The Sustainability Plan of Olympic and Paralympics Games Summer 2012 - Dissertation Example

?Management Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Olympic and Paralympics Games Summer 4 Sustainability Plan put forward by the organisers 5 London 2012 5 One Planet Living 6 Development of Inclusion and Diversity Strategy 9 Sports and Health 10 Opinion Survey 12 Conclusion 15 Reference List 16 Appendix 18 Executive Summary The report throws light on the Sustainability plan of Olympic and Paralympics Games Summer 2012 which was prepared by the London Organising Committee. In 2012, the games was held in London and thus, it was the responsibility of London Organising Committee to prepare a well planned report regarding the actions that are to be taken before and after the Games so as to make the environment sustainable. Though the Sustainability Plan included lot aspects which were highlighted by the committee as the main issues and are serious enough to be looked upon, the sport-health relationship is regarded as the main aspect for the survey in the report. The committee not only suggested new plans for improving the environmental issues but also had made sure that they can serve the society positively. The survey which is conducted in GSM, London, throws light on the fact that the youth are interested in sports and extracurricular activities, but due to their busy schedule they forget to take care of their health. Sports are not only refreshing but also, help in eradicating diseases to make life healthier. The youth are aware of the sport-health relationship that indicates to the fact that they can educate the mass with their knowledge and help in creating a safer and healthier world. Olympic and Paralympics Games Summer 2012 The Summer Olympic 2012 had taken place in London from 27th July to 12th August, 2012 and it was followed by Paralympics Games 2012 from 29th August to 9Th September, 2012. 205 nations had participated in the 300 events that took place in Summer Olympic. However, 147 nations joined the events of Paralympics Games 2012. Both the events were successful enough to mark the memories of the viewers and also, the participants (Olympic.org., 2013a). Sports have always presented big opportunities for promoting the capacity building, environmental awareness and extensive performance for the social, environmental and economic development of the society. It is also described as the mean of achieving reconciliation and peace, which is the fundamental pre-condition for the principles of sustainability that has been applied and shared by the Olympic Movement (Olympic.Org., 2013f). The following are the key stakeholders of Olympic Movement who facilitates their sustainable development: 1) International and National Sports Federations (IFs and NFs) 2) National Olympic Committees (NOCs) 3) Olympic Games and youth Olympic Games Organising Committees (OCOGs and YOCOGs) 4) Corporate sponsors 5) Media 6) Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) 7) Most importantly the public. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is in a good position to assist the building of a sustainable future by encouraging the work with major groups, regeneration of the political commitments and also, by creating a worldwide support for actions. Sustainability Plan put forward by the organisers Sustainability can be described as the continuous project that was undertaken by the Olympic Movement (OM) and was also promoted for adoption worldwide. The process of adoption started with the execution of modest green actions. The Sustainability Plan has evolved for over 20 years since the Earth Summit, 1992. In 2012, the Olympic Games were held in London and before the grand event the supervisory committee had made a Sustainability Plan which had given shape to the overall development of the whole event. This section of the report elaborates the sustainability plan that was put forward by the organisers. London 2012 The consumer lifestyles in the developed industrial nations have dramatically surpassed the productivity capacity of the Earth. The world has already undergone ecological overshoot about 40 years ago and currently, the human beings are employing the prolific capacity of one and a half planet in excess. This has masked the continental discrepancies. If people all over the world lived liked the Europeans, then three planets are required or if they could survive as the North Americans had, then five planets will be required. Thus, it is clear that the situations are unsustainable and cannot be encouraged. One Planet Living London Organising Committee (LOCOG) has embraced “One Planet Living”, where 56 concepts were successfully bided for the 2012 Games. The committee had also fixed it in their plans and operated accordingly. The Committee had promised to host the world’s first sustainable Olympic Games which will be accurately planned and executed. The committee exclaimed that the OM is getting intense and have raised their voice in the debate on the same globally. The sport is playing the heart of the sustainable development plan and improvement of the life style of the people worldwide. The committee was determined about the fact that London 2012 will draw an outline for the environmental, social and economic changes that will encourage the host countries to build a strong sustainable plan for the Olympic Games. The committee implemented the One Planet living culture for selecting the sponsors for the Games. The commitment of LOCOG has gone beyond the construction of buildings and infrastructure to the development of a sustainable society which will spread the awareness to promote innovation and actions in the five keys areas which are as follows: 1) Climate change: Before making any plan, the committee had learnt about the different aspects of carbon emission and understood that they should work to minimise them. They had decided to mitigate the impact of carbon emission on the society and to include awareness program in their curriculum. Thus, they will be providing a better lifestyle and prominent infrastructure to the future generation. They made an initial plan of generating 20% of Venus’s energy from renewable energy which is derived from the renewable sources. The plan did not work properly. Then they had made a plan that would deliver 50% reduction in emissions by implementing various low carbon measures. The plan included proficient designs for the building with noteworthy cement substitutions (since production of cement is the most important emitters of the greenhouse gases). About 50% of the construction materials are delivered to the Olympic Park by the sustainable transport systems. The committee also ensured 100% public transport for the Games. It also promised to deliver 90% of the cooling systems free from hydro fluorocarbons (Olympic.Org., 2013g). 2) Waste management: The committee planned of delivering zero-waste to the Games after undertaking resource management practices and by implementing different methods of waste management. The process of the waste minimisation starts at the planning stage. The committee had thought of weeding out waste production during the operation and construction process for the Olympic facilities. It had decided to recycle and reuse about 90% of the material that were generated during demolishing the buildings to create the Olympic Park. About 90% of the waste that constituted the landfill has gone through recycling, reuse and recovery. It ensures high recovery rate of the materials which are disassembled from the provisional structures after Games. 3) Biodiversity: For conserving the different ecosystems of the world and creating green space for urban homeland (suitable for living), the committee has decided to take the responsibility to manage the natural resources by enhancing the ecology of Olympic venues and Lower Lea Valley and also, by upholding the value of the natural environment to the world. The Olympic Park was planned to be transformed into a European new city park from a poorly maintained low quality environmental area. New wildlife environment were to be created under the designation of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC). The parklands in the East London are transformed from a neglected post-industrial and polluted landscape into a sustainable position by employing sustainable rehabilitation. The materials used were recycled and were to be utilized for designing the new landscape. The landscape would bear the capability to soak and use rainwater and reduce the chances of flood risk by designing new wetlands, which will maximise the opportunities for the enriched ecology. It will thus, cool the place and reduce the effect on urban heart (Department of Culture, Media and Sports, 2012). 4) Inclusion: The committee aimed at hosting the best games till date by promoting the diversity, access and assist the economic, physical and social regeneration of the surrounding communities and venue. During the later periods of 2012, 12,000 people were working rigorously for delivering sustainability to the Games. The committee worked on the gender discrimination issue and employed around 200 women. Even 75% of the unemployed were given a source of earning by providing them with work in their locality. London’s Olympic delivery Authority (OdA) with the help of National Skills Academy for Construction has undertaken about 3,250 training programs which had started with 400 trainees working on construction programmes. Throughout the developmental programs, the local community and the stakeholders were consulted and their advice was taken regarding the construction of the venues and buildings for the Games. During the period of the construction, about 125,000 people (stakeholders and the local community) had attended the venue of Games and given their plans and suggestions for improvement and modification. About 7,000 children from the schools have visited the health and safety workshop. 5) Healthy living: Through London 2012, the committee wanted to encourage the mass to join sports and develop an active and healthy lifestyle which will give them more energy and peace in their life. They instructed the mass to walk or cycle so that they can work out regularly in order to stay fit and flexible. There was huge improvement and lasting changes everywhere in United Kingdom which resulted from the health plans by the committees. The project has also tried to affect the reconnection and have brought changes in the environment. The program called “Changing Places” had encouraged young people for identifying their likes regarding their local environment. This would make them work with the local stakeholders for solving different problems and also, examine the power of the young generation to take up responsibility (Mandy Barrow, 2013). The main goals of the committee are the following which also constituted the Sustainability Plan: 1) Attempt to eradicate hunger and poverty among the poor. They target to halve the proportion of population who earn $1 a day. They aim at employing productive and hard working workers and spread employment all over. They also decide to reduce the proportion of population who are suffering from hunger (Populus, 2013). 2) Take the responsibility of spreading primary education in the universe. 3) They aim at promoting empowerment of women and gender equality. Gender disparity in the secondary and primary education sector is eliminated by the committee so that the children are not deprived of education (Disabled world, 2013). 4) Child mortality is also a critical issue which is examined by the committee and they decided to reduce it by two-third within 2015. Development of Inclusion and Diversity Strategy The committee’s inclusion and diversity strategies rested in five themes which are very important for the OM. The key themes are as follows: 1) The committee had planned on encouraging business by communicating, decision making and procurement of necessary items. 2) The individual responsibilities are also evaluated other than the organisation’s policy. 3) Recruitment and development of the right talent by providing them with training and assistance in developing their career (Olympic.org., 2013h). 4) Recognising and encouraging new thoughts and views which are needed to make an appropriate and sustainable plan for the individual and the society. 5) It should be acting as the catalyst for the legacy. Thus, providing with the opportunities to play and train the world for participating in the sport as per their wish (International Olympic Committee, 2012). Sports and Health The Greek philosopher, Thales has dictated that “A sound mind in a healthy body” is the chief motto of every life. He is concerned with the youth who has forgotten to take part in physical activities. By encouraging these young classes of people, the public will get motivated and engage themselves in a healthy lifestyle, which will be the main commitment of IOC (Olympic.Org., 2013b). Sports have been the main contributor in fighting against HIV/AIDS outbreak, non communicable diseases (like, asthma, obesity and diabetes) and malaria. The extensive education programmes by the committee in association with World Health Organisation (WHO), Red Cross and other partners have developed the sports culture in the society. In September 2011, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had published the Consensus Statement on Health and Fitness of Young People through Physical Activity and Sport (Dunsar Media Company Limited, 2013). The statement had defined the consequences of health inactivity and identified the main determinants of the participation and dropouts. It had also given recommendations regarding the potential solutions of the global partnerships. The ultimate purpose of the statement is to improve the non-communicable diseases which include obesity. Everyday at least 2.6 million people die because of obese or overweight and it has been examined that around 20 million people are underweight. It is already known that obesity in childhood leads to premature death and also, disability in the childhood. Physical activities and sports play an important role in preventing these dangerous diseases (Olympic.Org., 2013c). IOC appreciates the role of sports that are played in the life of an individual. Thus, it ensures that the athletes are guarded from deadly diseases like, HIV/AIDS. The committee does not discriminate among the workers who are suffering from HIV/AIDS, but it ensures that they are safe in the workplace. The Olympic Policy on preventing HIV/AIDS through the sport was initially planned in 2004 and the partnership with UNAIDS was also recognized in the same year. In 2005, IOC published a Toolkit for preventing HIV and AIDS through sports. It was published in six languages (Olympic.Org., 2013e). The sports community should be provided with the following: 1) Information about the diseases like, HIV/AIDS. They should also be made aware of the effective prevention of the diseases. They are taught how sports play an important role in preventing health problems of the HIV positive persons. They were given practical suggestions through programs and educated to use counselling and testing. They were provided with the basic information for spreading it among their colleagues and players. Important suggestions were given to the youths of 10-15 years who were the main target of HIV/AIDS. Thus, they were provided with the necessary information for preventing the harmful disease (Olympic.Org., 2013d). Information campaigns were initiated so as to give study materials to the homefolks of the athletes during Olympic Games and youth Olympic Games. The main motive behind the idea was to spread the awareness of the diseases among the officials and athletes for their responsible and healthy lifestyles. Several initiatives were planned at the country level across Asia, Latin America Africa. Opinion Survey An opinion survey is carried out in GSM London to examine what the students think regarding the sports and health issue. They are requested to fill up the questionnaire which is given in the Appendix. 50 students filled up the questionnaires and the following are the analysis of the questionnaire. 1) 78% of the respondents of the survey are interested in Sports while the rest are not. Figure 1: Interest in Sports (Source: Author’s citation) 2) It is observed that 70% of the respondents are interested in extracurricular activities. It may be sports, gym, dancing or any physical activity which will help in building their health and make them fit. Figure 2: Respondents interested in extracurricular activities (Source: Author’s citation) 3) From the survey, it is seen that 86% of the respondents are aware of the programs that are organised by health organisations. The health organisations teach the mass about the positive impacts of sports and extracurricular activities in one life. Figure 3: Awareness program (Source: Author’s citation) 4) 70% of the respondents know the Sport-Health relationship which is quite impressive. They are the youth and are expected to encourage their elders and external world for clarifying ideas about the benefits of sports in one’s life. It can eradicate the powerful diseases which can ruin one’s life. Figure 4: Sports-Health Relation (Source: Author’s citation) 5) From the survey, it is seen that 60% of the respondents find the awareness programs to be beneficial as lessons can be extracted from them. However, the rest feel it is not powerful enough to make any impact of the mass. Figure 5: Awareness programs beneficial (Source: Author’s citation) Conclusion It can be concluded that Olympic Games and Paralympic Games 2012 was successful because of the unique Sustainability Plan that was put forward by the London Organising Committee. The main motto of the organisation was to protect the mass from any harmful effects of the constructions that were required for the Games. Thus, they undertook several awareness programs. The respondents who are surveyed in GSM London have the knowledge of Sports-Health relation but they are not sure about the fact whether the awareness programs conducted by the health organisation do any help to educate the mass. Reference List Department of Culture, Media and Sports, 2012. Plans For The Legacy From The 2012 Olympic And Paralympic Games. [pdf] Department of Culture, Media and Sports Available at: < https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/78105/201210_Legacy_Publication.pdf > [Accessed 12 November 2013]. Disabled world, 2013. 2012 London Summer Paralympic Games. [online] Available at: < http://www.disabled-world.com/sports/paralympics/2012/ > [Accessed 12 November 2013]. Dunsar Media Company Limited, 2013. The Key Steps To A Sustainable Olympic Games. [online] Available at: < http://www.insidethegames.biz/sustainability/1013365-the-key-steps-to-a-sustainable-olympic-games > [Accessed 12 November 2013]. International Olympic Committee, 2012. Sustainability Through Sports. [pdf] International Olympic Committee. Available at: [Accessed 12 November 2013]. Mandy Barrow, 2013. Project Britain. [online] Available at: < http://projectbritain.com/olympics/ > [Accessed 12 November 2013]. Olympic.org., 2013a. London 2012. [online] Available at: [Accessed 12 November 2013]. Olympic.Org., 2013b. International Olympic Committee. [online] Available at: < http://www.olympic.org/ioc > [Accessed 12 November 2013]. Olympic.Org., 2013c. National Olympic Committees. [online] Available at: < http://www.olympic.org/national-olympic-committees > [Accessed 12 November 2013]. Olympic.Org., 2013d. Olympic News. [online] Available at: < http://www.olympic.org/news > [Accessed 12 November 2013]. Olympic.Org., 2013e. Olympism in Action. [online] Available at: < http://www.olympic.org/olympism-in-action > [Accessed 12 November 2013]. Olympic.Org., 2013f. Sports. [online] Available at: < http://www.olympic.org/sports > [Accessed 12 November 2013]. Olympic.Org., 2013g. London 2012 Olympic Games Open in Spectacular Style. [online] Available at: < [Accessed 12 November 2013]. Olympic.org., 2013h. Athletes. [online] Available at: < http://www.olympic.org/athletes > [Accessed 12 November 2013]. Populus, 2013. A Decade of Designing London's Olympic Legacy. [online] Available at: < http://populous.com/project/london-2012/ > [Accessed 12 November 2013]. Appendix Questionnaire Name: Ht.: Wt.: Gender: Age: Date of Birth: 1. Do you like sports? Yes No 2. Are you engaged in any extracurricular activity? Yes No. 3. Are you aware of different games that are played in your country? Yes No 4. You like to play: Cricket Badminton Tennis Football Others 5. Are you aware that sports can prevent you from deadly diseases? Yes No 6. “Sports and Health” – Are they related? Yes No 7. Awareness programs are highly beneficial for acquiring knowledge regarding different diseases. Yes No 8. Have you ever thought of making sports to be part of your life? Yes No 9. Health gyms are more beneficial than sports? Agree Disagree 10. Does extracurricular activities or sports help in concentrating in your studies and makes you relax? Absolutely Absolutely Not Read More