“This is more than goal-setting - this is game-changing.” - USGBC

The CopaVerde Plan for Brazil

Leveraging upcoming global sporting events to

transform Brazil into the Green Economy of the future!

The CopaVerde Plan (“The Plan”) is a blueprint for Brazil to become the most advanced, sustainable economy in the world.  The Plan begins by calling for the largest, coordinated, Green Building effort ever attempted, in preparation for the major sporting events that Brazil will be hosting in the coming years.  It follows with measures for containment and reversal of deforestation, investment in renewable energy, and mitigation of emissions related to air travel...  The CopaVerde Plan is, in essence, a competition for sustainability that will occur initially in conjunction with high profile global sporting events, but will continue far into the future. It will create the capacity for Brazil and its citizens to endure and meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. It calls architects to build the EcoArenas of the future and serves as a platform for Brazil to showcase its ability to be a leader in economic, environmental and social innovation.  The CopaVerde is the great gift Brazil can offer itself and the world!

Highlights:

1. •Every stadium, sports facility or building to be utilized during the events should be Green Building certified by the most reputable and well known international standard, known as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.)  This certification point system is already the leading Green Building standard in Brazil.
   

2. •Preferential financing terms should be created for a faster Return on Investment (ROI) for the building sector, incentivizing Green Building practices and lower long-term maintenance costs.  Attaching "Green Bonus" financing terms, by the BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) or other banks, tiered to the levels of LEED certification achieved, will launch a race for sustainable, Green Building in Brazil.
   

3. •Creating a "Committee of the Games" chaired by a single individual, a "Czar of the Games," with the power and responsibility to deliver on these measures is essential to prevent further delays and centralize many of the concerns taking place at the federal, state and local levels.  Fast track policymaking is necessary at this important transitional point for the country which is trying to execute and deliver on the largest Global Sporting events, within a six-year window, and which measures will have lasting impacts well beyond the events.  (This organizational body and position would be immediately terminated after the proper institutions are created for long-term sustainable development, likely in 2017.)
   

4. •Creating a local renewable energy project in each host city that is devoted and dedicated to the games which will help expand the technological know-how at the local level.
   

5. •Launching a quest for the Brazilian electric car that will redefine clean travel in a country. Powered by an electricity grid which harnesses energy not from fossil-fuels, but from a large network of hydropower plants, Brazil's electric vehicle fleet can be clean in their utilization and in their sourcing of energy; making it the least polluting transportation sector in the world.
   

6. •Finding an alternative jet-fuel mix for airplanes flying internationally to, or domestically in, Brazil can have a serious impact on the largest polluting factor related directly to the games.
   

7. •Taking carbon offset initiatives from the elite few institutions to the entire corporate sector, down to small businesses, and to the individual level.  An easy to use, public, carbon-offset program for individuals and businesses can launch a chain reaction of investment into sustainable practices and help create the beginnings of 12 Green Cities (12 cities will be hosting the games) which will serve as a foundation for a new Green Brazilian Economy.
   

These are just a few of the measures included in the CopaVerde Plan.  It is far from perfect and there will be set backs, but, this is a big challenge for any country.  So, we ask for your support in what we believe can be the largest and most exciting effort ever undertaken by a nation.   Brazil can deliver the most significant transformation achieved by a country in such a short period, and we are confident that the result will be the greatest sporting events of all time.  This competition for sustainability, what we call “CopaVerde”, can we hope, be the legacy that will continue well past 2016 and make all Brazilians proud.   Please continue reading about "The Plan" and help us all make CopaVerde a reality.

version 2.0 01/01/2010

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original version 1.0 01/01/2009