The environment is set to become a key part of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics, under new plans revealed by the city's mayor, Richard M Daley, this month.

A 'mini-bid' document (printed on recycled paper using soy ink) was handed to the International Olympic Committee, containing Chicago's aims for what would be a carbon neutral, eco-friendly games.

Chicago 2016's Olympic Village design, for instance, takes advantage of Chicago's lakefront park system and centers the athletes in the heart of the city. The Olympic Village would be surrounded by 19 sports venues, and 91 percent of the athletes will be within 15 minutes of their competition venues, which means travel would be cut down, and as only five new permanent competition venues would have to be built, the environmental impact of construction would be kept at a minimum too.

In the document Chicago 2016 also emphasizes that Chicago's air quality exceeds all but one of the U.S. national standards and full compliance is anticipated before 2016. The city's water quality also exceeds all U.S. standards. The application also showcases Chicago's commitment to achieve reductions in greenhouse gases in line with the Kyoto Protocol, which requires a cut of 5.2 percent in a basket of six gases relative to 1990 levels.

The mini-bid also lists many of Chicago's current green initiatives - the development of Millennium Park, built on a deck over railroad tracks; brownfield remediation; the LEED Platinum rated Center for Green Technology; a Green Business Strategy and Green Construction Permit Program; a green roof effort, with more than 300 gardens and green roofs constructed to date in the city covering 37.2 hectares on public and private buildings; a major tree planting program, with 500,000 new trees to date; and the reclamation and conversion of the downtown airport into Northerly Island Park, now a planned Olympic venue site and nature preserve.

Chicago won't find out until October 2, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark if its bid is successful, however, and is competing with six other cities for the 2016 Summer Games - Baku, Azerbaijan; Doha, Qatar; Madrid, Spain; Prague, Czech Republic; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Tokyo, Japan.