The updated Sustainability Plan contains the latest plans across London 2012’s five themes of sustainability: climate change, waste, biodiversity, inclusion and healthy living.
Two key areas addressed in the plan include the approach being taken to carbon management and waste management. For the first time for a summer Games, a study into what the potential carbon footprint of the project could be has been undertaken – from construction to staging.
This is an innovative approach to carbon footprinting: to use the methodology as a forward-looking impact assessment, rather than a reporting tool. In this way we have been able to identify the main sources of carbon emissions in advance to inform many of our sustainability plans.
Findings have enabled detailed work on minimising carbon emissions, with the ODA already reducing potential emissions from construction work by 15 per cent across the site and by more than 50 per cent on the Olympic Stadium project alone.
The total carbon footprint ‘owned’ by London 2012 after sustainability and reduction measures have been taken into account is expected to be 1.9Mtonnes CO2e. These emissions are spread over the seven-year duration of the project from bid win to Games-time. To give some context to this, over this seven-year period, London 2012’s carbon footprint amounts to 0.05 per cent of the UK’s total emissions.
A significant part of this is obviously from the work of the ODA to create the Olympic Park in Stratford, building thousands of new homes, world-class sporting venues, a 102 hectare public park with thousands of trees, as well as new and improved rail and water infrastructure and new pedestrian and cycle routes.
There is also a footprint from the investment being made in upgrading public transport infrastructure and from LOCOG’s staging activities at Games-time.
LOCOG Chair Sebastian Coe commented: 'Sustainability has underpinned this project from day one. From construction to how we will stage the Games in 2012, we’re constantly looking at ways to ensure we’re setting new standards in how major events are staged – responsibly, with legacy in mind.'
ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said: 'We have made sure that sustainability is at the heart of this project from the outset and the "green build" is on track. As we create the Olympic Park, cleaning the area of contamination, creating world-class new sports venues, thousands of new homes, new infrastructure, transport links and a new green space for Londoners that will remain for many years after 2012, we are doing so in as sustainable way as possible.'
