The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) announced today that a review by the government agency responsible for supervising the construction of the venues for the 2008 Olympic Games has confirmed that none of the venues is using or will use virgin timber from Indonesia, as has been alleged.

In fact, the review found that no wood products are being procured from Indonesia.

BOCOG requested the Beijing 2008 Venue Construction Administration Office, the relevant government agency, to conduct this review after allegations circulated that virgin timber was being ordered from Indonesia for use in Olympic venues.

In conducting its review, officials from the Venue Construction Administration Office contacted each company that owns the 24 venues under construction to inquire about their plans for the use of wood.

As stated above, the Venue Construction Administration Office notified BOCOG that none are sourcing wood products from Indonesia. (Seven venues have yet to begin construction.)

BOCOG took these allegations seriously and conducted this review because it is committed to hosting green Olympic Games and opposes the use of virgin timber in the construction of Olympic venues, a position that BOCOG has consistently maintained. BOCOG published guidelines outlining the environmental standards for Olympic venues in the Olympic Projects Environmental Guide distributed at the outset of construction in 2002.

The guide mandated the use of sustainable materials and prohibited the use of virgin timber products. This policy opposing the importation or use of virgin forest products for Olympic venues was reiterated in 2004.

(BOCOG June 1, 2006)