News

SwissCityMarathon - Lucerne is honoured with the AIMS Green Award 2018!

Last changed on

The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) presents the 2018 AIMS Green Award to the SwissCityMarathon - Lucerne. The award, which recognises outstanding achievements in sustainability, will be presented to the race from Lucerne, Switzerland, at the sixth annual AIMS "Best Marathon Runner" (BMR) Awards Gala, which will take place on Friday 9 November 2018 in the birthplace of the marathon, Athens, Greece.

The International Association of Marathon Running (AIMS) judges the candidates for the Green Award on various criteria such as the promotion of environmentally friendly practices, the involvement of volunteers in the success of the project, or the ability to educate young generations about the benefits of sport and environmental protection. The other two shortlisted races were the Marine Corps Marathon (USA) and the Silesia Marathon (Poland).

The aim of the SwissCityMarathon - Lucerne association is to organise a sustainable event that can continue to exist in the future. This means that the three dimensions of society, economy and environment, in which the SwissCityMarathon operates, are taken into account equally.

Society

The race supports the UNICEF children's relief organisation as a charity project and, thanks to the cooperation with the Max Havelaar Foundation, products with the Fairtrade label are used.

Economy

Local suppliers and companies are used wherever possible. The local running community is cultivated throughout the year through various activities and support for other events, associations and institutions.

Environment

There is a comprehensive environmental policy and a comprehensive environmental plan. Unnecessary emissions such as waste, noise, water and air pollution are avoided wherever possible. 75% of the CO2 emissions generated during the SwissCityMarathon are caused by participants travelling. Thanks to the Swiss Runners Tickets, travelling from anywhere in Switzerland to the event and back is free of charge for participants.

The drinking water at the runners' refreshment points is sourced from the city's fire hydrants, which are of drinking water quality. The SwissCityMarathon - Lucerne offers participants the opportunity to donate to CO2 compensation when registering for the race, thereby supporting the Swiss forestry project of the company "Oberallmeindkorporation" (OAK-Schwyz).

Reto Schorno, CEO of the SwissCityMarathon, comments: "It is a great honour to receive this international award. We are very proud of our sustainability concept and also of our volunteers and runners, who also utilise and support our measures. We invest a lot in sustainability, e.g. free travel by public transport, donations for social projects, support for forestry projects, paperless registration options, waste separation at the event, etc. and are delighted that this has been recognised. We would like to thank the AIMS and its members for awarding us this honour."

About AIMS

AIMS is a membership-based organisation and since its inception in 1982 has grown to become the world's leading distance running association with 447 members from over 117 countries and territories. AIMS members come from every continent in the world and include the Athens Marathon "The Authentic". This originated from the legend of Pheidippides, the Greek soldier-runner who ran from the city of Marathon to Athens in 490 BC to announce that the Persians had been defeated in the "Battle of the Marathon". Other AIMS members include many of the greatest distance races in history such as the Beijing, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, New York, Paris and Tokyo marathons.

The three main objectives of AIMS are:

  1. To promote distance running around the world
  2. To co-operate with the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) on all matters relating to international road races.
  3. Exchange of information, knowledge and expertise between members of the association

Further information about AIMS: www.AIMS-worldrunning.org.

About the AIMS Green Award

Since 2013, AIMS has honoured races with the AIMS Green Award that achieve outstanding performance in this area. However, AIMS does not only intend to recognise the "green initiatives" of its members, but also to help them improve their races in terms of good environmental practices during their marathon events. To this end, AIMS, in collaboration with the Institute Team for the World Environmental Alliance 2004+, a scientific non-governmental non-profit organisation led by George Kazantzopoulos, former member of the IOC Commission on Sport and the Environment, has established a set of environmental guidelines that go beyond the creation of the AIMS Green Award with the IOC Olympic Movement's Agenda 21** and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Previous recipients of the AIMS Green Award
  • 2013 - SuisseGas Milano Marathon (Italy)
  • 2014 - BMW Frankfurt Marathon (Germany)
  • 2015 - Chevron Houston Marathon (USA)
  • 2016 - GöteborgsVarvet Half Marathon (Sweden)
  • 2017 - Sanlam Cape Town Marathon (South Africa)