London 2012 outlines sustainability plan for summer Olympic Games

(Copyright ODA)

London2012.com, the site devoted to the future Olympic Games in that city, published a new sustainability plan on December 2, outlining ways the Games expect to achieve sustainability goals in the areas of climate change, waste, biodiversity, inclusion, and healthy living.

Creating the Olympic Park in Stratford means building thousands of new homes, state-of-the-art sporting venues, a 102-hectare public park with thousands of trees, and new and improved rail/water infrastructure and pedestrian/cycle routes.

Among the Games' plans to make these efforts sustainable:

Stadium - designed to be the most lightweight to date, minimizing the use of steel

Velodrome - will be nearly 100% naturally ventilated

Aquatics center - Concrete will have a high content of recycled materials; water    used for cleaning pool filters will be saved for other uses.

All sports venues - In total, venues are reportedly designed to use 40% less water than similar sporting facilities have in the past.

Construction activities - 50% of construction materials (by weight) will be transported by rail or water transport, thus reducing vehicle movement and the resulting carbon emissions. According to organizers, this target is currently being exceeded by 10%.

Waste - An estimated 8,000 tons of waste is expected to be generated during the Games, of which around 40% is likely to be food waste or food-contaminated waste. Organizers have said they will adhere to a "zero-waste to landfill" policy at Games-time.
Taking into account the targeted sustainability and reduction measures, London 2012 is expected to generate 1.9 million tons of CO2 over the seven-year duration from bid-win to Games-time. This amounts to about 0.05% of the UK's total emissions during that period.

http://www.london2012.com