Sustainability has been a key consideration for the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) since London started to bid for the Games, which will begin in less than 10 days? time. Major achievements include the creation of the Olympic Park, which is the largest new urban parkland created in Europe for 150 years; and the construction of the Olympic Stadium, which is the most sustainable Olympic stadium in history and has been completed on time, on budget and to high sustainability standards.
In addition, London 2012 will be the first Olympic Games to measure its carbon footprint over the entire project term, and is also the first Games to commit to a zero waste-to-landfill target through the strategic Zero Waste Games Vision. In 2011, LOCOG also became the first Games Organising Committee to be independently certified to the British Standard 8901: Specification for a Sustainability Management System for Events, and has contributed to the development of ISO 20121 – the international standard on sustainability in event management, which will supersede BS 8901 and be part of a potentially very influential global legacy.
Learn more about London 2012 sustainability action here
A recent IOC publication, entitled ?Sustainability through Sport: Implementing the Olympic Movement?s Agenda 21?, contains a summary of progress made over the last 20 years ? related to the Olympic Games and beyond. Besides looking back, the new publication also takes a look forward to determine the steps that need to be made to involve future generations ? today?s young people ? in the process of working towards greater sustainability.
Learn more about the IOC?s initiatives here
Watch a clip to see how London?s young people help to clean up the environment ahead of the Games here: