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Sustainability

We want London 2012 to be the first ‘sustainable’ Games, setting new standards for major events.


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About sustainability

Being ‘sustainable’ means providing for peoples’ current and long-term needs, improving quality of life while ensuring a healthy and thriving natural environment. As the most high-profile event in the world, the Games give us the chance to show how changes to the way we build, live, work, do business and travel could help us to live happy and healthy lives, within our planet’s resources.

London put sustainability at the heart of its bid for the 2012 Games, framed by the concept of ‘Towards a One Planet 2012'. This was derived from the WWF/BioRegional concept of ‘One Planet Living®’ , which shows the challenges facing us in stark terms: if everybody in the world lived the same lifestyle as we do in the UK, we would need three planets’ worth of resources to support us.

This idea forms the basis of our plans for sustainable development in the UK and, more broadly, the way in which we can use the Games to highlight global issues such as climate change.

London 2012 and the London 2012 stakeholders share a commitment to maximise sustainability through the phases of the Games – building the venues and infrastructure, staging the Games themselves and then long into the future – focusing on five key areas:

  • combating climate change;
  • reducing waste;
  • enhancing biodiversity;
  • promoting inclusion; and
  • encouraging healthy living.

This programme-wide approach forms our vision for a one planet London 2012.

Sustainability assurance

It is important to us that people know how we are performing against our sustainability aims from a trusted source. To ensure we stick to our promises, an independent scrutiny body - Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 - has been set up to monitor us.

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Sustainability Plan - Towards a one planet 2012

The Sustainability Plan

London 2012 has produced a plan on how it will ensure the 2012 project can be as sustainable as possible.

It covers five key sustainability themes: waste, climate change, biodiversity (the variety of life on earth), inclusion (making sure the benefits of the Games are enjoyed by everybody) and healthy living.

It was approved by all members of the Olympic Board – representing the Government, the Mayor of London, the British Olympic Association and London 2012 itself.

The Sustainability Plan looks at all stages of the project, from preparation for the Games, staging the Games and planning for after 2012. This is a live document and will be updated annually as the project progresses.

The plan is available to download from the 'related publications' section on this page.

Top sustainability facts

A small nature reserve has been created near the northern perimeter of the Olympic Park, along the banks of the River Lea at East Marsh, to become a 10,000 square metre home to a variety of wildlife. The reserve used timber from the Olympic Park to create log walls and we worked with local school children to plant some of the trees.

Over 90 per cent of demolition materials have been reclaimed for reuse or recylcing. Reclaimed materials have been stored to be reused in the design of venues and parklands.

Four complete buildings have been recycled and re-assembled off-site.

20 per cent of the Olympic Park workforce are from the five Host Boroughs and nine per cent were previously unemployed.

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