On the surface, 'sustainability' might not appear to be the most interesting area to be involved with when you think about the 2012 Games. So why have I joined as a Sustainability Ambassador? Well, when you consider it deals with issues on both a global ecological scale and a human level it is by far the most far-reaching. 

The Games are like an iceberg, with only one tenth visible above the surface - and that tenth is the competition. Underneath is everything that not only makes the Games run smoothly but also maintains the credibility of the Olympic and Paralympic brands. More importantly, what's 'underneath' is what gets left after - the positive outcomes for the host country and city.

It's that 'underneath' that I think is the most important. (And it's not just me - one of the reasons London's bid appealed to the delegates of the International Olympic Committee was the commitment that Seb and his bid team made to ensuring London was going to be the most sustainable Olympics and Paralympics to date.)

Over the last few years, having rowed across the Atlantic and skied to the South Pole, my perception of the world we live in has changed. But it was the definition of sustainability on a human level – 'the potential for long-term improvements in wellbeing, which in turn depend on the wellbeing of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources' - which probably best conveys why this was an area I wanted to try and help LOCOG achieve the targets they've set themselves.

They are not easy targets to hit and will require all areas from athletes and press through to construction and waste management to ensure they are doing everything they can. 

The Olympics and Paralympics have the capability to make enormous changes. Not only in how a major sporting event can be put on in a sustainable way, but also how a major construction project can be also. 

And when, as often happens, I'm asked how the cost of putting on the Games can be justified, there's no massive revelation in my answer - I agree with those who've said that the level of redevelopment in an area of east London that desperately needed it wouldn’t have happened as quickly or on such a scale without the Games coming here. 

Even more widely, the Games can be used to make lifestyle changes towards more healthy eating, travelling and responsible social thinking – and this is what 'sustainability' means to London 2012.

I'm hoping that my experience as both an athlete and member of the press at the Games can help in some small way to not only make London realise its target of being the most sustainable Games to date, but also get people to understand that sustainability is about more than just reducing our carbon footprint.