The Success of the London 2012 Olympic Games in Terms of Sustainability - Term Paper Example

?The London Olympics s Submitted by s: Introduction: The success of the London Olympic games in terms of sustainability. In the history of the Olympic Games, it is agreeable that the London Olympics of 2012 was by far the greenest Olympics event ever. The Independent Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 was determined to implement the aspect recycling and regeneration of waste, and this was achieved successfully. As evident from previous Olympics, environmental damage caused through waste, construction and transport, was a major challenge. London set out to fight this challenge by taking on a new technique in the preparation and carrying out of the games, and with its great success it set high standards for future host cities of the Olympics. From the outset, the London Olympics Delivery Authority has outlined a number of key objectives. These were: They would set out to make the London Olympic Games the Greenest games ever. This would be the greatest challenge given that the site of the new Queen Victoria Park, which would be the games main attraction, was highly contaminated. The Olympics Delivery Authority had to not just consider the games but beyond so as to determine how the utilization of the venues would bring about certain return on investment. The creation of the Olympic Park was one of London’s Olympics most visible achievements. The park was rehabilitated from what was once a contaminated industrial land full of waste materials and unfriendly environmental hazards. After construction, the Olympic Park became the largest new urban parkland in all of Europe for the past 150 years. Slick incorporation of recycled materials into the architectural layout of the Olympic venues made them boast of quit impressive sustainability credentials. An example was the Olympic Stadium, where the ‘top ring’ of the venue was constructed using surplus gas supply pipes. Another major achievement was the utilization of recycled rainwater and the implementation of the "zero waste" policy. This was achieved in the construction of the following; The Olympic Velodrome. This was constructed with 100% sustainably sourced timber, and this drifted away from the normal use of stone and ballast or welded metal which are great contributors in pollution and also time consuming in construction. The Copper Box. This was covered with recycled copper that helped save on construction costs and also reduced water use by 40% with installations of water harnessing structures that recycled rainwater. The London Olympics 2012 was able to measure its carbon footprint over the whole project term and it committed and achieved a ‘zero waste’ to landfill target implemented through the Zero Waste Games Vision. The organisers of the Games were able to save the correspondent of 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and this was attributed to their sustainable practices. Recycling was a major achievement with 62% of that waste being recycled, reused or composted and 99% of the waste from the installation of the Games venues was recycled or reused. The innovative biomass boilers that supplied cooling and heating to buildings in the Olympic park by burning woodchips and a range of sustainable fuels continue to serve the community long after the completion of the games. The end of the Games did not mean an end to the sustainability project rather it was a flagship. A number of environmental projects in East London continue to benefit from funding in relation to the sustainability legacy of London Olympics 2012. There was a launch of government grants awarded to local community groups and civil societies to help provide practical information and advice about sustainable living. These initiated projects encourage the community to adopt more sustainable lifestyles, from reducing energy use and cycling more. These recent legacy highlight schemes include: Annual Ride-London Event- Two day world class cycling event. Wild Kingdom, Three Mills Greens in Stratford- A play-area for kids with relation to the natural surroundings. South Park Plaza- Transformation into beautiful new parkland. North Park Hub- It get it theme from the local ecology and acts as a centre for visitors. The White Building- Focuses on innovation in technology, art and sustainability. Overview Analysis of the Sustainability Plan The London’s Olympics Delivery Authority’s success is attributed to the board’s commitment, setting of clear targets and policies, initiation of an effective sustainability system and robust assurance and monitoring. The sustainable development strategy had clear targets for; Water Carbon Waste Land, air, noise Biodiversity and Ecology The environment and sustainability management system was developed and set clear targets which followed through into the design, construction and implementation of the sites. The employment and skill acquisition was set to ensure the workforce is majorly representative of the local area with many of the workers being local people. Skills training centres and apprenticeship centre were set up on site and all contractors were required to take on apprentices. The sustainability themes chosen were set on the aspect of realization of minimising waste disposal, low carbon emissions, conserving biodiversity, healthy living and promoting diversity. There was cleaning of a million cubic meters of contaminated soil and creation of large parkland around the Thames tributary River Lea. The key attributes of the sustainability guidelines set by the Delivery Authority were as follows: To provide an inclusive and accessible setting for all The detailed planning was designed for the venues and services to be as accessible as possible. This really bore fruit during the Games with the highly triumphant Games Mobility service. The food services were to provide sufficient options to cater for the diverse dietary expected to attend and also the ethnic, practical and cultural needs. The Games provided affordable options; free drinking clean water access and people also had the option of bringing their own food into venues. Above it all would be the warm welcome provided by volunteer Games Makers who were from all walks of life and they helped make everyone feel part of the Olympic Games. Provide a secure and safe atmosphere Safety and security would be at the forefront consideration during the Games. There would be efficient, fun and friendly screening of visitors into venues. A marvelous professionalism of the police and the armed forces would be deployed at all the entry points and they would practice a positive engagement with the attending public. They would behind the scene to ensure a relaxing and secure environment for the games. To have minimal negative impacts on the immediate environment With the large amount of resources expected to be consumed by the Games, the Authority’s planning, operational choices and procurement was set out to minimize waste. Substantial carbon savings were to be made, with the sourcing of environmentally friendly products aimed to protect the cultural and natural heritage found on the venues. Major contributions to the conservation of biodiversity would be made with the natural set up of the Olympic Park to the ecological management and detailed surveys. To encourage the culture of healthy living The Games were to have a shining lead on the inspirational power of sport. This would help clubs across the country to have surges in different sports participation. The Active Travel Programme was set up to not only enabled workforce and spectators to walk or cycle to venues. To promote responsible sourcing The vast amount of goods and services required for the staging of the Games would all be sourced sustainably. Huge effort were put into the procurement programme, the value of money was marked by sustainability. This in turn helped provide a diverse supplier base, of which of which a large percentage of companies medium-sized enterprises, representing all regions across the UK. The concept of Complaints-Dispute Resolution Mechanism which was quit innovative was introduced by the Sustainable Sourcing Code. To provide the best customer experience This was set out to make everyone from; the client groups, athletes and spectators, feel valued. Attention to detail would be the key factor in ensuring this was achieved, with sustainability at the forefront of it all. To encourage more sustainable future behaviour The goal for the detailed preparations and set up of the Games was to make the public respect the quality of the venues. It was set out to make everyone appreciate the clean and litter-free venues and the importance of recycling. The event would take part in engaging a lot of people in sustainability activities which would continue in the future. To leave behind a positive legacy The goal was to make all the work be carried forward among the partners and community. A Review of the Delivery of Zero Waste Games The motivated target to make the London Olympics 2012 the first Zero Waste Games was achieved through detailed innovation, planning and partnership approaches. The London Olympic2012 aimed to guarantee that waste disposal was minimised throughout the programme, from the planning stages to final legacy. An advance on the size of the Olympic Park and an event the size of the Games allowed for the opportunity to build a micro-economy of resource efficiency, taking into consideration the infrastructure and processes to reduce waste and to increase the aspect of reusing and recycling waste. The Games delivered on its tough reuse and recycling targets and its sustainability undertaking has been stated as being game-changing in the context of the construction industry. The London Olympics Delivery Authority dedication to provide the first zero waste to landfill Games was challenging and is considered its main flagship sustainability targets. The Authority also set unprecedented reuse, composting and recycling targets for the Games. The key targets for the games were as follows: Make sure that no waste arising within the closed venue sites be sent directly to landfill. To make sure that at least 70 per cent of the operational waste is reused or recycled, or composted. To be able to take reasonable endeavors to reuse and recycle at least 90 per cent of the material coming from the installation of the venues. During the Games 100% of the event operations waste was diverted from landfill. The reuse and recycling figure amounted to 82%, and significantly surpassed the set 70 % target. This figure was calculated by measuring the amount of different streams exiting their sites or venues. During the Games, the mass of event waste, which was primarily food waste and packaging, was channeled into the recycling, compostable food packaging and non-recyclables. Colour coding was employed and it was accompanied by simple and steady iconography. Coloured icons were on many food and drink packaging available, and were corresponded to the waste bins which had colour coordinated bin liners. A recycling communications campaign was initiated and it was aimed at the key waste producing audiences. Communications Medias including spectator guides, social media, on-site newsletters and workforce training materials were used to engage the audiences in recycling during the Games. The key challenge of this campaign was to spot and successfully access channels of communications within the projects timeframe. Early appointment of contractor staff was important and perhaps the greatest learning from the campaign. Waste contamination did take place in every stream, and it is believed that the arrangements performed rather well for the bins in major areas such as the athlete dining areas and public and workforce break areas. People were able to take notice and tried to deposit items in the right bin. Such areas of waste deposition were observed to be better managed with minimal contamination than areas under the accountability of the broadcasters and caterers. An Opinion Survey of the Zero Waste Initiative Students had varying opinions on how the organizers of the 2012 London Olympics carried out the Zero-waste initiative and its success. Among the major views were: Overall it was agreed that the London Olympics 2012 demonstrated an efficient system of waste management in an event that worked. The learning experience for the sustainability theme was ground breaking and it would be captured and implemented even after the event. The “Zero waste” initiative was agreed to be a commendable venture that was effective and achievable. It was outlined that to establish such a successful venture, creation of clear strategy for resource and waste management is to be established early so as to have a common goal that everyone involved can work towards. Setting of key policies and targets is important but they should in the end be challenging yet feasible. It was agreed that the operational staff taking part in the delivery is required to be fully supportive of such a venture and be equipped with appropriate competencies and skills. It was observed that the event had established a positive partnership and effective working relationship with the waste contractor in the initial stages of the project. It was agreed that the full support of the vision by all who were involved was crucial and well implemented and this ensured continuity even after the end of the event. Conclusion I believe that the ten critical outlined success factors that had been identified by the organizing committee were initiated effectively thus delivering the expected targets correctly. The suitable number of streams that the consumers can cope with is still a subject for debate. This should be put into consideration in the framework of the event and will depend on how much control can be exerted over suppliers, the materials and the access and use of appropriate recycling facilities. The levels of composition and recycling would not have been achieved with only the two primary streams installed in areas like the public realm and dining areas. Steady and uncomplicated messaging, employed to engage all audiences, was effectively managed at an initial stage. The messaging system was incorporated to broadcast both the enthusiasm for recycling and information on efficient recycling. Creation of major processes that take part in the monitoring and putting out waste arising occurrences was very much plotted and initialized so as to ensure that performance is effectively analysed and improved. References Schorr, J 2011, ‘London Olympics: The Games will be a success but doubts over their long-term legacy remain’, in CityMayor Development 16, viewed 4 December 2013, . 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