On 12 May, Folker Hellmund (Director of the EOC EU Office) and Eva Rebmann (Acting Deputy Director and OCEAN Project Manager) presented the OCEAN Project during the 43rd EOC Seminar in Paris. The EOC Seminar is held on 12-13 May and covers a wide range of topics, going from the upcoming events, including this year’s European Games in Krakow and Malopolska, to current challenges faced by NOCs, such as inclusion for all, sustainability, or gender equality in sport.
Sustainability in sport was tackled on Day 1. During a panel discussion, Rikke Rønholt Albertsen (Member of EOC’s Sustainability and Active Society Commission and NOC Denmark), Nils Holmegaard (Sustainability Senior Manager at IOC) and Jana Janotova and Veronika Zemanova (Head of International Relations at NOC Czech Republic) gave an insightful overview of their respective organisation’s state of play and experiences regarding sustainability strategies and practices. This included the presentation of IOC’s “Olympism 365” strategy as well as the NOCs from Denmark and Czech Republic sharing their strategic approach to include sustainability in the organisation’s strategies. 
The EOC EU Office presented the OCEAN Project (Olympic Committees of Europe Approaching Carbon Neutrality). Folker Hellmund introduced the Project by describing the influence of EU legislation on sustainability as well as the opportunities for funding from the EU for sustainability projects. Eva Rebmann presented the major objectives of the project, which are to support the 18 participating European NOCs in approaching the measurement and the reduction of their Carbon Footprint and simultaneously educating personnel for the role as Climate Action Officers.
The following discussion focused on current challenges for sports organisations in sustainability, such as the multiple crises or the development of event calendars that minimize the emissions caused by travel and transport.