One of the pillars of the Olympic movement is the environment, and there is an explicit recommendation from the International Olympic Committee for the National Olympic Committees and the International Federations to make determined efforts in this direction.

The International Federation of Baseball is no stranger to this commitment. In 2007 the European Championship – Olympic Classification Tournament which was held in Spain achieved the ISO 14.001 certification and, for the following year, the objective of our organization is to adopt good environmental practices in all the cities and countries in which the World Championship is held: Spain, the Czech Republic, Russia, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands and Italy.

Actions to be carried out:

1. All the Local Organizing Committees will make a Declaration of Environmental Commitment – a model is attached-. Likewise they will designate a person in charge in the Organizing Committee whose commitment will be the establishment of good environmental practices and the supervision of the same.

2. In order to homogenize the criteria, and to supply the National Federations with the most information, the International Federation of Baseball will designate a general supervisor to help those Local Organizing Committees who request help.

3. Use recycled or chlorine free paper in all the communication materials: posters, programs, accreditations, etc.

4. Minimize the consumption of paper using photocopiers and double face printers, and where possible the use of informational materials is recommended –for example publishing the Final Memorandum in CD-.

5. Provide containers in all the facilities and offices of the Organizing Committee for the selective collection of waste: paper and cardboard, glass, plastic and organic.

6. Raise the awareness of the general public and especially those who attend the game grounds, for this purpose the Local Organizing Committee will include in all the publicity materials, mainly posters, programs and webpage, the Green Logo with a simple message where the commitment of the Local Organizing Committee is explained –for example “help us in the Green Event, use public transport to attend the game!”-. Likewise in the game grounds, and with the megaphone, eco-messages will be given: use public transport; help us keep the facility clean, use the selective waste containers; etc.

7. Provide a group of eco-volunteers in the facilities to help in the areas of information and raising the awarenees of the spectators. In order to differentiate them from the rest of the volunteers, it is advisable to give them a “green” Organizing Committee t-shirt.

8. In the file for the communication media and in the press conferences, the World Championship’s Green Event commitment will be communicated.

9. Try to reduce the number of “official” vehicles for the competition, it’s best to try and get the IBAF “leaders and officials” to share a vehicle, for this it is essential to plan the Schedule-car well. If it can be achieved that a sponsor can facilitate vehicles for the organization, these should be the most ecological and use bio-fuels. In case they are rented, the same criteria will be followed. The voluntary drivers will develop an ecological transportation.

10. The lodging facilitated by the Organizing Committee for the participating national teams should fulfil the requirements of respecting the environment. Likewise, wherever possible, suppliers with environmental certification will be contracted.

The IBAF Green Event initiatives based upon IOC's Agenda 21 are designed to raise environmental awareness and ensure that the tournament itself is as eco-friendly as possible. This initiative will see the 2009 Baseball World Cup fall further into line with Olympic movement standards, as the tournament will be Agenda 21-compliant.

Please visit the link below for IOC Agenda 21.

http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_300.pdf