Sustainability

1. ationalogramme
Intern tion Pr
Londo n 2012 Educa
A sustainable London
2012 Games
Making the Games better for everyone
The Olympic and Paralympic Games are
the world’s largest festival of sport – and,
in 2012, they come to London and the
UK. The excitement is growing and soon
the whole world will be watching.

2. Sustainability: A global issue
What is sustainability?
Sustainability is about taking every day choices that make a positive difference. It is about respect
for the environment and people, leaving a positive impact for future generations.
Our environment gives us the air, food, water and fuel we need to survive. If we want our
environment to keep providing for us, we must live in a sustainable way.
Why is sustainability important?
If everyone in the world lived like an average European we would need three planets to live on.
We need to deliver a Games where we are respectful of the world we live in.
However, the more we learn about our planet,
the more we realise how we are affecting it.
These effects come in many forms, including:
–
climate change
–
destruction of habitats
noise and air pollution
–
–
environmental degradation
The International Olympic Committee (IOC)
and the International Paralympic Committee
(IPC) are committed to making sure all Olympic
and Paralympic Games are as sustainable as
possible. London 2012 is aiming to be the most
sustainable Games to have ever been held.
Sustainability was included as part of the London 2012 bid when through the idea of ‘Towards a
One Planet Olympics’. There are five sustainability themes throughout the work of the London 2012
Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).
–
Climate change
–
Waste
a
–
Biodiversity
–
Inclusion Ac tivity ide
–
Healthy living Sustainability of the past
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is Do you think we live in a sustainable
responsible for planning and building the world nowadays? How sustainable was
Olympic Park, looking after both the permanent the world in the past? What about your
and temporary venues and developing the country or community? How have things
transport system. changed in your country to make our
lives more sustainable? Are there some
LOCOG is responsible for staging a Games we manufacturing methods that were used
will never forget. Organising such an important in the past but not anymore? Is your
event is a big challenge! country doing things differently now,
compared to the past?

3. Climate change
a
tivity ide
Our aim: To deliver a low carbon Games and
showcase how we are adapting to a world
increasingly affected by climate change.
Ac
Using the facilities after the
To make the Games as ‘green’ as possible, London 2012 Games
London 2012 has developed clever
construction methods. Once the Games end, the Velodrome and
BMX Track are going to be converted
into a public VeloPark. Can you think
The Velodrome
of any more uses for the Olympic and
This was the first venue on the Olympic Park to
Paralympic Venues after the Games?
be completed and the Velodrome is the most
Go to the London 2012 website (www.
energy-efficient venue on the Park. It is hoped it
london2012.com) to find out more about
will be the fastest cycling track in the world; the
the different venues for London 2012.
track and the building have been built with 100
Get thinking and get designing!
per cent legally and sustainably sourced timber,
so it is the world’s most sustainable Olympic
Velodrome too.
The compact design allows natural lighting and
uses natural ventilation for keeping the track
cool. Rainwater will be collected on the roof and
used to flush the toilets.
The Energy Centre
The new Olympic Park Energy Centre will be
home to many energy-efficient technologies
that will provide hot water, electricity, heating
and cooling to buildings on the Park and the
Athletes’ Village. In the future it will provide
energy to families that live there.
e a
A ctivity id
Vision of the future
What do you think the Olympic and
Paralympic Games will be like in 100
years’ time or more? Will things be more
sustainable? What about your community?
Will people be closer to living in a
sustainable environment? Work alone or
in groups and design ways that you think
your community could be more sustainable
in the future. Imagine that the Games are
coming to your nation. What things will
need to happen to make the Games as
sustainable as possible?

4. Did you know...?
– objective of LOCOG is to deliver a
An
100 per cent ‘public transport Games’, so
spectators will travel by public transport,
bicycle or on foot
– putting sustainability as one of the
By
key aspects of designing the Olympic
Park, London 2012 will deliver an overall
reduction in carbon emissions of 50 per cent
Waste
Our aim: To deliver a zero waste Games,
through resource management practices and by
promoting long-term behavioural change.
To build facilities for the Games we have reused
as many original materials as possible, including
the soil that was dug up on the site. The soil was
sifted and cleaned in soil washing machines to
remove any pollutants (including arsenic, tar and
lead) and then used again on the site.
Some buildings in the Olympic Park had to be
removed to make room for the new venues. They
have been crushed and reused to make roads
a
and bridges.
Ac tivity ide
Did you know...? News report
– lamp posts were saved and will be used in
80 Find out more information about the
the Olympic Park when it is finished sustainability and the Games by going to
–
Approximately 2,000 tonnes of waste has the London 2012 website. Produce mock
been removed from the Olympic Park site by news reports on the stories you find.
barge Draw or paint large pictures as bulletin
–
More than 80 per cent of soil has been images for the newsroom background.
cleaned and reused on the Olympic Park You could tell your stories in your
– total of 98.5 per cent of demolition waste
A classroom or at your school assembly.
has been recycled and in some cases reused Some people could be the researchers
–
Foundations for the Aquatics Centre, Handball of the news channel, while other team
Arena and the Olympic Stadium have used members could be the newscasters. You
concrete with more than 30 per cent of could even make models of Venues to
recycled materials help with your news re-enactments.

5. Biodiversity
Our aim: To conserve biodiversity, create new
urban green spaces and bring people closer to
nature through sport and culture.
The Olympic Park stretches over lots of natural
habitats and London 2012 is committed to
preserving its natural biodiversity.
London 2012 has created parklands and natural
habitats within the Olympic Park to encourage
animals to create new homes. Some of the
animals that are being encouraged to the
Olympic Park include
–
kingfishers
–
song thrushes
–
eels
–
water voles
–
bats
–
grass snakes
Some of the plants that were found include:
marsh woundwort
–
–
field scabious
–
yellow toadflax
–
scentless mayweed
–
tower mustard
vity idea
Do you know what these animals and plants
are? What do they look like?
Acti
Did you know...? A Games for all!
If you were going to build a new sports
– Olympic Park is an area approximately
The venue for your community what animals
250 hectares (357 football pitches) and plants might be affected? How
– least 45 hectares of new wildlife habitat is
At could you make sure that the new venue
being created actually helped the animals and plants?
–
There are 675 bird and bat boxes on the If it was a big project should some
Olympic Park money be put aside to be invested in
–
2,000 newts and hundreds of toads were re- conservation elsewhere in the country?
housed during the construction of the Olympic
Park
–
2,000 local residents have given up their
time to improve their local areas through a
programme called ‘Changing Places’

6. Healthy living
a
tivity ide
Our aim: To inspire people across the UK to take
up sport and develop more active, healthy and
sustainable lifestyles. Ac
A healthy meal for athletes
The athletes who are competing at London 2012
What meals from your country do you
have all worked really hard training to be the
think are truly great? Would you feel
best they can be. When they are in the UK,
proud offering traditional food to the
they will want to perform at their best, and one
athletes? If so, which meals? Why not
of the ways that London 2012 can help to do
invent a new dish for an athlete? Think
that is to make sure that there are lots of healthy
about what food a rower, weightlifter or
food options to fuel their bodies during the
gymnast might want. Do you know how
performance of their lives.
healthy it would be? Or how much it
would cost?
London 2012 has written the first ever ‘Food
Vision for the Olympic and Paralympic Games’,
with the aim of providing 14 million sustainably
sourced and healthy meals. That means we have
thought about where all of our food has come
from so that we do not harm the planet. For
example, London 2012 will only use sustainably
sourced fish, meat from animals that have been
looked after, free range eggs, and Fairtrade
bananas, tea and coffee.
Did you know that the following will be served
during the London 2012 Games?
–
25,000 loaves of bread
–
100 tonnes of meat
–
75,000 litres of milk
– tonnes of eggs
19
– tonnes of cheese
21
–
330 tonnes of vegetables
Exercise is an important part of an athlete’s life
and we know that doing exercise as part of
your daily routine is a really good idea! How
much exercise do you do? London 2012 is Acti vity idea
encouraging people to cycle and walk to the
Games when they come to watch. Active travel
How do you travel to school? Do you
have any other options of transport?
Can you walk or cycle to school if you
don’t already? Why not set up a cycle or
walking group and invite friends to join
you? If it is too far to cycle or walk, then
can you find some time at the weekends
to travel around by foot or bike?

7. Share with your school and community!
We are very excited about the upcoming 2012
This document and the official Emblems of the London 2012 Games are © London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd (LOCOG) 2007-2011.
Games. We are also just as excited about
a
tivity ide
everyone’s efforts to make it the most sustainable
Games ever. Learn as much as you can about
sustainability and London 2012 and tell
Ac
everyone you know! Start a
sustainability campaign!
You could organise special events or school
Do this as a class or as an entire school.
announcements to inform people about how
Think of new ways to make your school
London 2012 is being sustainable. You could
more sustainable. Could you be using
even put an article in your local newspaper.
less electricity? How about reducing the
amount of waste you produce? Can you
Get inspired by the Games and see what you
recycle more?
can do to promote sustainability.
How about encouraging your school to
vity idea
invest in renewable energies like wind,
Acti solar or wave power? You could start a
school newsletter on sustainability, inspire
Get creative for 2012 action groups and get more people
cycling or walking to school.
sustainability
All rights reserved. LOC2011/IEP/1812
Do you have a talent for poetry or song Why not start a vegetable garden at
writing? Are you a good storyteller? your school? This will cut down any food
Whatever your talent, use it to produce transport costs your school currently has.
something wonderful to promote
sustainability at the London 2012 Games.