The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee's code for sustainable procurement of timber used in Games venues allows contractors to use materials from questionable sources, a representative of the environmental group Rainforest Action Network said Thursday.
The Sustainable Sourcing Code for Timber provided a "huge compromise in favor of the construction companies," the group's senior adviser, Hana Heineken, told a news conference in Tokyo.
The code only requires that wood used in concrete formwork be legally harvested. It says consideration must be given to conservation of the ecosystem, indigenous and local people's rights, and appropriate safety measures, but makes none of that mandatory.