • World-Class Waste Management Solution

We will manage waste effectively in our arenas and make it easy for the public to dispose of and sort their waste correctly. We are putting waste management on the agenda with the City of Trondheim, using the FIS Nordic World Ski Championship as a test arena for waste solutions for significant events.

  • Plastsmart World Championship

With Trøndelag County Municipality, we have put plastic use in sports and large events on the agenda. Sports offer significant opportunities to reduce plastic consumption, especially during the short consumption period. Plates, cutlery, and napkins at the World Championship arenas will be made from biodegradable materials. Single-use plastic is not allowed at the arena.

  • Responsible Consumption and Production

We have created a purchasing checklist that encourages renting and borrowing equipment instead of buying new. This ensures responsible consumption and helps avoid unnecessary production. We want to demonstrate that we can host a World Championship on reuse and recycling.

  • Everyday Facility at Granåsen

We are hosting the World Championship in Nordic sports at a new activity park. Granåsen Sports Park is a large year-round facility for the people of Trondheim, catering to both the young and the elderly, as well as top athletes, recreational sports enthusiasts, and para-sports athletes.

Stora Enso is one of the world’s leading producers of renewable packaging, biomaterials, and wooden construction products from Nordic forests. Stora Enso’s products made of wood are more climate-friendly and have a lower carbon footprint compared to many products made from fossil-based materials.

Norengros, Norway’s largest supplier of consumables to both private and public sectors, distributes the products, while sorted waste is transported to Retura for material recycling.

– All event suppliers receive deliveries from a single provider; just one vehicle transports the consumables. We ensure CO₂-free transportation from our warehouse to the event site. The flexibility of our logistics system is unmatched, says Geir Jonassen, Sales Manager at Norengros Trøndelag.

– Our partners see themselves as part of the championship, actively collaborating and discussing solutions instead of getting stuck on challenges, adds Haakon Jensen, Head of Commercial at Trondheim 2025, giving a concrete example:

– During a World Championship, a massive number of paper cups are used. It’s crucial that they can be recycled appropriately. Retura has partnered locally with Ranheim Paper & Board to collect the paper cups used during the event.

Setting a New Standard

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships feature ten days of competition, each dedicated to a sustainability theme. This showcases how Trondheim 2025 aims to become the most sustainable FIS Nordic World Ski Championship ever.

On Wednesday, March 4th, the theme is circular resource use.

Trondheim 2025 has been actively involved in “Green Arena”, a project initiated by Trondheim Municipality. Together with Retura, the organizing committee has developed and tested various waste-sorting solutions to highlight the importance of waste management. The goal is to use the World Championship as a testing ground for waste management at future large-scale events and establish a hub for sustainable development.

Christian Lima, Regional Manager at Retura Midt–Norge, says the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships will leave a sustainability legacy.

– The most significant impact is that future events in the region will have vastly improved waste sorting compared to past events. These solutions will create an event package that can be applied to future events.

Lima emphasizes that material recycling is crucial to reducing the need for new product production.

– For example, uneaten food and the plates used by athletes, accredited guests, spectators, and staff will be composted into soil improvement materials. In theory, these resources can live on indefinitely, he explains.

– We are setting a new standard for major sporting events, Head of Sustainability Rønning says.

He continues:

– We want to show that it is possible to host a FIS Nordic World Ski Championship with a strong focus on waste sorting and reuse, all within an everyday sports facility accessible to everyone.