Efforts such as the greening of the supply chain, regeneration of an inner city area and bringing energy efficiency measures to local homes, can build the confidence to wider society that sustainability is not theory but infinitely do-able with the policies and technologies available today not tomorrow. Once the Games are over, I look forward to analysing the achievements and lessons learned.”
To mark the launch of London 2012’s pre-games sustainability report, Achim Steiner, visited the Olympic park to witness the successful showcase of sustainable development and regeneration of the East London site.
The pre-games sustainability report, covers London 2012’s delivery of the entire Olympic and Paralympic programme, with a spotlight on performance up to April 2012, three months before the Games start.
Achim Steiner attended to view the Olympic Park’s transformation at scale, with a detailed tour from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games’ (LOCOG’s), Head of Sustainability, David Stubbs and the Olympic Delivery Authority’s (ODA’s) Director of Venues and Infrastructure, Simon Wright.
Sustainability has been a basis for all London 2012 activities since winning the bid in July 2005. In 2007 Prime Minister Tony Blair said the London 2012 Games could become a “cutting edge example of sustainability” and this is demonstrated in the report released yesterday.
Some highlights are:
• The Olympic park –Largest new urban parkland in Europe for 150 years. The cleaned up and reprofiled river valley is providing both new wildlife habitats and significant food alleviation.
• Stadium - Most sustainable Olympic and Paralympic stadium in history has been completed on time, to budget and to high sustainability standards.
• Carbon Management –First Olympic and Paralympic Games to measure its carbon footprint over the entire project term. A 50% reduction in carbon emissions for the built in environment has been exceeded*.
• Waste – The first Olympic and Paralympic Games to commit to a Zero Waste to landfill target through the strategic Zero Waste Games Vision. The Olympic Park construction waste has achieved 99% rates of reusing and recycling of materials and demolition and construction.
• Sourcing – The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has gained a “world first” for securing FSC and PEFC project certification on the Olympic Park site, with 100% of wood products supplied certified as “legal and sustainable”.
• Transport – The commitment to delivering a public transport Games means 9 million spectators will experience sustainable events like never before. The Active Travel Programme, launched in October 2011, aims to achieve 1 million extra walking and cycling journeys in London every day of the Games.
• Food Vision - The first Olympic and Paralympic Games to specify stringent sustainability requirements for its catering operations. All caterers are signed up to meeting the Food Vision standards, ready to serve 14 million sustainably sourced meals.
• Standards – In 2011 LOCOG became the first Games Organising Committee to be independently certified to the British Standard 8901: Specification for a Sustainability Management System for Events. The London Games has also contributed to the development of ISO 20121 the international standard on sustainability in event management which will supersede BS 8901 and be part of a potentially very influential global legacy.
The report has been prepared using the new Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3.1 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and Event Organisers Sector Supplement, which was developed by GRI in partnership with London 2012, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other stakeholders. It is understood that LOCOG is the first organisation to use the new guidelines, declare an Application Level A (the highest disclosure level), and have the report checked by GRI.
Achim Steiner added, “As inevitable challenges have arisen during the planning and implementation, solutions and compensatory measures have been found—these are important lessons that can be handed on to future mass spectator events. It puts London 2012 within the tide of positive case studies from major sporting events that are shining pathways towards a sustainable century and a transition to a Green Economy in advance of Rio+20.”
LOCOG, Head of Sustainability, David Stubbs said of the report, “The complexities of trying to address sustainability in areas that have never been considered before was a constant challenge but we are thrilled with the outcome of our programme. Achieving the BS 8901 Standard and an ‘A rating’ for our report are real demonstrations of our commitment and success in delivering sustainability across all the areas that matter to our stakeholders.”
Simon Wright, Director of Venues and Infrastructure at the ODA, said: “The report builds on the work the ODA has done in making sustainability an integral part of building the London 2012 venues and infrastructure. What it highlights is how we have worked together to create a comprehensive plan that is delivering a strong sustainable platform before, during and after the Games.”
Jonathon Porritt, Chair of the London 2012 Sustainability Ambassadors, said, “The scale of ambition involved in what will undoubtedly be the world’s most sustainable Games to date is gob-smacking... it’s such a good story that emerges, as this report spells out with as much detail as any stakeholder might reasonably require.”
Notes to editors:
*The achievement to exceed the 50% reduction in carbon emissions for the built environment by 2013 (representing the post-Games operational carbon footprint of the venues). The ODA Learning Legacy case studies provide full details of how this was achieved.
Pre-games sustainability report:
You can link to the report through the London 2012 website:
Pre-Games summary report
Pre-Games full report – Delivering Change
About UNEP:
UNEP has a long standing association with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Since 1994 the two organisations have worked together to incorporate environmental issues into the Olympic Games. UNEP is also represented on the Sport and Environment Commission, which advises the IOC Executive Board on environmental matters relating to the Olympics.
About Achim Steiner:
UNEP Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. Acting on the nomination of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the UN General Assembly in 2006 unanimously elected Achim Steiner as the Executive Director of UNEP for a four-year term. He became the fifth Executive Director in UNEP's history. At its 83rd plenary meeting in 2010, the UN General Assembly, on the proposal of the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, re-elected Mr. Achim Steiner as Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme for another four-year term.
About GRI:
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) produces a comprehensive Sustainability Reporting Framework that is widely used around the world, to enable greater organisational transparency. The Framework, including the Reporting Guidelines, sets out the Principles and Indicators organisations can use to report their economic, environmental, and social performance. GRI is committed to continuously improving and increasing the use of the Guidelines, which are freely available to the public.
GRI, a multi-stakeholder foundation, was set up in the US in 1997 by CERES and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). In 2002, GRI moved its central office to Amsterdam, where the Secretariat is currently located.
G3.1 is a finalised update of GRI’s most recent generation of Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. G3.1 was launched in March 2011 and is the most comprehensive sustainability reporting guidance available today. The Event Organisers Sector Supplement is a sector specific version of G3.1. It includes the original Guidelines, which set out the Reporting Principles, Disclosures on Management Approach and Performance Indicators for economic, environmental and social issues. The Supplement’s additional commentaries and Performance Indicators, developed especially for the sector, capture the issues that matter most for event organisers.
For further information:
Please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com. Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog http://www.london2012.com/blog or follow us on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/london2012
London 2012 Games partners:
The Worldwide Olympic Partners who support the London 2012 Olympic Games and the National Olympic Committees around the world are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.
LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.
There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury’s and two domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Suppliers, Otto Bock and Panasonic. The London 2012 Paralympic Games also acknowledges the support of the National Lottery.
