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Working with London 2012 for a
One Planet Living® Olympics
Endorsed Project
The Sustainability strategy for London’s 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games will make it by far
the greenest Games the world has ever seen.
Bid
stage
As part of the One Planet Living
intitiative, BioRegional and WWF worked with London 2012’s
environment team to produce a strategy for the Games which impressed
independent environmental experts and may have helped sway the IOC’s
decision.
BioRegional, who have over 10
years experience in sustainable development projects, worked closely
with London 2012 to research and write the ‘Towards a One
Planet Olympics’ bid report which
details solutions for zero waste and low carbon strategies, local
supply networks, sustainable transport , wildlife biodiversity and
an ongoing legacy for a sustainable community.
One Planet Living recognises that
if everyone in
the world lived as we do in Europe, we would need three planets
to support us. Therefore we need to reduce our impact by two thirds
to a sustainable and globally equitable level. Drawing on these
principles, London 2012 is proposing a range of sustainable development
themes, including:
•
Low carbon Games
– to reduce energy demand and meet it from zero/low carbon
and renewable sources and to showcase how the Olympic Games are
adapting to a world increasingly affected by climate change
• Zero waste Games -
to avoid landfill by reducing waste at source, then reusing, recycling
and recovering all remaining waste
• Conservation of biodiversity
- to conserve natural habitats and wildlife, improve the quality
of urban greenspace and to bring nature closer to people
• Sustainable transport
– to reduce the need for travel and provide sustainable alternatives
to the private car
• Sustainable legacy –
to promote health and wellbeing through an integrated package of
sporting, environmental and cultural initiatives.
Post bid work
Since preparations for the delivery of the
Games began BioRegional and WWF have been active in helping to deliver
this vision. We have given detailed critical comment on the Olympic
Delivery Authority’s sustainable development strategy and
provided key input into the development of the programme-wide London
2012 Sustainability Plan, including organising and leading a workshop
for key delivery stakeholders. This now provides a framework for
sustainability across the wide-ranging London 2012 programme and
is a key part of the culture and education programmes too.
BioRegional have played a key
role during the demolition process in the Olympic Park, surveying
around 60% (to date) of buildings, identifying materials that can
be reclaimed and estimating CO2 savings. BioRegional have participated
in workshops with the Olympic Park and bridge designers to integrate
reclaimed materials into the design process. BioRegional have also
contributed to initial strategic work on themes such as biodiversity
conservation, sustainable food and sustainable construction materials.
We want the London Games to be
truly sustainable Games and the message is already being enthusiastically
received. We believe there is the potential for the Olympic movement,
Paralympic movement and sport generally, to be a vehicle for raising
environmental awareness among new audiences, people not normally
reached by conventional environmental campaigns.
London 2012 will demonstrate the
power of the Games to bring people together, and leave a sustainable
legacy to be proud of. We look forward to continuing to work with
WWF and the London 2012 team on this journey.
For more info about the
London 2012 Olympics Games go to www.london2012.com
One Planet Living is a global initiative
based on 10 principles of sustainability developed by BioRegional
and WWF.
Last updated 10th October 2008 |
